June 15, 2011

It’s Tuesday and that means it’s time to go to a bar and search for the elusive glass swizzle stick, or even a plastic one will do. I found a bar called Weather Up on Duane St. in Tribeca and they have specialty cocktails and it looks kind of fancy, so let’s go check it out.

We'll be taking a downtown train to Weather Up.

Musicians in Penn Station. They were really good so I gave them a couple bucks and took a picture.

I got up to the tracks and the train had just pulled in. I love it when that happens! Here's some of the inhabitants of my car on the train.

And here we are on West Broadway, check out the full moon tonight. Awoooo!

Here's Weather Up. There's no sign, which I always find kind of stupid and I went inside and it was louder than fuck and full of hipsters. I decided to move on and take...

That lonely walk to another destination.

After wandering a couple blocks I ran smack into The Odeon. This is where I spent my lunch hour during jury duty. Let's go see what kind of swizzle action is happening in here.

There's plenty of seats at the bar.

I order the double gin and tonic and friendly bartender Charlie serves it up.

Sadly, there's no swizzle stick, just the dreaded red stirrer. Oh well, it's still better than the Weather Up place.

Here's a shot of the bar from my perch.

Bamboo stools with red-stitched tops line the bar.

There's iced martini glasses chilling in the middle of the bar.

I love the designs on the tables that are lined up opposite the bar.

And here's the infamous Odeon dining room behind the bar.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Charlie's taking care of business.

And as I look around I see this. Could it be a swizzle stick jar?

It looks like one to me, but Charlie tells me it's used as a big toothpick for olives and fruit garnishes in drinks.

Ah, but what the hell. I'll add it to the collection and give the Odeon an honorable mention for this addition.

And a glance out the window and I'm gone like a cool breeze. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark!

The Swizzle Stick Collection So Far

Thanks to everyone who's sent in swizzle sticks to add to the collection...

And thanks to Jason Hwang for the latest contribution! Nice swizzlers!

The Odeon
145 West Broadway (@Thomas St.)
212-233-0507

Further reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, New York Magazine, New York City Search and Vanity Fair.

You also might like: Lizards, Blizzards and Wizards.

Four Weathermen
Al Roker
Rollie Keith
David Letterman
Mark Rudd

It’s been a hard day’s night,
And I’ve been working like a dog.
(Thanks to Kari for “suggesting” this!)

ARCHIVES

(Surprise link...click on it...I dare you!)

April 27, 2011

First off, you should go check Goggla’s blog post about the Mars Bar last Sunday. She has some great photos from the day. Check it out here: The Gog Log. And check out her flickr page for more fabulous photos from Goggla.

Last week, after being inspired by a post at Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, I went out in search of the ever-elusive, glass swizzle stick. I ended up with a plastic one, but it kind of struck a spark in people. Karen McBurnie from Grade “A” Fancy sent in photos from her collection of swizzle sticks and Jaws and Jason both donated glass swizzle sticks to the MAD collection I’ve started. And there are pending swizzle sticks on the way from “Boris” and the fine blog, One More Folded Sunset.

I’ve decided that every Tuesday will be “Swizzle Stick Swag Night” here at MAD. Basically, I’ll go to a bar and see if I get a swizzle stick in my drink and what other goodies are there like matchboxes, etc. I’m always going to order the same drink—double gin and tonic in a tall glass, which should be accompanied by a swizzle stick in my humble opinion. And, not to be barking up Lyndon Johnson’s barbecue-soaked asshole, but I do feel like my opinion carries a little weight. I did go to 365 bars in a row last year, after all. Harumph.
I thought that for the very first official, Swizzle Stick Swag Night, I’d pick a bit of a ringer. One of the more high end bars I visited last year on my bar crawl was the Brandy Library. It’s really upscale, but at least on the night I went there, it was friendly and attitude free. I didn’t get a swizzle stick then, but I had a beer and two short drinks, not drinks you’d associate as being swizzle stick-friendly. Let’s go order the double gin and tonic and get rolling on the first of what will be many Swizzle Stick Swag Night. I’m so excited!

Deja view, here we are at Penn Station again.

For once I had a nice escalator ride down free from the dreaded escalator walkers. Nice!

Okay, one minute till train-time!

And 59 seconds later, here's the train! Everything's working out nicely tonight. I love it when that happens.

And through the magic of the internet, you're spared the subway ride and me getting lost for about twenty minutes in Tribeca. It's confusing down here. But here we are, the Brandy Library. Swizzle me dizzle!

Some of the top shelf liquor available at this fine drinking establishment.

Ah, nice and dark in here, definitely an Al bar!

And check it out, the "Librarian" on duty was none other than, Josimar, who mixed drinks for me last year on the bar crawl. It was good to see him again.

I ordered the double gin and tonic and he set about mixing it up. First the ice...

Josimar suggested this gin, which is served exclusively at the Brandy Library.

Tonic and a lemon wedge are added...but where's the swizzle stick?

Houston...we have Swizzle Stick! And it's a nice one. It's not glass, but it is sturdy plastic emblazoned with a gold brandy snifter at the top. Very nice!

Here's some of the top shelf liquor on top of the bar.

Here's Shawn Rhynehart who's the manager of the Brandy Library. Shawn started out in this industry at age 15 and has done everything from washing dishes to bartending to now managing this high end saloon. He's hoping to open his own place within a year or two. Best of luck to you, Shawn, I hope when you do open your establishment it's in Manhattan!

Swizzle Stick Rating
The Brandy Library is an upscale institution in Tribeca that is an attitude free zone. The bartenders/librarians are more than happy to suggest drinks from the massive list and even if you’re a newbie to the high class cocktail world, they are happy to serve you and answer any questions.
Their swizzle stick isn’t glass (will that ever be found in my travels, only time will tell and as usual, time ain’t talking) but it is sturdy plastic and a nice shade of brown. A brandy snifter emblazoned in gold leaf shines at the top of the cirlcled swizzle stick. A nice addition to the MAD collection. Plus I took a cocktail napkin which had their logo on it. I couldn’t find a pen to steal. Maybe next week.
Brandy Library
25 N. Moore St. (@Varick St.)
212-226-5545

Further reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, New York magazine, NY Times and Shecky’s.

You might also like: Pete Best, Peat Moss and Kate Moss.

Three Types of Brandy and the Sea
Chandon's Brandy
Brandy
Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)
But my life, my lover, my lady...is the sea.

Pirate skulls and bones,
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs.

ARCHIVES

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Bonus Swizzle Sticks!
Karen McBurnie from Grade “A” Fancy sent in these photos of more swizzle sticks from her prized collection. The first two have paper rolled inside of the glass and the third is a Friars swizzle stick. How cool! Thanks, Karen!

Bonus Movie!
And speaking of Grade “A” Fancy, the other half of that publishing team, Jon Hammer made this genius movie starring my recently acquired Gumby bag versus my arch-enemy, cardboard box man. It’s a chilling and high stressed film, so don’t say I didn’t warn you, it’s not for the weak-hearted! Thanks for making this, Jon! Too cool!

April 13, 2011

 

Okay, as I explained yesterday, I got called in for jury duty today. So I thought I’d have a rare MDD post. Marty During Daytime. And for once I’m writing the introduction after it’s all over. Let me explain.

I knew I’d be beat tonight because I had to get up at 6:30 am, get ready, go downtown, do my jury duty thing and then come in to work. I thought I’d do some drawings, since they don’t allow you to take pictures in the courthouse. Kind of like a court reporter. I also wrote some random thoughts towards the end of the day. And then we were told that we didn’t have to come back. All is explained in the drawings and writings below. Order in the court!

Below are some drawings I did in the morning before lunch.

At 12:30 pm, we got the very good news that we were getting to go to lunch early and didn’t have to return till 2:15 pm! Since the Odeon is right next door, I decided to order out of the court. For beer that is! Here’s my recap of lunch, written on an Odeon postcard they give you when you pay your bill.

Notice how I closed  it with “Sneeze you tomorrow?” That’s because after lunch, they told us we’d probably be sprung for the day. After I drew the postcard we got some glum news. They said they needed 10 additional jurors for a pool to be added to another trial. Everybody slumped and then they started drawing jurors names out of a bowl at random. And yes, I was the second to be called! Fuck the luck! We all had to go get sworn in at room A and then were told to wait. And so we waited. And waited. I wrote this on my laptop.

Random Thoughts While Sitting in a Jury Pool Room

I didn’t see the big fat-headed guy after lunch. I wonder what happened to him? Maybe a serial killer killed him at lunch and now his giant-sized noggin is sitting inside a 117 pound aquarium in what has to be the world’s biggest refrigerator. I bet the head is balanced just so, so that the rolls of fat are at their juiciest. The serial killer...let’s think of a name for him...I’ve got it! Let’s call him “Son of a Gun!” Perfect serial killer name! Okay, it’s not as good as “Son of Dad” that was used on a Seinfeld, but those writers got paid thousands of dollars an episode. I’m getting forty bucks a day here and I spent more than that for lunch today!

So anyway, Son of a Gun is looking at the big fat head in the aquarium...and what does Son of a Gun look like? That’s easy, he looks exactly like David Berkowitz, but he’s bald like Lex Luthor and that makes him look a lot more sinister. I never thought David Berkowitz looked that sinister or  even capable of committing cold-blooded murder. He looked more like someone who would be thrilled to win a stuffed animal at a county fair. He looked like someone who would eat mayonnaise on a goddamned cheeseburger. Probably really slather that shit all over the cheeseburger. You know who eats mayonnaise on a cheeseburger? Assholes who take their marching orders from barking dogs inside of their crazy-ass, looney tune heads. Sheesh!

Alright, so Son of a Gun is looking at the big fat head in the aquarium housed in the world’s largest aquarium.

Okay, I have to break in here and say that William, one of the people who are in charge of the juror’s pool and occasionally calls jurors up to the front desk for whatever reason, and he just did, when the name is a Spanish name and the name he just called was “Ramirez”, he adapts a Spanish accent. He even rolls his “r’s” somewhat like he’s freaking Ricardo Montalban extrolling the virtues of Soft Corinthian Leather. It’s really annoying and if it keeps up I may approach the front desk and tell him to knock this shit off.

And speaking of Ricardo Montalban...KHAAAAAAN!

At about 4:30 pm we were told that they didn’t need us after all. And since we had to stay while the others left early, we were told our jury duty was done. I was thrilled for a second, then realized I had to go into work. I probably could’ve taken the night off, but those beers and French Fries at the Odeon weren’t cheap! And now I’m home after work and on the verge of collapse. Goodnight everybody and we’ll see you tomorrow after dark.

Further reading: New York Magazine, Cupcake Confessionals, Five Years Too Late and Chowhound.

You might also like: Goldfish, Ice Sculptures and Chinese Cherry.

Six Courtroom Movies
The Verdict
12 Angry Men
A Few Good Men
Kramer Vs. Kramer
My Cousin Vinny
Judgment at Nuremberg

 

Are you alright?
I haven’t seen you for a real long time.

ARCHIVES

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Bonus Jaws Art!

Jaws sent in this piece of art to accompany the luncheon part of the post. Thanks, Jaws!