The Roll Squad

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A search for wife material is what this particular Roll turned into last Saturday. Tom and Huck had been sipping a slow beer at The Pony Bar in Hell’s Kitchen and had professed to remain in the hood for the the evening as it was a good night to stroll a lazy one in our own backyard.  The Pony Bar is a new bar on 10th Avenue and their taps pour only crafted American beers for the rockin’ price of $5. It was an immediately popular place to hang out, especially on a nice weekend afternoon although it stays busy all night. We have never been there when we haven’t made new friends or reconnected with lost friends. By the way we also met up with a retired Midtown South detective who has promised to take us on a famous crime scene tour of Hell’s Kitchen. Spooky… Watch for the “Crime Scene Roll” hopefully in the near future.

Even though we were really enjoying ourselves at the Pony, when Jerry called we decided to head over to Film Center Café to meet up there. Huck hadn’t been to the Café for several years and was not familiar with its new renovations so decided to take that in. Tom likes this place for the nice wines and easy atmosphere- especially when she’s rolling alone. They play old movies on one of their two flat screen TV’s; the other is usually tuned into baseball. Although the beer menu doesn’t rotate like the Pony Bar, it does have a bit of rotation thanks to Rebecca who manages the beverage menu. She is easy to chat with, so throw her your requests if you want. Jerry had just been to see Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit of which he raved about the show and Angela Lansbury’s performance, but he did strongly suggest that we get to the show soon …since she must be in her eighties! It was while reminiscing of old days that Tom suggested we move on- maybe up to Rudy’s. Here comes the introduction of “the wife” concept… as Jerry climbs off of his barstool, he states that our goal should be to find him a wife.  Tom and Huck could only stare in awe, and say simultaneously “are you serious?” Then Huck adds the obvious, “a woman or a wife?”  Hmm. We were now on a quest, the true nature of a Roll.

Rudy’s was agreed to so we headed there. As always it was packed, good music, cold beer, and lots of smiles. We didn’t spy any free hotdogs yet, but it was still a little early to be going that route. Rudy’s deserves their atmosphere as they have been around since 1933 and tout being one of the first bars to be legally registered after prohibition. The décor is one of sticker pasted walls and the booths are covered in duct tape (how many ways do you use duct tape?), but it also has a bonus of an outside garden in the back. It was a good hang, found some new folks to laugh it up with so we stayed for a couple of pitchers until Huck and Tom wanted to go and grab some grub at Turkish Cuisine next door. Reluctantly Jerry followed but he was really thinking, “This is the place!” Oh well we’ll come back, we thought.
Turkish Cuisine turned out to be a great place to pop in for a nice, quick meal. It wasn’t too quick though we just didn’t want to make an evening about dinner. Keeping it simple, we had a nice bottle of Turkish wine and a delicious lamb entrée all for a very reasonable price. The atmosphere is one of simplicity but busy enough to have a cool ambiance for a dinner stop on what would soon turn out to be a busy night. Give this one a shot if you are in the mood for Turkish.

Well, we didn’t go back to Rudy’s although that is really what Jerry wanted to do at the time. Tom and Huck felt it in Jerry’s better interest if he didn’t pull from the potential wife line-up at Rudy’s that night. Huck was feeling it to be more of a wife for the night, not wife for life… or something like that. Either way, it was a pass the second time around. We hit a couple of other generally good hot spots but they turned out to be more “sausage factories” than anything, a new term to Tom but easily understood. Remember, we were on a quest. So we blew through The Irish Rogue for that very reason stated above. But if you are out this way, it is a good place to stop in as it is always bustling with good times. They also have outdoor seating in the front that will be especially important after this week of rain.

We pulled into Smith’s Bar after that and had a beer with them. Smith’s has live music on Saturdays so thought that this could be a good scouting option. We sat on the wrong side! Oh well, the beer tasted good and we all got involved in chatting about the horse race earlier in the day; what the losses and wins were. It was sort of a quick stop as well. Let’s take a stroll down Restaurant Row was the next thought. Joshua Tree turned out to be a similar stop to The Irish Rogue- too much sausage.

The House of Brews was a good selection, not just for the beer, but it turned out… mostly for the beer. This is a warm environment with a lot of casual conversations going on. Most people sit at the high top tables that line the wall opposite the bar, so makes meeting and greeting new people somewhat more challenging. But ordering from the more than 80 beers on tap contributes itself to some good hoppy conversations as you pick your next beer. This is a great place for relaxed, easy conversation over a few good beers, but it wasn’t cutting the mustard for this current roll so we moved on…again. Were getting close now though.

Mr. Biggs! Can’t believe we didn’t think of this earlier. This place is wild and crazy on Friday and Saturday nights as karaoke is the entertainment venue of the night, and entertaining it is. You would think that most people that get up to the mike are auditioning for their “big shot” with all the talent and seriousness- but that is entirely what makes it fun and entertaining. This is where Huck likes to sing Elvis’s classic song- “Suspicious Minds” the way Elvis would sing it today- Huck lays on the stage!
Its pretty much regulars that hang out at Mr. Biggs so the atmosphere is one of good-natured community. This turned out to also be where the best potential for a wife might be had in our Roll this night, but unfortunately for our Jerry, he was done in for the night. Oh well, he can go back for we all know that where there’s karaoke, there are chicks!

Huck and Tom wanted to make one last stop at their local pub, The River. Many a nights are ended here to wind down the days activities or sometimes to kick them off. This is a quaint neighborhood bar that offers a nice selection of drinks, food, and hospitality. The hospitality and playful environment is sure to bring you back to here for repeated visits.

Cheers and Happy Rolling!

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