Thursday, October 11, 2012

Mourning lost bars; early morning at Downtown Beirut

The 6th Floor, the blog of The New York Times Magazine, checked in yesterday afternoon with a piece titled "Manhattan’s Most-Mourned Bars."

The neighborhood is well-represented in the listicle: Mars Bar, Downtown Beirut and The Holiday Cocktail Lounge. (And two nearby: The Cedar Tavern and Good World Bar and Grill.)

A lot of room for debate in that list. Which was probably the point, of course.

But! It's a fine time to revisit this EVG post from Jan. 5, 2009 titled Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m. It included this video...



Previously on EV Grieve:
Downtown Beirut, around 1990, about 3 a.m.
at

18 comments:

  1. pinheadOctober 11, 2012 at 7:30 AM

    For the last time, that is not me in the video.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EV GrieveOctober 11, 2012 at 7:56 AM

    @pinhead

    Sorry, but the tag in the underwear says differently...

    ReplyDelete
  3. glammaOctober 11, 2012 at 9:48 AM

    sounds like my kinda place lol.
    cool story here.
    http://blog.jamzik.com/2006/09/god-of-new-york.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. ShawnOctober 11, 2012 at 10:56 AM

    I wish they'd take down the awning at Holiday Cocktail. It's torturing me to have to see it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. glammaOctober 11, 2012 at 11:24 AM

    i also miss siberia & good workd bar... good article

    ReplyDelete
  6. glammaOctober 11, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    i miss the stoned crow!!
    also apocalypse bar although it was short lived.
    i will always regret not accepting the job i was offered to gogo in the windows there!
    why is cbgb's not on the list

    ReplyDelete
  7. esquared™October 11, 2012 at 11:39 AM

    An East Village nightlife guide from 1985

    http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/downtown-beirut-bar/

    ReplyDelete
  8. shmnycOctober 11, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    I never went into Downtown Beirut. This bar was at the forefront of the wave of gentrification taking place at that time. Also, the name, following the Israeli bombardment of Beirut, demonstrated the crassness that existed here then. (And still does.)

    ReplyDelete
  9. THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.October 11, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    Downtown Beirut is the best name ever for a bar!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glenn BelverioOctober 11, 2012 at 1:40 PM

    Downtown Beirut was my FAVORITE bar (well, there and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut) when I moved to NYC in the '80s...I love the $1 kamikazes that tasted like soap suds.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Marty WombacherOctober 11, 2012 at 2:39 PM

    @Glamma: I missed the Stoned Crow too.

    One bar that everyone should check out at least once is The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge near Penn Station. It's not downtown, but it's a classic NYC bar.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousOctober 12, 2012 at 5:36 AM

    what about aztec

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousOctober 13, 2012 at 9:14 AM

    The bartender is Carolyn. She was a doll. Vid was shot by her husband. Dont know who the guy on the bar is. Pretty sure its not me.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Uncle WaltieOctober 13, 2012 at 1:11 PM

    "I wish they'd take down the awning at Holiday Cocktail. It's torturing me to have to see it."

    Shawn, the "Holiday" will be resurrected. Operated by (very) local people. They plan to keep the flavor pretty much the same, just doing some renovations in kitchen (!) and bathroom. They're running a little behind schedule. I drink (booze) with the SO of one of the principals.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AnonymousOctober 15, 2012 at 4:07 PM

    I remember the Aztec in the 80s, it was my favorite (day-glo skeletons!)

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousNovember 9, 2015 at 3:28 PM

    Beirut was the best (crassness is the total reason we went), that and they sprayed our table with silly string the week it opened. Completely forgot about the Aztec, but I think The Mission should be on this list.

    ReplyDelete

Your remarks and lively debates are welcome, whether supportive or critical of the views herein. Your articulate, well-informed remarks that are relevant to an article are welcome.

However, commentary that is intended to "flame" or attack, that contains violence, racist comments and potential libel will not be published. Facts are helpful.

If you'd like to make personal attacks and libelous claims against people and businesses, then you may do so on your own social media accounts. Also, comments predicting when a new business will close ("I give it six weeks") will not be approved.