Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night. Starring Odessa with special guest stars, Ray’s Candy Store and St. Marks Bookshop and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome your host for tonight, Odessa!
Since I had to work all night last night and I didn't get to sleep till around six in the morning, my hours are all wacked out. I didn't wake up till around four in the afternoon, so this is kind of like brunch for me. At least I gain an hour tonight.
And through the miracle of the internet you're spared a twenty minute walk to the East Village. Here we are, Odessa, let's go in and see what's happening.
It's kind of early for this place, it's open 24 hours and a lot of people come here after they've done their time at some of the bars on the block. There's plenty of seats at the counter, so let's go snag one.
And I'm just settling in as Danny cheerfully serves me up a beer. What a way to start the day!
Here's the view from my perch at the counter.
Cookies!
There's a little bar in the back with menus and plants and booze, oh my!
Here's the guy's hard at work in the kitchen area.
Okay, the place setting is all set, all we need now is the cheeseburger.
Ask and ye shall receive. I got the bacon cheeseburger on an English muffin. It looks delicious.
And it certainly is. The cole slaw was really good too.
A wonderful cheeseburger. One of the great things about Odessa is that it's...
Right next door to Ray's Candy Store! I haven't been here since they put up the new sign featuring Ray and Bob that Lindsay and Chico collaborated on. It looks great!
Allie was on duty tonight and told me Ray was sleeping in the back.
I was full from the cheeseburger, but craved something sweet so I got one scoop of chocolate gelato. The perfect last course for this Cheeseburger Saturday Night!
On my way home I wanted to stop in at St. Mark's Book Shop. Jeremiah Moss has declared this as another, "Buy a Book Weekend," and I wanted to do my part and get the new R. Crumb book all at the same time.
St. Mark's recently won a battle to get rent reduction from Cooper Union and hung up this sign of appreciation. Good to see a local business winning for once!
Here's the R. Crumb book I want to get.
Whoa, check this out, a book devoted to those old comic book ads. I have to get this too. Why not, I worked a lot of overtime on Friday, might as well splurge.
Here's Chris behind the counter. He said that the entire store was very appreciative of everyone who's been supporting the store. He especially said they really appreciated what Jeremiah had done to help the battle. And you can do your part to keep this great book store alive and well, by buying a book today. If you don't live in New York, you can buy one online by clicking here: St. Mark's Bookshop.
Cheeseburger Rating Three cheeseburgers, a great burger!
Kate from One More Folded Sunset sent in this escalator awareness video. Watch it, learn it and live it! This should be required viewing before entering Penn Station!
There’s a candlelight vigil for Bob Arihood tonight at Ray’s Candy Store that Shawn and Lindsay organized. Later everyone’s meeting at Lucy’s bar. I’m running late and I’m pretty sure I missed the candlelight vigil, but I’m guessing people will still be at Lucy’s, which is a great East Village bar. And luckily, it’s swizzle stick night, so it’s perfect. Let’s go pay our respects.
Alright, a short walk down Houston to Avenue A and we'll be there shortly.
Even though it's over two hours after the candlelight vigil was held, there's still a good crowd of people outside of Ray's.
Some of the candles and photos of Bob in front of Ray's.
Jim Power, A.K.A. Mosaic Man was taking some videos of the crowd. He was a good friend of Bob's and was the subject of some of Bob's first entries on his blog, Neither More Nor Less.
Two friends of Bob at the vigil hold up a photo of Bob and shared some memories.
Avenue A Jay said that from this day on, someone will always be sharing a story about Bob in front of Ray's.
Avenue A Jay left this message for Bob at Ray's.
East Village activist John Penley shared memories of Bob and said he'd be at Occupy Wall Street all week. Maybe we'll see him down there. I plan on going soon.
And here's Ray with the framed photo of Bob (taken by Melanie) that Shawn and Lindsay donated to Ray's Candy Store. This insures that Bob will continue to look after Ray as he always did. Nice.
Ray points to his friend, Bob.
It's after 11PM now, I wonder if anyone is left at Lucy's.
And there at the bar are Shawn and Lindsay, the two who organized tonight's vigil for Bob.
And here's the lovely owner and hostess of Lucy's, Lucy!
There's no swizzle stick in my vodka and tonic and to be truthful, I'd be disappointed if there was one at Lucy's bar.
A long shot of the wooden bar at Lucy's.
People enjoying themselves at tables opposite the ber.
Lucy taking care of business behind the bar.
At the end of the night, Lucy and I traded stories about Bob and drank a toast to him. Cheers to you Bob! You'll be missed, but forever remembered in our thoughts and in your work.
Crazy Eddie was at the vigil for Bob last night. He left before I got there, but sent me these photos he took. Thanks, Crazy Eddie, hope to see you soon!
Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Ray’s Candy Store and a street party in front of the Mars Bar! And now, ladies and gentlemen, from the East Village in New York City, Ray’s Candy Store!
And it's off we go into the night. There's a protest/party starting out at the BMW Guggenheim Lab thingy and then ending up at the Mars Bar for a street party. The BMW portion was too early for me, but I thought I'd stop by Ray's and get a cheeseburger and then wander over to the Mars Bar for the street party/protest. The man organizing this party/protest is longtime NYC activist, John Penley. Last Halloween John was organizing an event for Halloween and we traded comments on EV Grieve and he promised me a kiss! The event didn't happen though, so I didn't get to receive my kiss. Tonight I'll see if John will make good on that promise.
It's sprinkling a little outside, but it's not that bad and it's brought the heat down.
And here we are at Ray's, time for Cheeseburger Saturday night to begin!
There's a line inside which I always like to see at Ray's.
And here's the man himself, Ray flanked by two of his pretty co-workers.
Ray recently became an American citizen, here's a photo of the legendary day. Congratulations, Ray!
They were out of cheeseburger ingredients for the night, so I opted for a hot sausage with mustard and carmelized onions.
It was delicious!
I also got one of Ray's classic vanilla milkshakes. And now it's all gone. Burp. Okay, off to the street party at Mars Bar.
Hey, where is everybody?
Oh, here they are!
And here's the man who put it all together, John Penley. The group gave the BMW Guggenheimer's a run for their money and I was sorry I missed it. But at least I made it to this portion.
A sign is hoisted in front of Mars Bar.
"Gentrification is class war! Fight back!" The message for the evening.
LES Jewels had a poem he had just written earlier in the evening.
It was a great poem and read with heartfelt conviction. Nice job, LES Jewels!
Ace photographer Bob Arihood was on the scene documenting everything. I look forward to his take on the evening which should be forthcoming this week.
Perfectly summed up. I've asked many people what the point of this whole BMW Guggenheim Lab thing is, and no one seems to know. I haven't gone yet, but it seems like one big circle jerk to me.
And the wine is brought out, let the party begin!
A corkscrew was brought out and the uncorking of the wine begins.
Here's everyone milling around.
Hey John, how about that kiss?
This photo by Bob Arihood just may be the highlight of this blog so far! It'll be hard to top this moment! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Well, if this guy is right, this may be the last MAD post, so I thought I’d go right back to the place where I started: Ray’s Candy Store in the East Village. Last week Ray got fucked over fined and shut down by the DOH, over and over again. You can read about it over at Bob Arihood’s great blog, Neither More Nor Less. Here’s the story as it broke and just like when you tip your masseuse enough, there was a happy ending.Great reporting and photos by Bob! Ray’s is open again, hooRAY!
Let’s go congratulate Ray!
Here we are in the East Village, just a few blocks and we'll be there.
Wow, check it out, they're screening a Charlie Chaplin movie on this building!
Very cool! But we have to get to Ray's, let's go!
There's Ray's, straight ahead and it looks like the lights are on.
A glance in the window confirms things are operational at Ray's again.
Love trumps the DOH any old day of the week.
Let's go inside and see what's shaking.
I got a vanilla milkshake and here's Amy making it.
And here she is serving it up and showing her cool grilled cheese painting that's in the front window. Nice!
And here's the man himself, Ray! He manages a smile, even though he has a shitload of fines from the DOH. Stop by and help him out if you can. Tipping is allowed at Ray's and will help him stay open.
Great pull quote on the wall, sorry about the fuzzy photo!
Two free toppings!
These people were in town all the way from Texas and came by to support Ray's, very cool indeed!
Obligatory Ray's mirror shot!
To Ray's! The best candy store in NYC and the world! Stop by and help him stay open. And fuck the DOH. If you're afraid of a little dust in your hotdog you shouldn't be eating in New York City.
Ha! Deja vu on the way home. Usually I'd say, "Goodnight and see you tomorrow after dark," but considering the outlook for today, I'll just say, "I'll see you in hell, later tonight!"
While there was a happy ending to this tale, Ray’s troubles aren’t over. Now he’s socked with thousands of dollars of fines and he was out of business for several days. If you live in the city stop by and buy something from Ray and if you can, leave him a decent tip. If you don’t live in New York you can still help out by visiting Ray’s online store and buy a product emblazoned with the Ray logo! Let’s help keep this man in business!
Rapture T-Shirt by “Boris!” Resident MAD artist, “Boris” has designed a special t-shirt for today’s special Rapture moment. Order one and show everybody that you survived Judgement Day! And if the shit really does go down? Well, order one anyway and put it on a credit card, it’s not like you’re going to have to pay the bill afterwards! Here’s what “Boris” has to say about it: “Be the First (or Last) in your Neighborhood to wear this (soon to be) Collectible. You can't take it with you, so you might as well buy a T-Shirt. Wear It Like There's No Tomorrow.” This collectible t-shirt is available for a limited time only, so get yours before hell freezes over, it may happen sooner than you think! Check it out and buy one here: Rapture T-Shirt.
----------------------- And speaking of Rapture, Gene and Smoopy, two thirds of the BBC (Baltimore Bar Crawlers) are in town and on their way to their 1,967th bar yesterday, they snapped a picture of the kook the man Gene described as, “The end of the world guy.” Yikes, he's almost as scary looking as the Cardboard Box Man! ----------------------- And a final cartoon from Jaws. Goodbye everyone! I hope they allow blogs in hell!
Well, here we go with the debut post from my new blog, “Marty After Dark.” Anybody out there? Or did I lose everyone with my month absence? I know how fickle everyone on the internet can be, so we’ll see who made it over here. Anyway, the explanation for what this is all about and what I’m going to be doing can be found right here: What’s Going On. If you’ve stumbled here and don’t know who I am and are curious, you can read all about me here: About Me (I’m a legend in my own mind!)
Big thanks to “Boris” for a spectacular job on designing the Marty After Dark banner. As always, “Boris” was able to put together an iconic piece of art that really makes the page come alive, thanks, Daddio! And my friend and the coolest DJ in the world, Gidget, once again set up a facebook fan page for the site and she and “Boris” will be maintaining it. You can click on the button over on the right, or just click here to be part of the fan page—Marty After Dark on facebook And you can check out Gidget and “Boris” on Woody radio, here’s the schedule page: Woody Radio Schedule.
So now that you know what’s going on, it’s time for our first late night adventure. Since today was Valentine’s day, I thought it only fitting to venture out to a candy store that never closes. And this isn’t just any candy store, it’s a place that’s been on the block on Avenue A for over thirty years—Rays Candy Store, right across from Tompkins Sqare Park. The owner is Ray Alvarez a man who just celebrated his 78th birthday, sadly I missed that party, check out the photos here: Slum Goddess at Ray’s birthday party. So since this being Valentine’s Day, I thought we’d make a late night visit to Ray’s candy store, wish him a belated happy birthday, a happy Valentine’s Day and maybe get an egg cream soda. Come on, let’s get out there in the dark and get this blog moving already!
Okay, here we go off on the maiden voyage of Marty After Dark.
We'll go up 6th Avenue to 34th Street to catch the F train to the Lower East Side. Goddamn, it's windy and chilly out here tonight, I can't wait for spring to be sprung.
A lonely street vendor waits for customers that probably won't be showing up on this cold and windy evening.
And here we descend into the bowels of the subway system in Manhattan.
Hi asshole!
Hot damn, only about a three minute wait and here's the F train.
Hey look who's our neighbor, the asshole who can't stop texting. He never looked up once during the whole trip.
And we're here. We'll exit on Houston Street.
There's not a lot of people out tonight, even though it's Valentine's Day. For me, February is one of the worst months in New York. Kind of a cold and lonesome month. I bet there's people at Ray's though, let's soldier on.
Katz's deli is closed for the evening, but the sign is still lit.
And here we are, Ray's Candy Store, there's ATM here if you're still with us Joey D!
Another angle of the quaint candy store.
Here's some of the outside signage.
And here's some more.
I chopped off the bottom of this sign, but it says, "Everything Made With Love." Nice.
Let's go in and check it out.
And here he is, the man himself, Ray Alvarez. Ray's a really nice guy and personally greets everyone who comes in. He just turned 78-years-old and works the candy store from 8pm to 10am seven days a week. He told me it keeps him young. And he is the youngest and friendliest 78-year-old I've ever met.
There's plenty of drink choices in here, but I already knew what I had to try, one of Ray's famous egg creams.
As soon as I order Ray fly's into action. He pours...
And he mixes.
And here's the frothy final result and it's delicious!
Here's some signs and the hot dog cooker in the front window of Ray's Candy Store.
And some people have gathered inside at the counter. The crowd changes every five to ten minutes in here and it's an eclectic mix of people that pass through the door.
Here's Bob with Ray. Bob said he's been coming here so long he's not sure when he first started venturing to Ray's. He got a hot dog to go.
This couple got a small order of fries.
And here's Ray serving the fries up. Yeah, that's the small order, I can't imagine what the large one looks like!
Here's some of the candy housed behind the front counter.
As you can see from the signs, there's about anything here that your appetite desires.
Obligatory Ray's mirror shot! Some things I just can't let go.
More signs in the back of the store.
Here's a sign you could eat off of. How handy is that?
Here's some "Save Ray's" pictures. About a year ago, Ray was almost evicted from this space. He fell behind in rent and the landlord was ready to boot him out. The neighborhood rallied around Ray and raised some money to help him with his rent and thankfully he's still here.
Ray's garnered a lot of press through the years and it's plastered on the walls in between the sandwich signs.
Here's a piece from the Villager on a benefit for Ray's.
Here's an article on the wall about photographer Bob Arihood who's documented Ray's and the neighborhood with his photography. Check out his blog here: Nadie Se Conoce.
A couple of girls shouted hi to Ray in the window and asked if he needed any helpers for the night, so he invited them in.
And here they are, from left, Molly, Ray and Ilana.
They took off their coats and Ray taught them the fine art of making an egg cream.
Ray shows them the next step.
And here they sample the finished product.
Now Ray let's them try to make one on their own.
And here they are with the fruits of their labor, some fries and an egg cream. After this, they helped wait on people that came in the store.
Including Shivan and Molly who got an order of fries.
Paul and Claudia stopped in as I was getting ready to hit the road.
And a parting shot of the loneliest wiener in town. Goodnight everybody, see you tomorrow, after dark!
When you enter Ray’s it’s a little bit like going into a time warp. It’s a small shop with a well-worn light blue counter to lean into and suck back an egg cream and chomp into a hot dog with cheese, onions and mustard. It’s got an old world clubhouse atmosphere to it that couldn’t be duplicated if you tried. And of course there’s Ray, a charming, likeable one-of-a-kind guy running a one-of-a-kind store. There’s no menus, you have to look around at the hand-painted signs that hang on the walls in between faded newspaper items and assorted bric-a-brac to decide what you want to order. I like a place that makes you look around, it’s a reminder that you should do that more often in life. While I was in there nobody was talking on a cell phone or texting and it brought back a memory I had while doing the 365 bar crawl last year. I had approached a couple who were seated at a table and were busy texting while I told them what I was doing.
They put down their iPhones to pose for a photo and I gave them a business card and the twentysomething woman looked at it and made a face and said, “Eww, you’re on Earthlink?”
“Yeah, why, something wrong with that?” I asked wondering why she would care who my email provider was.
“It’s, like, so yesterday!” She said laughing and picking up her iPhone. Her companion smirked and was already back to the texting.
“Well, I’m all about yesterday,” I explained, “I’ve seen the future and it’s one long text that says, ‘nothing’ a thousand different ways.”
I don’t think they heard me, they were too deep into their texts to care, their faces were colored with a whiter shade of blank. I went back to the bar and had a beer. If you’re all about the yesterdays, stop in at Ray’s and get a sandwich, some fries and an egg cream and help keep a slice of yesterday alive and well on Avenue A in New York City. Ray will love it if you do and so will the neighborhood. Me too.
And you can help support Ray and his candy store by buying one of the fine products emblazoned with his logo at his online store, check it out: Ray's Candy Store Online Cafe.
Live from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night. Starring Odessa with special guest stars, Ray’s Candy Store and St. Marks Bookshop and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome your host for tonight, Odessa!
Since I had to work all night last night and I didn't get to sleep till around six in the morning, my hours are all wacked out. I didn't wake up till around four in the afternoon, so this is kind of like brunch for me. At least I gain an hour tonight.
And through the miracle of the internet you're spared a twenty minute walk to the East Village. Here we are, Odessa, let's go in and see what's happening.
It's kind of early for this place, it's open 24 hours and a lot of people come here after they've done their time at some of the bars on the block. There's plenty of seats at the counter, so let's go snag one.
And I'm just settling in as Danny cheerfully serves me up a beer. What a way to start the day!
Here's the view from my perch at the counter.
Cookies!
There's a little bar in the back with menus and plants and booze, oh my!
Here's the guy's hard at work in the kitchen area.
Okay, the place setting is all set, all we need now is the cheeseburger.
Ask and ye shall receive. I got the bacon cheeseburger on an English muffin. It looks delicious.
And it certainly is. The cole slaw was really good too.
A wonderful cheeseburger. One of the great things about Odessa is that it's...
Right next door to Ray's Candy Store! I haven't been here since they put up the new sign featuring Ray and Bob that Lindsay and Chico collaborated on. It looks great!
Allie was on duty tonight and told me Ray was sleeping in the back.
I was full from the cheeseburger, but craved something sweet so I got one scoop of chocolate gelato. The perfect last course for this Cheeseburger Saturday Night!
On my way home I wanted to stop in at St. Mark's Book Shop. Jeremiah Moss has declared this as another, "Buy a Book Weekend," and I wanted to do my part and get the new R. Crumb book all at the same time.
St. Mark's recently won a battle to get rent reduction from Cooper Union and hung up this sign of appreciation. Good to see a local business winning for once!
Here's the R. Crumb book I want to get.
Whoa, check this out, a book devoted to those old comic book ads. I have to get this too. Why not, I worked a lot of overtime on Friday, might as well splurge.
Here's Chris behind the counter. He said that the entire store was very appreciative of everyone who's been supporting the store. He especially said they really appreciated what Jeremiah had done to help the battle. And you can do your part to keep this great book store alive and well, by buying a book today. If you don't live in New York, you can buy one online by clicking here: St. Mark's Bookshop.
Three cheeseburgers, a great burger!
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