Some 'Light' reading.

      In our endless search to bring you the most interesting aspects of the pub culture and its people, I came across two magazines that I thought should be brought to everyone’s attention. First, my eye was caught recently by a bright, beautiful publication calledImbibe (www.imbibemagazine.com), which calls itself a “guide to liquid culture”. Imbibe is devoted to all things drinkable, which includes tea and coffee. The magazine is incredibly well designed and engaging, with just the right combination of features and information. A recent issue included a number of interesting recipes as well as a profile of one of New York’s last remaining seltzer deliverymen and a drinking guide to Peru. Sprinkle in some tips on spots and liquors to check out, and it’s clear Imbibe is helpful and fun for anyone who enjoys quality libations. In case that hasn’t quite piqued your interest, the recipe for beer-can chicken and the Beer and BBQ piece should send you to your nearest newsstand. Seriously, why wait any longer without knowing the secrets to making your own blueberry-lavender lemonade or Sake-Sicles (that’s right, sake-sicles…).

The next magazine is more specialized, but certainly no less entertaining or informative.Draft Magazine (www.draftmag.com) devotes itself to all things…beer. Again, this magazine is darn good lookin’.  From reviews of beers to a quick trek through different U.S, regions highlighting some beer lover destinations and an interview with NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace, Draft aims to pull much of the ever increasing information on the brewing world into one spot. It’s a testament to how popular craft brewing has become that Draft has a wealth of material from which to choose and should have no shortage of subjects moving forward. But Draft looks at the entire brewing community, and the issue I read most recently had a thoughtful piece on the history and success of the “big three”: Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors. And how pleased was I to find on their website that they refer to bars as “third places”. Great minds.

Dear Dr. Oldenburg:

OK, in an effort to prove that we're not just three pretty faces in search of cheap drinks... well, perhaps in addition to proving that, we’ve decided to contact some of the authors who have inspired and amused us. Here is the fantastic first installment; we hope it will be one of many. 

    We had the distinct pleasure of getting in touch with Dr. Ray Oldenburg, the author of THE GREAT GOOD PLACE (and his follow up, CELEBRATING THE THIRD PLACE: (INSPIRING STORIES ABOUT THE "GREAT GOOD PLACES” AT THE HEART OF OUR COMMUNITIES), books that inspire as we make our way from tavern to pub to inn and back. Dr. Oldenburg coined the phrase "third place", his argument being that we all need a place other than our (1) home and (2) work, where we can escape responsibilities and expectations (see the Pub Culture blogfor more on that). His works obviously have touched a nerve. And in our first ever blog interview, Dr. Oldenburg graciously agreed to answer a few of our questions. 

HH: In THE GREAT GOOD PLACE, you address why establishments that serve drinks (pubs, taverns and the like) have "unique potential" to become third places. For our readers, can you elaborate on that a bit?

Dr. O:  Apart from what I outlined in the book, the drinking/talking synergism, there is a greater expectation that one will converse while in a bar.  Drink coffee alone and no one notices.  Drink alcohol alone and some eyebrows are raised..."Why did he come in here?"  The conversational buzz in barrooms is typically greater than in other third places and laughter more frequent.  It's not all booze...it's atmosphere too.

HH: Have your travels taken you to any such places of that kind that you have found especially memorable? 

Dr. O: Memorable places.  The Pickwick in my wife's hometown (Duluth MN), Old Ebbitt's Grill in DC.  Le Mans bar in Angouleme, France.  An "English pub" in Osaka, Japan.  The Hotel Bar in Menomonie WI.   Horror of horrors, I (nearly) neglected to cite the Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle, the favorite haunt of 3 pulitzer prize winners, island of sanity in troubled times, and host to all walks of life.  (It's included in CELEBRATING THE THIRD PLACE.)

HH:  Have you found any in New York City, our home town?

Dr. O: I haven't been in your city since 1954.  I had a wonderful night in a subterranean tavern on Third Avenue.  They had a mug from every college/university in the U.S. and a very nice lady took pity on us GI's and bought several rounds.  Can't recall the name of the place.

HH: New York is arguably a city that should encourage more personal contact and the creation of third places because it's largely a pedestrian city with numerous distinct neighborhoods; but we've seen many third places disappear in just the last two years only to be replaced by the likes of Applebee's, The Olive Garden, and enormous condominium towers.  What can we do, as individuals, to help preserve third places in the face of corporate "development"? 

DR. O: The corporate colonization of the public realm seems unstoppable.  Independent operations can form associations, buy in bulk, and get similar discounts.  The mayor of Harrisburg PA gives an award each year to new establishments that help unite the city.  It helps to support an independent by picking one for regular meetings of friends.  My place responded by making Spaten's Optimator beer available just for me. 

HH: Is there a town or city that you know of that has been particularly successful in terms of third place creation?

DR. O: Who has been successful in creating third places?  The state of Wisconsin.  Walla Walla, WA, I hear, has done very well.

HH: Do you have a personal favorite third place? How long have you been going? What do you value most about it?

Dr. O: I frequent a sports bar at 4:00 PM when the sound is off all the TVs and my friends are there.  We tip well, I donated La Crosse sticks, give the owner a bottle of home-made coffee liqueur now and then.  The cute young things who serve us are very nice having decided we are all over the hill.  We've used it for that past 6 years having lost our Italian restaurant to their reduction in serving hours.

     - In the interest of full disclosure, we'd like it to be known that we have been to the Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington, D.C. and loved it. We've been often. Also, we are big fans of Spaten Optimator. For the foreseeable future, you may want to look for us on Third Ave., hoping to find a subterranean tavern with many collegiate mugs that predates 1954. If it’s possible, we have a deeper respect for Dr. Oldenburg now. We're so grateful that he took the time to answer our questions, and hope you're curious enough to buy one of his books and seek out your own third place. And when you find it...Let us know about it!

THHG Book Club: The Joy of Drinking.

  From the opening lines of Barbara Holland’s THE JOY OF DRINKING, (where she puts forth a (convincing) argument that fermentation and alcoholic drinks had much to do with the creation of civilization,) I was hooked. This book had me laughing out loud every few minutes while actually teaching me a thing or two. The hilarious stories on the history of drinking and its worldwide appeal through the centuries are far too many to recount. I’ll just say that she manages to share stories about Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Oliver Cromwell, Marco Polo, Queen Victoria, Mark Twain, George Washington, John Adams, Carry Nation, Winston Churchill, William Faulkner and a parade of other historical notables.

    She also details some of the more…interesting… brews that man has concocted, including something called “airag”, made by nomadic Mongolians. Because the Mongolians don’t stay put long enough to grow things to ferment their options are limited, but man always finds a way and their solution was to ferment mare’s milk. I’m sure the Mongolians are fond of it, but her descriptions left me none too eager to give it a try (but when we shoot our Mongolian episode I’ll be game if Scott and Jimmy are…). 

    Holland meanders through history, from primitives to Pilgrims to Prohibitionists and is charming and informative and ridiculously funny throughout. It’s an interesting commentary on attitudes and how we’ve gotten where we are. She also makes clear that this isn’t a “human only” pastime by telling us of possums climbing trees to get to fermented apples, getting drunk and falling down or entire flocks of birds getting tipsy on fermented berries. Furthermore, she argues the case for pubs, taverns and bars as third places very well. A fun and easy read, I can’t recommend it enough. In fact, I’m going out to find a copy of Holland’s “Endangered Pleasures; In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity and Other Indulgences”. I hope someday I can share a drink or two with Barbara Holland.  She sounds like fun. To say the least.

The Makings of a Home Happy Hour.

Well, I’m straying a bit from my usual blog subjects, but I thought this one was worth it. We focus on places to enjoy a unique and memorable Happy Hour. Well, there’s nothing that says that place can’t be your own home and I’ve found a place to help you do just that. In Long Island City, nearly in Astoria, in the Costco buildings on Vernon Blvd. is KHH Liquors. KHH is not affiliated with Costco, but obviously has some sort of working relationship with them as they have stores near Costco in CO, CT, and another on the way in MA. Simply put: KHH has some of the best prices on wine and liquor (they don’t sell beer at the NY store) I’ve come across. Atmosphere is not the name of the game here. KHH is literally a warehouse with palettes of merchandise, and that’s what allows them to keep their prices low. I find them most useful for everyday wines and spirits, but they do carry some high end products, as well. Bear in mind that items and prices change frequently, but here are some representative selections from my most recent visit:

Penfold’s Rawson’s Retreat

Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon

Alamos Malbec St. Francis Chardonnay

All of these are fantastic wines to share with a party or at your home happy hour and all is under $10 at KHH. Well under, which is a great deal. Moving up the ladder a bit we have:

Frog’s Leap 2004 Zin

Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages ‘02

And a number of other high end wines for well below expected prices. Their liquor selection is equally varied. Well worth the trip! Watch for upcoming Hip Pocket Video on our very own home Happy Hour!

McReilly’s Update:

I continue to visit McReilly’s and am now recognized by the bartenders. Soon, I may be able to consider myself a regular. This latest visit, I wandered in during a Yankees/Mets game. The place was raucous with friendly but pointed bar banter being tossed the length of the bar. I sat smack in the middle and watched the same two fellows that had a baseball debate go to town again. Great fun. The bartender even checked in with me to jokingly make sure I hadn’t come in for a quiet meal. I hadn’t. I got exactly what I came in for: a third place in full swing!

The Historian Speaks: Pub Culture.

 

So many people have asked us, “How did you come up with the idea for Happy Hour”? Here’s a go at explaining it.

I’ve always been fascinated by the “pub culture”, as I’ve referred to it; what matters is not so much simply a place to go and drink, but a place that serves and helps to create a community.  Some time ago, I came across Kevin C. Kearns’ wonderful book “Dublin Pub Life and Lore” and was hooked (It’s a great read, I recommend it highly).  Mr. Kearns had conducted interviews with a generation of old time regulars in Dublin’s colorful and disappearing pub scene.  The world he explored of pintmen, publicans and oddball behavior had me hooked. But that way of life is fading:  Why?

Recently, I came across author Ray Oldenburg’s “The Great Good Place” which deals with why we need places like pubs, taverns, and café’s in our lives and communities. He calls them “third places” (our homes and work being the first and second) and lays out a convincing argument as to why we need a place free from the expectations and responsibilities of the first two. The cast of characters we meet at home and at work changes little, but the cast of a “third place” can change greatly. Also, in a third place we are free to be ourselves, or create a self we choose. Roles can be dissolved. A lawyer can sit elbow to elbow with a mailman, an artist, a student, a waiter. Roles we play on a daily basis can be abandoned and we are welcomed on new terms.

Not all bars and pubs are third places. It takes more than a liquor license to create them. It takes character and characters; conversation and debate. It takes a willingness to be open and include newcomers while enjoying “the regulars”. Sadly, in our world now, these places are becoming rarer as we develop communities that make no place for a “local”. Subdivisions often create neighborhoods of people who share a zip code and little else, isolated in their homes without a third place to bring them together.  And let’s not even begin down the road of the effects of corporate meddling on the independent pub owner.

So Happy Hour came about, in part, to find some of these “third places” and tell their stories. We are the three good friends who want to tell you the stories of the people, the places, the drink and food that are more than just a pick up joint or a business expense. Places that create something unique, weird, funny, and meaningful.

They say the best stories are true. There are countless Happy Hour destinations out there. We want to show you the “third places” you’ll tell your friends about. Maybe you’ll find your own local. Or maybe we’ll all just have some fun.   Cheers!

Video #1: The Pilot Episode: McSorley's Old Ale House!

We had a ridiculously fun time shooting our pilot episode of HAPPY HOUR at McSorley's Old Ale House. The granddaddy of bars here in NYC, McSorley's and its staff didn't disappoint. So much interesting material had to be left on the editing floor. Well, not literally because it doesn't work that way anymore, but you get the idea.

Many, many interesting things are on the walls and around the bar. Look for the handcuffs on the foot rail of the bar- Harry Houdini escaped from them one night on a dare from the owner. Ask about the original wanted poster for Abe Lincoln's assassin or the dusty wishbones hanging from a candelabra over the bar. There's a story behind everything. Pepe, the daytime bartender seen in our pilot, knows about it all and is willing to tell you. He's also full of stories about the many celebrities who've come through McSorley's doors. Jimmy had a great time interviewing him. Maybe some outtakes will appear at some point...who knows.

The beer choices are pretty straight forward as you see in the pilot. There is a surprisingly good, though basic, menu. We all especially liked the cheese plate that came with a sleeve of saltines. The thing that made it was the mug of homemade; blow your socks off mustard. Good stuff that immediately led to more beer. Hmmm. Maybe they've figured something out there...

There are a lot of other Happy Hour destinations in the same neighborhood, so I'm sure we'll be visiting that neck of the NYC woods again. I'm equally sure we'll stop in to chat with Pepe and get two and two...

We're always on the lookout for new spots, so write to us with your favorite weird, historic, funny, unique watering hole!