Friday, May 23, 2008

LET THE EXODUS BEGIN!


It's the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend and the "unofficial" start of the Summer Season here in NYC. And that means the official exodus out of the city begins today. A large contingent of folks will vacate the Big Apple for such getaway destinations such as The Hamptons, The Jersey Shore, upstate New York, The Poconos and other relaxing resort places in the tri-state area.

What that does is leave the Big Apple practically empty, with only tourists, Fleet Week visitors and poor saps like me who either have to work all weekend or have no dough to take a holiday out of town like anyone else. So while this weekend will be relatively quiet as far as foot traffic goes, it won't necessarily be a bad weekend if you are stuck here.

I, personally, enjoy the Big Apple on summer holiday weekends. You don't have to worry about lines to popular destination spots around town; you can usually score a good table at one of the nicer restaurants as well. And there's a pretty good chance that you'll find a nice tourist(or two) to hook up with over the course of the weekend. So it isn't all bad.

The weather is supposed to be excellent this weekend so we'll see what kind of "trouble" that brings us. It should be a good time for everyone (at least for me anyways).

If you are one of the "lucky ones" who will be spending time here in NYC this weekend, here's what we have on tap at Third and Long:

TONIGHT: Pre-Memorial Day Happy Hour (5-10pm): All BEERS and MIXED WELL DRINKS, $4.00ea. Catch the Yankees/Mariners (7pm), Mets/Rockies (9pm) and Lakers/Spurs (9pm) as well!

SATURDAY: "Kick the Keg Saturday" (12noon-8pm). $2.00 mugs, ALL BEERS ON TAP!!! STANLEY CUP, GAME 1 (8pm), Detroit vs Pittsburgh. $3.00 Molson Canadian/$4.00 Coors Light drafts during the game.

SUNDAY: CLOSED for the holiday.

MONDAY: (OPEN AT 4PM). Dollar Draft Madness- $1.00 Bud/Coors Light/Bud Light mugs ALL NIGHT LONG!!!


Last night was a pretty good night as the majority of the patrons were in good spirits, looking forward to a nice long holiday weekend. We had our share of Fleet Week sailors- let me just say that these guys make out like bandits every time they are in town. When they walk into a bar in their dress whites, they get showered with free drinks from the fellas, and lots of attention from the ladies. Almost makes me want to go out and rent a uniform for a weekend, just for shits and giggles.

But in all seriousness, I know that the majority of the patrons do this to show the young men and women serving our country their gratitude for the work that they do, and that's cool.

There were plenty of women here as well. Damn there were a lot of women! One funny moment involved this chick who came in with a group of suits. They were clearly buzzed and worse for the wear. So when they got up to the bar, they couldn't make up their minds as to what they wanted (which as a bartender, is a pet peeve of mine). So after a few minutes of dicking around, they finally ordered a round of Miller Lites. They lasted all of round and ended up leaving. Little did I know, the girl somehow left her purse and jacket on a chair in the bar.

A few minutes later, the girl and one of the guys she was with came staggering back to the bar. At this point I wasn't going to let either one of them back in (they were clearly hammered by now). She asked if she could come back in and I said no. So they walk off. A few more minutes later, they are back again- this time she's in panic mode.

"You have to let me back in!" She screams at me.

"No I don't", I replied. You're too drunk and you should probably go home".

"I want to go home.... but I think I left my bag here. I have to get that bag! It's a REALLY EXPENSIVE bag!" she stammers.

I roll my eyes and notice that she's not wearing a jacket. So I agree to let her come in and look for her stuff. And sure enough, there's her bag and jacket, hanging on a chair amongst a group of patrons. I point at her stuff and ask if that was hers. She screams, runs over to the bag and jacket and began jumping up and down, as if she hit the lottery or something.

"Thank god it's here!!" she screams again. She then runs over to me and gives me a huge hug and kissed me on the cheek and forehead what seemed like a hundred times. "Hug me dammit! You're my hero!" she exclaimed while I stood there, somewhat embarrassed. Her guy friend finally dragged her out of the bar, much to my relief.

BLONDE CHATTERBOX, who was laughing the whole time, confirmed for me later that it was indeed a REALLY EXPENSIVE bag. I guess it was her lucky night.

Then there's GEEK SQUAD, the unusual new patron who swoops in and lurks around unsuspecting women and tries to woo them with his "charm". I really have to get a photo of this guy so that you can fully appreciate my feelings for this guy. I don't know if he's missing a few cards from the deck or if he's naturally annoying. In any case, the bartenders don't like him because he tends to "demand" his drinks and then doesn't leave a tip. And he wears these really funky (in a bad way) outfits that repel women. God bless him. I'm sure under all of that geekness, he's probably SuperBad himself.

That's it for now- too many things to do, too little time to do them. Sorry for the late post- Time Warner decided that today would be the day to repair lines in our building, so no internet access for awhile (bastards).

Enjoy the holiday weekend, whether you are away luxuriating in the sun, or hanging out in the city.


Nuff Said