Whiskey Rebel = WIN

Upon reviewing our collective previous entries, I have realized that while there has been a fair amount of conversation in this blog about the fact that Bartender is, well, a bartender, there has been little reference to my position as a therapist. While she may have her opinions about why I have waited for her to comment on this bar first, I can assert that the reason I have hesitated and wanted to wait to respond to her completely unjustified and dare I say irrational impression of Whiskey Rebel was because while we were at the bar it seemed that much of her objection to the bar could be explained psychologically. Please let me explain.

There are a couple of basic therapy concepts that are important to understand in order to fully understand this entry. The main one is countertransference. What this means is that if I am the therapist in a session with a client, and the client says something that makes me feel something (anger, sadness, "I REALLY NEED A DRINK") I need to determine if that is based on the relationship between the client and I in the here and now or if it is based on my own past issues that are springing up. The reason that I mention countertransference is because it is the only explanation of why Bartender was so anti this bar that makes any sense to me. We sat in the bar, enjoying the plentiful free popcorn, drinking cheap but delicious beer, and I looked at her and said "well, isn't this just lovely!" to which she paused and then said "...I'm giving this place a fail." I couldn't understand why! Seats at the bar! Free food and cheap alcohol! Nice, attractive bartender! Mellow tunes! A PATRON TEQUILLA DISPENSER! I'm sorry, but what's not to like? Apparently this bar reminded Bartender too much of the bar where spent 4 years of her bar working life until about three months ago. That was the only thing that she could come up with to say about this bar that was negative. Now here is where the psychological concept comes in. Is it fair to base an opinion of a current bar on a different bar that one has an emotional connection to? I don't think so. Do I walk into your Italian restaurant and tell you that I can't enjoy your penne ala vodka because I had a bad experience with penne ala vodka at some random spot in the East Village? NO! Because I can differentiate between what is happening now and what has psychologically scarred me before. (don't act like you haven't been damaged by a pasta dish, you're lying if you deny it. I'm looking at you, Italian place on 1st Ave that has since closed! That wasn't pasta, that was a lapse in judgment! SHAME.) Yet what is important for any decent therapist to keep in mind is when their opinions, perspectives, and biases make it unethical to work with a triggering client. Basically what I am saying is that Bartender is psychologically unfit to judge this establishment. And lets not forget that I'm a professional here, I know my shit.

For the record, there is never, EVER a single thing wrong with a $3 drink special that goes all night. Just because YOUR bar doesn't do that, Bartender, doesn't mean you need to hate on bars that do. It would appear your jealousy has gotten in your way. Strike two.

And I'm sorry, if the worst thing you have to say about a bar is that it's "unremarkable" I don't think that warrants a fail. The third issue that Bartender appeared to have was that the crowd was unpretty. Being that this was our third stop on this crawl, and the only win she's dispensed was at the bar with the flirtatious bartender, I'm sensing that there's a bit of favoritism towards the aesthetically pleasing. Not to mention that she even took the time in her post to hate on her own midwestern people! Projection much? Not that I saw any of those podunk people she stated were present in the bar. There just weren't very many attractive people, which apparently is a deal breaker for some. (::COUGH::BARTENDER::COUGH::) It is clear that my friend's perspective has been so clouded by her own past on this one that the only opinion you should be reading is what will follow:

Free popcorn. Fantastic. And we had about $70 worth with absolutely no objection from the bartender. Win.

$2 Stella and $3 Bud or Bud Light. Cheap alcohol? Yes please! WIN.

Spacious bar with plenty of tables and good music playing on the digital jukebox. GANAR!

Lets just leave it at this. Some expectations are irrationally high, others can appreciate the small pleasures of a nice, chill establishment that doesn't break the bank and coats the stomach with some free bar snacks. Boy, what a shitty place! NOT. Win.

Whiskey Rebel - Lexington and whocares

So here I am, writing the first review of Whiskey Rebel instead of Therapist. I have a feeling I know why she is having me write it first, but I will get to that later.

As is becoming a tradition for our bar crawl, we decided to go out for Friday Happy Hour. Therapist was just getting back from her Caribbean vacation, and was going to go through alcohol withdrawal unless she got a drink. As she finished her last client of the day, I left to go find a bar.

We had tried to go to Whiskey Rebel before, but it was too crowded. Luckily, when I looked it this time, there were seats available. I grabbed one, and proceeded to check out the Happy Hour Specials.

The best part of their Happy Hour Specials was the $2 Stella until 8:00. That's a damn good deal. They also did $5 shots of Jameson and Jager (there might have been something else thrown in there too, but I don't remember...it's not that good of a deal anyway), $5 mojitos, and $3 Bud and Bud Light drafts. The $3 Bud and Bud Light Draft deal goes all night, which depending on who you ask (cough cough THERAPIST) is or is not a good idea.

In the spirit of fairness, I will tell you first what I like about this bar. the $2 beer special is great, and perhaps most importantly, they serve you free popcorn. That is a huge bonus. The bartender we had was friendly (but not overly so), and prompt. She also didn't seem to mind that we ordered about 6 baskets full of popcorn over the course of an hour. That being said...

...here's what I don't like this bar. First off, you walk in, and it's completely unremarkable. There's nothing special about it, nothing that makes you want to look around, nothing to make you feel really relaxed. The crowd was...boring. The $3 Bud and Bud Light specials all night are only going to bring in the same boring frat crowd that will drink too much and throw up on your shoes. They other type of people that this bar seemed to bring in where late-middle agers from bumf**k Iowa who are on their first visit to New York. And I'm from the Midwest, so I can say that.

We are all busy people. When I take time out of my busy day to go to a bar, I want to leave feeling like I had a good experience. Unfortunately, this was not the case at Whiskey Rebel. I felt like I was among the exact company I try to avoid at all costs. If you just need a drink and and really don't feel like having a good time, then Whiskey Rebel is for you...but if you want some value for your time and money, go somewhere else, because Whiskey Rebel is a FAIL.

Oh, and P.S. The reason Therapist had me write this first is because she can't think of anything good to say about it either. Even though she won't admit it.

Bartender Response to Bar 29

Therapist says she likes liking things. Based on her last few postings, I think she only likes things that are stupid because Bar 29 is a big WIN!

The day leading up to our Happy Hour at Bar 29 was spent trying not to vomit, as I was dealing with the hangover of the year. All I was in the mood for was to go home and nap before I had to start my second job at 8:00. I didn't want to like anything. I was in a bad mood from the get-go, but I was convinced by Therapist that a couple beers would fix things. It was the only thing she was right about for the rest of the evening.

Now, I was hungry, as I always am when I'm hungover, and fortunately, there was a limited menu of bar food. BAR 29 does not say BAR AND RESTAURANT 29, so I wasn't expecting a gourmet meal, like Ms. MeSoFancyQueenOfWings Therapist. Don't even get me started about the plug for some random bar in Buffalo that know one has ever heard about. I don't think anyone going into that bar expects food at all, so having something to munch on while enjoying a couple PBR's is appreciated. They advertised chicken wings. They did not advertise "Best In New York Bufffalo Wings!". They were like wings you would get on a Chinese restaurant, but when you're drunk and/or hungover, who cares?!

As Therapist said, they do offer Rock Paper Scissors (I believe from 8 - 10) on Mondays. You win, your drink is free. I think that's awesome. They also had Saved By The Bell Trivia coming up, they have flat screen TV's to watch sports, and they have a pool table. Win, win, win.

The service was great. As Therapist said, the tab was less than it should be. Excellent job, Isaac the bartender. Was it due to my flirting? Maybe. But hey, after being on his side of the bar and showering my fake affection to random strangers for a few extra bucks, it was nice being on the other side. Bartenders need pretend love too, you know. Regardless of why the tab was discounted, the bartender was super friendly, patient, and put me in a good mood. What else does a bar need?

I give Bar 29 a WIN, and Therapist knows she should too. And as far as the name? Hey, at least I'll always remember the address of where to go back to.

Bar 29 (original.) 29th and 3rd Ave.

For those of you who don't know me exceptionally well, I'm what some would call...contrary. I enjoy conflict, I enjoy getting into it with people and things. Now that doesn't mean that I am not open to enjoying things. The exact opposite. In fact, read my first review! I like to like things. Liking things is one of my favorite past times. Alas, I was unable to like Bartender and my most recent exploration, Bar 29.

Now Bar 29 on 3rd Avenue in Murray Hill used to be a bar called Makers. Bartender had visited that incarnation of this location before, but had not visited since it changed names, so we decided that this wouldn't count against the rule that we would only go to places that neither of us had visited before. We have also been drawn to this particular locale because of a sandwich board that resides outside of the entry way that reads "Rock, Paper, Scissors Mondays" with no further explanation as to what that actually means. I'm always appreciative of some mystery associated with my cocktails, so we had it at the forefront of our minds when deciding to head out. Once again we find ourselves drowning our anger/exhaustion/hangover on a Friday after work, so personally my expectations are pretty low. Basically I need a deodorant stick that I can suck the alcohol out of at this point in the week and I'll be golden. We walk into Bar 29 and there is very conveniently a table right next to the big open window. Once again we can partake in some quality people watching. Woo! We sit down and are told by our very friendly bartender, Isaac, that there is no table service and we will order from him. A round of tall boy PBR's, please! There is just a world of win here so far, no complaints yet!

Unfortunately that didn't last. Along with being in severe need of an alcoholic beverage after our long work week and day, we also needed some munchables. A tiny sandwich board that sat on our table advertised some interesting options, such as mozzerella sticks, sliders, and pizza bagels. Points for originality with the pizza bagels, bar with the most unoriginal name I have ever seen! However, we decide to settle on an order of chicken wings. (an important detail to note here is that the wings were, in fact, referred to as "chicken wings". Not "Buffalo wings", but the REAL name for wings, the way they're referred to in Buffalo proper.) I had high hopes for these wings. Obviously any establishment who knew what to call them MUST know how to cook them. Oh. OH. SO WRONG.

Now I am an opinionated wing consumer. I'm from Buffalo. I am indoctrinated into the world of the wing as soon as I am weaned off the boob. But even so, I can acknowledge a decent to moderately unappealing wing as something I can eat happily at a bar after work. We ordered our wings "spicy", so I, like any other reasonable human, expected my wings to come out saucy, hot, and spectacular. When the wings arrived (and trust me, I use the word "wings" lightly) I did a double take. First of all, they didn't look at all like wings. They looked like little fry blobs of mystery. The flat wings were relatively recognizable, if not exceptionally small, but the drumettes were just...strange. The bone had been chopped off, so it was just the round head part of the leg. It was disarming. What the fuck is this? Is the bone so offensive that it deserves to be so violently removed? It's an insult to the chicken, and to chicken wings in general. How dare you, Bar 29? HOW. DARE. YOU. Next, there was no sauce to be found. These poor excuses for wings were likely dropped right from the freezer into some hot oil, left on too long, and then put right into the plastic basket they were served in. All you need to do is turn on the Food Network to realize that that is wing SACRILEDGE. Now perhaps if you had gone to www.anchorbar.com and purchased some HISTORY in a bottle you could have improved upon this insult to Western New York. But no. No, you decided to serve this bullshit. IT WASN'T EVEN SPICY. You have offended me as a Buffalonian, but more importantly as a decent person who just wants to enjoy her bar snack. Take this LIE off the menu, Bar 29. For the good of all of us. God, need I even say it? FAIL.

Now there isn't much bouncing back from this level of fail. However, this bar had some good points. First, the bartender was very nice. I once beckoned him from my table (a move that Bartender found rude, but I thought was just convenient for both myself and Isaac) and he sent over a round no questions asked. Secondly, that "Rock, Paper, Scissors Monday" that I mentioned before? Apparently every Monday all one needs to do is walk into the bar and challenge the bartender to a round of rock, paper, scissors. If you win, your drink is FREE. Lose, and you pay full price. I know where I will be every Monday as I walk home from work. They also appear to have Saved by the Bell trivia. I'm practically Jesse Spano's bottle of caffeine pills I know so much about that show. Step to me, bitches. Then, at the end of the visit when I closed my tab it was significantly cheaper than I expected. Like $15 dollars cheaper. Now whether that was due to the excessive flirtation that Bartender undertook with Isaac or just due to him being a stand up guy will remain unclear, but either way I was appreciative. The bathroom was also very nice. I know how important that is to some.

However, like I said, coming back from the terrible impression the "wings" left was next to impossible. This bar, while it may get a visit from me to answer the question of what signed photo, when moved, caused sirens to go off in the geek owned Bayside school store (Mr. Rodgers), I doubt I will be frequenting this establishment. Also, get a better name.

Blatant fallacies and snobbery.

I have a feeling that this is going to be an issue with this blog. You know how watching golf is boring until that first time you try and hit a golf ball when you realize that this is actually really fucking difficult and so now Tiger Woods (whores aside) actually looks really talented? It's because once you do something for long enough you start to form educated opinions about when others attempt the same. My good friend the bartender clearly has some opinions. I would like to throw my 2 cents out there about them and then we can move onto the next location.

-Quality of the Margaritas
Was there tequilla in the beverage? Yes. Did it help me mellow out after the ridiculousness that was my work week? Sure did. That's a quality beverage in my book. I didn't realize we were at the Mixology Olympics here.

-Full Disclosure re: cost of things
Now I will give you this one. Happy hour should be an improvement on the normal cost, and this was definitely not that quality. I reference you once again to the presence of tequilla in my drink. Aka I just don't care. JUST. DON'T. CARE.

-The Nachos
The Bartender and I are a competitive pair. Recently we've been trying to get on our own respective health kicks, you know, working out and eating well and what not. It is for this reason that I am just confused about the rage directed at vegetarian nachos (WHICH WE DECIDED TO ORDER, these were not forced on us). The way I see it the more green that presides on a plate full of greasy, cheesy nachos (and despite what she said, there was certainly traditional ingredients like cheese on the chips. she chose to ignore it due to broccoli on the plate. apparently I'm friends with a tiny infant child) the less I need to sprint on the eliptical at the gym. You may believe I am fooling myself. I am. Once again, moving on.

-The bathrooms
Gonna take her word on this one, I make a habit of not breaking the seal after two drinks. That's just me. I do appreciate, though, that they are transgender friendly. Bonus!

Based on this first blogging experience I am guessing I will have to be sticking up for the little guy who doesn't require a five star dining experience every time I want a cocktail. I remain convinced that while this place had some faults that it is overall a win. I may consider retracting that opinion should Ms. MeSoFancy Bartender be able to mix me a better blueberry margarita. I'm free any evening this week.

Bartender Response to La Cocina

After reading the Therapist's review of our Friday Happy Hour trip to La Cocina, I asked myself, "Were we actually at the same place?"

I was psyched to end my day/begin my night with a margarita or two. The sign said "2 for 1 margaritas!"

Great!

Not so great.

First, the "2 for 1" isn't exactly as advertised. It's 2 for 1, for $11.00. I call that 50 cents off the regular priced margarita, not a buy one, get one free. If I tried to pull that off at my bar, I would be bitched at every single time. But whatever. So as the Therapist said, we ordered the margaritas on the rocks, as frozen margaritas are for amateurs on the beach. Or maybe for all the people who usually come into La Cocina, because it didn't seem like the bartender had much experience in making a good margarita. It was okay at best. Now, I don't claim to make the best margarita (actually, we have a new one for which we use jalapeno infused tequila that is DAMN good, but I regress). However, I also don't work at a Mexican bar/restaurant!

*sigh*

Moving on. We decide to order the nachos. How hard can it be to mess up an order of nachos? We order it without any meat. Looking back, I'm not sure why we that, but at the time we didn't think it was necessary. We were wrong, because they replaced the meat with broccoli and spinach. Um, eww. I like spinach, but not on my nachos, and broccoli makes me want to vomit. Perhaps they should have said that they would add nastiness never before seen on nachos. But they didn't. Also, the portion was small, and limited in the usual toppings that you would expect when ordering such a standard dish.

So now I'm still hungry, as I was unable to partake in most of the nacho eating experience because of the vile week broccoli. I proceed to order the chicken tacos. Surely, this can't be messed up.

Wrong again!

The tortilla wasn't much different from what you would find at Taco Bell, and the chicken was dry and unremarkable. I had to dump a shit load of hot sauce on it in order to be able to taste it at all. Again, seems like this should be something that would be impossible to mess up. I can barely make toast, but I'm pretty sure I would be able to put together a better tasting taco.

In regards to the not-so-free chips at salsa. It's like when you go get a manicure, and as your nails are drying, the manicurist immediately comes over and starts rubbing your shoulders, and then tries to charge you an additional $10.00. Not so fast, Sneaky McGee. If they chips and salsa were only free in the beginning, they should tell you. It's just good business practice, people.

Now, believe it or not, I do have something positive to say about La Cocina. Their bathrooms. Yes, their bathrooms. They have two unisex bathrooms, which is surprising given the smallness of the restaurant. There is nothing more agitating than having to wait for the three girls ahead of you apply and reapply their mascara, while the mens room remains open. They were also clean and well-stocked. Now if only they put as much effort to the quality of their drinks, food, and service as they do their bathrooms, I would recommend this place. But since they don't, I unfortunately have to give La Cocina a FAIL.

Bar Numero Uno: La Cocina, 30th Street and 3rd Avenue

What is better after a long week at work than a happy hour margarita or two? Nothing, that's what. Absolutely nothing. Fortunately we are close to several options, though only one that we have never experienced before. Welcome to La Cocina!

Now I have been to Tacocina in Hell's Kitchen before and thoroughly enjoyed the food, so I had high hopes for this incarnation of the chain. We walk in and are seated by the open windows overlooking the corner. People watching was a plus. We order a round of margaritas on the rocks. The wait staff tell us that they'll be a bit pricier because we won't settle for bullshit frozen. We're down. We also order some vegetarian nachos, because we managed to plow through the free* chips and salsa in about 2 seconds. What a lovely breeze is blowing through this lovely establishment as our lovely margaritas are brought to the table. This is my happy place.

I ordered a blueberry margarita. It was bright blue and it did not taste at all like blueberry. But it did taste like tequilla, so rock on. Bartender purchased a regular margarita with salt and while she didn't seem thrilled with the quality of the beverage she drank it. Shocking, trust me. The nachos finally arrived and they looked a bit strange. In addition to the chips, guac, sour cream and cheese there were some interesting additions: spinach and brocolli. Now, from where I'm sitting, traditionality with nachos is overrated. Not to mention that I can count it towards my daily vegetable intake. Did someone say win? Oh yeah, that was me. Point: La Cocina.

We decide to order another round and Bartender, who was not sated by the veggie plate, ordered some chicken tacos as well. Our friend and I chowed down on the rice and beans, and finished up our drinks. It was a delightful dining experience for me, and until we got the bill all was fine. It turned out that the restaurant had charged us for our two extra orders of chips and salsa that we thought were free. Downgrade, guys. Not cool. It just comes out of your tip my friend.

So if you're asking the therapist, the drinks weren't all that amazing, but the fun twist on nachos pleased me. I say Win. It wouldn't be my everyday place, but it was a good first stop on our bar crawl. I'm sure Madam Bartender will be weighing in soon. :)