Slaughter on Third Avenue

or The Heartbreak of Landloriditis

A true blue original is gone. It opened in 1952 and, spawning dozens of imitators, practically invented its own genre of NYC bar, but suddenly the original 710 Third Avenue Blarney Stone is no more, my friends.

It was the last of its breed. In its later years the working class shot-and-a-beer joint welcomed craft beers but that changed nothing; cheap drinks, good food in quantity from the steam tray or grill and a horse race on the TV were what the regulars favored. The light was too bright, and the rock music blared, but somehow you stood it — any other way it wouldn't be the Blarney Stone.

The ink is not even dry (the ink may not even be mixed) on our latest Herb Lester map, a guide to some of our town's favorite grog shops, and here we have one more rewrite, one more heartbreak, one more greed-induced blow, making the city a little less interesting for the sake of … what? A buck? Progress? We can't figure it, and the people responsible will never be able to explain it to us.

The gates came down and an ominous “under renovation” sign went up about a month ago, but we had hope, since the nearby Muldoon’s was actually being renovated. But then there was a note for the tenants of 710 Third regarding keys from the “new owners,” and the NY Real Estate Journal reported the property had been sold to the troubled McSam Hotel Group. That the plug was pulled on the Blarney by the new owners was confirmed by the affable lunchtime bartender at Muldoon’s, where the scent of new varnish lingers, but doesn't discourage the customers.

We’ve really not yet recovered from this and here comes one more thing to make your blood boil, for yet another Duane Reade is soon to bully Third Avenue, this time at what was Avenue, a ladies’ wear shop, in the highrise on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and 44th. This will make five outposts of the chain in four blocks. Not only is there another across from Grand Central at 42nd & Lexington but one can stand at the corner of Third and 42nd, across from the CVS, and have your left eyeball on the Third & 41st location and the right on the one at Third & 43rd. Really, what else could we want from Fun City?

 *      *      *

We took a longer look at the glory that is the Blarney Stone in this back issue of Grade "A" Fancy. Read it and find out why this closing really is tragic.

Delmonico: What's in a name?

Here's the story of how the brothers Delmonico introduced the idea of fine dining to America. More than just a restaurant, their name would become a synonym for deluxe.

A New Map! A New Page!

Extra!  Extra!  There's a new map from the good people at Herb Lester Associates called Writing Manhattan, a guide to literary locations in the borough. We wrote it and designed the map. A lot of research went into this little baby, but because of the constraints of space, many choice bits were left on the cutting room floor. It is bursting at the seams with 78 fascinating entries, if you can believe it, but we still couldn't cram in all the goodies we collected. In some cases we found too much material on an author and had to make a hard choice on what to include; other writers had to be left out entirely. So we thought it would be fun to make an appendix to Writing Manhattan. Click on the Writing Manhattan tab above to see the extra material, and then go buy the map.

O Tavern Bound

 

Every year since 2007 your editors have unveiled a new cocktail for the season, live on-air, with Rex on the Fool’s Paradise program on WFMU.
This year’s bracer, courtesy of the Radio Bartender, is O Tavern Bound.  For the base of this cocktail we use apple brandy, in tribute to New Jersey’s lush colonial history of taverns and applejack.  Local applejack was made by the Lairds at the Colt’s Neck Inn (1717-1849) and is today distilled by their descendants down the road in Scobeyville (that’s west of Long Branch).  If you’re not familiar with Licor 43 – “Quarente Y Tres” – it’s a heady Spanish liqueur with pronounced vanilla and botanicals.   

O Tavern Bound

~ or ~ Yes, Rex, There Is A Cocktail

Another original holiday cocktail from Grade “A” Fancy as presented December 22, 2012
on WFMU’s “Fool’s Paradise featuring Rex”

2 ounces Laird’s Apple Brandy
½ ounce Licor 43 (Quarente Y Tres)
½ ounce fresh-squeezed orange juice
a dash Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic Bitters
orange peel

In a shaker half filled with ice, add the first four ingredients.  Shake and strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass.  A small twist of orange peel for garnish. 

Here’s to us all.  Drink up every one!

Ears to a Happy Holiday!

This Saturday everyone's fave holiday tradition, the Radio Bartender, returns to the "Fool's Paradise" featuring Rex on the mighty WFMU! As always, Grade "A" Fancy's head mixist Karen will unveil a new cocktail for the occasion, live on air, amid much radio hi-jinx.

You say you want to play along at home?  Alrighty.  As you know, our exclusive Fool’s Paradise cocktail requires no special-order syrups, no eye of newt-infused spirits, no eyedroppers or custom gadgets; all of this stuff is available at your grocer’s, and from the local spirits emporium.

Have these items on hand:

Apple Brandy
Licor 43
an orange for juicing and for peel
Fee Brothers Old Fashion Bitters
lotsa ice, a sharp knife, a measuring glass and your best cocktail shaker

Tune in to Rex from 1 to 3pm on the Fun 91!  WFMU 91.1 fm in New York, at 90.1 fm in the Hudson Valley. If you are not in the tri-state area you can listen in real time via the World Wide Web, or sample the archived show any time, any season.

Here's to us all! Drink up every one.