Ugh. Jeremiah reports today that the Holland Bar on Ninth Avenue near 39th Street at the ass-end of Port Authority is now closed. Arguably the best lonely old man bar in the city. I could go on about the double-whammy of hitting the Holland and the neighboring Bellevue (which is now Duff's in Williamsburg) for an afternoon or evening. Last time I went to the Holland, the bartender asked me if I wanted some snacks. They had tortilla chips! I politely declined, but he insisted. I watched him struggle with opening the sealed bag. He dumped some into a plastic bowl for me. Despite coming from a freshly opened bag, the chips were soggy. Beyond stale. It just seemed perfect.
[Photo by Shanna Ravindra/New York]
