Friday, November 5, 2010

COUNTDOWN TO MARATHON SUNDAY

It's the first weekend in November and that means one thing: MARATHON WEEKEND.  The IMG NYC Marathon kicks off on Sunday and it's a great weekend around the city.  For the participants, it's the culmination of a dream: to run in one of the elite marathon races in the world.  For the spectators, it's an opportunity to cheer on friends and family members who are running in the race. It's also a great excuse to party all day long.  The bars and restaurants that are lined up along the race route are packed for brunch early in the morning and throughout the race.  It's a festive atmosphere in the city and if you're here on that weekend, it's hard not to get swept up in it. 

Speaking of the Marathon, we do a Marathon Party every year and it's a blast.  It's one of the few events of the year that I look forward to because it's such a good time.  With the runners who are here from all over the world blowing off steam, and the spectators who supported them celebrating their achievements, it's a raucous affair that goes on well into the night.  I'm sure this year's party will be just as fun.  Everything kicks off at 6pm, with $4 Domestic Drafts flowing all night long!

We had a large contingent of Marathon attendees at the bar last night and you would have thought that the Marathon took place yesterday.  With all of the dancing, consumption of Car Bombs and copious number of hook-ups taking place, you felt like you were at the Olympic Village.  If what took place was a precursor of what's to come on Sunday, you better believe I'm bringing my "A" game!  Boom.

Enough talk about the Marathon.  Look out for the pics from Marathon Sunday next week!  In the meantime, there's plenty of other things going on this weekend.  Check out our Website for more info!

*Scenes from past Marathon parties:

That's It. That's All I Got.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

OMMEGANG ABBEY ALE TASTING PARTY= OMMEGOD!

Last night the bar hosted a tasting party for OMMEGANG ABBEY ALE.  I personally looked forward to this event as I am a fan of the Abbey Ale, a great tasting Dubbel beer from upstate Cooperstown, NY.  During this event, OMMEGANG allowed you to keep your pint glass after your purchase, which was pretty cool because the glass they offered up was pretty cool.

Call me crazy, but enjoying an Abbey Ale out of such a cool looking glass made me feel like a knight out of a King Arthur movie or something.  Very majestic looking indeed.

As I watched the patrons partake in the tasting and going up for seconds and in some cases, thirds, it suddenly dawned on me that these people were drinking a beer with a whopping 8.5 percent ABV!  Holy crap, this could get interesting.

Sure enough, once Pub Trivia kicked in, there were more than a few folks who were feeling, let's just say, "feisty".  Last night's trivia competition seemed to me a bit more competitive than usual; There were also more than a few instances of folks sporting that familiar "drunken swagger" and the spilling of beers and drinks.  Hmmm.. I wonder why?   Let's just say the Abbey Ale left its mark on the crowd in more ways than one.  And it certainly brought out "the best" in some folks, that's for sure.   It definitely made for an interesting night.  Holy crap it did!

Note to self: OMMEGANG ABBEY ALE + Pub Trivia = lethal combination!

On a side note, while I appreciate the support you give me and my blog, if you haven't done so yet, check out MURPH GUIDE if you are ever looking for something fun to do in NYC.  It's a big city we live in and often times you'll find yourself in the mood for something particular to do.  If Third and Long isn't in the cards for you on a particular night, then use MURPH GUIDE as a reference tool; it's great to have and easy to use!  They have been great to us and they will be great to you too!


That's it.  That's All I Got (for now).

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

NY MARATHON COUNTDOWN....

We are into the first week of November and that means two things here in NYC: Election Day and the New York City Marathon.  Yesterday was Election Day and it was a pretty nice day to go out and vote.  I personally enjoy exercising my right to vote, as it makes me feel like I am part of a process that helps determines the direction our government should take.  The results of the election brought us many changes both locally and nationally, including the election of a new governor of the State of New York.  Though I'm not happy with all of the results from the election, it should be interesting to see how our newly formed government handles the daunting task of fixing the current mess we're in, both locally and nationally.  Stay tuned.

It's also NYC Marathon Week and Runner's World Magazine hosted a "Shoe Summit" at our bar, featuring runners, experts and writers from all over the world.  It was pretty cool to see all of these people in one room, discussing the upcoming race and sharing stories.  They were also there in support of MATT LONG's book, "The Long Run".  Throughout the week you'll begin to see tourists arriving in NYC for the big race, either as participants or supporters and that's always cool to see.

The lovely young ladies of RODALE INC. (publisher of magazines and books) who helped put the "Shoe Summit" together!

 Vittorio Nava (Vice-Editor of Runner's World, Italy) and Marco Marchei (Editor in Chief, Runner's World, Italy), who also twice competed in the Summer Olympics (1980, 1984) for Italy!

I'm equally excited for our Annual Marathon Party, when many of these same people get together to unwind, blow off steam and celebrate the achievements of completing one hell of a race.  And these runners, once the race is over, sure like to party!  If you're around this Sunday evening, make sure to join us for the festivities; it's a damn good time!

 OMMEGANG ABBEY ALE TASTING PARTY TONIGHT!  Join us after work as we host a tasting party for one of our premier beers, the Ommegang Abbey Ale. An American take on a Belgian Dubbel beer, it's consistantly ranked as one of the top beers in the world.  And at a whopping 8.5% ABV, it's a subtle beer that packs a mean punch!  Purchase a pint during the tasting party and yyou get to keep the cool pint glass it comes with!  Not to be missed!  (6-8pm)

Don't forget about Pub Trivia Wednesdays, where your knowledge of pop culture could win you and your team (1-6 members) a lot of cool prizes and bragging rights of being the Kings of Pop Trivia!  Free to play and the fun starts at 8pm!


That's It.  That's All I Got.

The Annual NYC Marathon Party at THIRD and LONG

If you've ever attended a Marathon Party in the past, you know how much of a blast this night is! Hope to see you there!

Champions League at THIRD and LONG NYC

Catch the action of Champions League play this week at THIRD and LONG:

TODAY: (3:30pm)

Tottenham Hotspur vs Inter Milan

Barcelona vs FC Kobenhaven

Manchester United vs Bursaspor

Rangers FC vs Valencia FC

Followed by DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS ($1 Bud/Bud Light mugs, 5pm-close)

TOMORROW: (3:30pm)

Chelsea FC vs Spartak Moscow

AC Milan vs Real Madrid

AS Roma vs Basel

Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Followed by WEDNESDAY NIGHT PUB TRIVIA ($4 Mixed Well Drinks for ladies, $5 Kopparberg Cider bottles & $15 buckets of Miller High Life- free to play!)

*games subject to change.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

IT'S TIME TO DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY...

There's nothing else to say.  Whether you lean left, right, middle, whatever...If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain.  

Do the right thing.

Monday, November 1, 2010

HALLOWEEN WEEKEND HIJINKS...

This past weekend was a festive affair as it seems that everything revolved around Halloween.  It's something about that particular night that allows folks to revert back to their inner childhood or even more so, their alter-egos.  So much so that I'm almost tempted to petition to change the name of the holiday from Halloween to Slutoween.  I swear, I saw so many instances of cracks and cleavage that you would think you were at the Grand Canyon.

Halloween night is one of two nights of the year that I detest the most (the other being New Year's Eve) in that it is a designated "Amateur Night".  All of the novice drinkers come out of the woodwork and they are the ones that present the most potential for problems.  Of course, they are the same ones that you'll most likely see puking on the sidewalk in disheveled costumes or passed out in the doorway of some storefront with their pants down to their ankles.

I was lucky enough to avoid having to work this Halloween, and after witnessing the chaos from my window, I'm glad I didn't work that night. From my window I could see how hectic the night was going to be.  Third Avenue was packed with revelers in costumes, ready to party. The costumes themselves ranged from creative to slutty to crappy, but at the end of the day, no one really cared.  They were out to have a good time, and nothing was going to get in the way of that.

We hosted a private party and we had our share of interesting costumed characters there.  To check out the party pics, go to our FACEBOOK page.  The best part of  Halloween, is by far, the "walk of shame" the day after.  Watching folks trudge home from god-knows-where decked in what's left of their costume is always an added treat.

Actually, thinking back on it now, the funniest thing I witnessed during the crazy weekend took place on Friday night.  I'd just gotten home from the NY Rangers/Carolina Hurricanes game and retreated up to the apartment when I heard a commotion taking place outside.  Some guy was screaming curses at someone else.  At first I thought it was a random drunk guy, as you hear these things all the time on a weekend night on Third Avenue.

I opened my window and as it turns out, there's a big fat guy, dressed in a SpongeBob Squarepants costume, holding up his drunk girlfriend (dressed up as Swiss Miss Cocoa Lady) and screaming at a group of guys who were laughing at them for some reason.  He kept telling the group of guys to shut up and threatening to beat them up.  Now the visual of the bespectacled chubby guy in a SpongeBob outfit was priceless enough, but what took place afterwards was mint.   The guy proceeded to DROP his drunk girlfriend on the ground like a sack of potatoes and charge after one of the guys in the group.  He tried to throw a punch but missed badly, causing even more laughter among the group. 

The two combatants were separated by the group of guys and as the SpongeBob Warrior went to walk away (cursing up a storm, mind you), his drunk girlfriend charged towards the guy that SpongeBob tried to hit.  She punched him in the stomach and proceeded to bounce off of the guy (who wasn't the smallest guy around either) and fell back onto the ground, thus causing even more laughter amongst the group.  SpongeBob then scooped up his girlfriend and made his way toward the street to hail a cab, cursing up a storm the whole time.

When the Swiss Miss Lady fell to the ground, one of her shoes fell off and when she was carried away, the shoe was left behind.  The guy who was attacked by the costumed duo picked up the shoe and threw it into the street, landing it near the two.  Now the Swiss Miss Girl is being held back by her boyfriend, cursing up a storm and challenging this guy to a fight, her wig covering up her eyes and the sight of it all is pretty funny.  While all of this is happening, some random old guy is making his way across the street, walking with a cane.  Without missing a beat, he picks up the girl's shoe, places it on her foot and continues to cross the street without batting an eye.  Hilarious!

BREW CREW SUNDAY was pretty cool in that there were a lot of tight games for the crowd to enjoy.   The DOLFANS NYC crowd were also pretty happy to see their Miami Dolphins pull out a hard-fought victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.  And during the game, they surprised yours truly with a birthday cake and a "Happy Birthday" serenade that totally caught me off guard.  It was a very nice gesture and much appreciated.  Pics from the day can also be found on our FACEBOOK page.

A lot going on this week at the bar;  Besides the ample sports coverage we provide on a daily basis, we also resume CHAMPIONS LEAGUE telecasts on Tuesday/Wednesday afternoon.  There's also an OMMEGANG ABBEY ALE tasting party this Wednesday (6pm), where you have a chance to sample the great tasting Abbey Ale!  Buy a pint and keep the glass!

We also have our annual NY MARATHON PARTY taking place after the race next Sunday, which is always a blast.  So if you plan on running in the Marathon this year or know of people who are running, join us after the race as we salute all of the participants with a hearty cheer (and a free pint) as they enter the bar!

Keep tabs on other upcoming events at the bar and any other tidbits that may arise throughout the week.  Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to take care of some errands.  More to come...