We’ve wanted to do a regular TMN party for a long time, but the hassles involved in organizing a large party in New York City are prohibitive enough to make our blow-outs an annual engagement.
But! We have a new idea called Third Thursdays. It’s actually based on a ritual I have with my friend M., where we get together on the third Thursday of every month to catch up on each other’s lives, since the frame of four weeks makes a easy way to reflect on what’s happened to us recently without getting bogged down with small things. And so we’re going to try doing something similar with The Morning News by bringing together our favorite things once a month: ourselves, you, and drinking.
The first Third Thursday will occur next Thursday, December 18th, at 7 p.m. At this point we do not have a bar picked out, and we could use your help (or, the help of the knowledgeable, drinking New Yorkers among you). We are looking for a bar that fits the following criteria:
1) Within three blocks north or south of 14th Street, anyplace across Manhattan between Avenue B and Ninth Avenue.
2) Unpretentious, reasonably-priced, but not deliberately grungy. Preferably with a mixed clientele (not all bankers, or all hipsters, or all gang-bangers, or all fashionista). Must serve beer, wine, and liquor.
3) Roomy and reasonably empty at 7 p.m. on a Thursday. This is very important: we must be able to walk in and have no problem taking over a section of the bar to fit 20 people.
4) Preferably with: a good jukebox, old people, decent bartenders, outdoor space, a local vibe, nothing trendy. To give you an idea of what we’re looking for, some examples that do not fit the location criteria but would pretty much click with everything else: Mare Chiaro, Blind Tiger, Great Lakes, Brooklyn Ale House, No Idea, Iona, Von, The Rain Lounge, Frank’s Lounge, most Irish bars in Murray Hill, the old Siberia, etc. etc. (Examples that would not work: Double Happiness, Milk and Honey, The Red & Black, Pete’s Tavern, Craftbar, the new Sibera, APT., etc. etc.)
So please, if you have a suggestion, email me at the address below, and then check back next week to see where we’ll be meeting. Hopefully, with a good bar, we can make it a monthly event where the TMN staffers, readers, and friends can get together for drinks and conversation.
Email:
Yours,
Rosecrans