The Redeye Grill and Rue-B

Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger! Starring The Red Eye Grill with a bevy of special guest stars and a stop at Rue B for Shawn Chittle’s birthday party and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, please welcome our host, The Red Eye Grill!

My parents are coming to my apartment on Sunday, so this is the last time I get to pull the old spyhole joke, a bittersweet moment indeed!

And here we are at the Redeye Grill where we've got some special guests joining us...

Two of my nieces and one of their boyfriends came in to visit and have dinner with us. From left: Mom, my niece Caylin's boyfriend Greg, Caylin, Dad, my niece Cara and yours fooly. Cara recently became engaged, but her fiancée, John couldn't make dinner. Stay tuned for a photo of him on the next visit! And hello to Casie and Anthony in Houston!

This group saw us posing and had their waiter take a picture of them, so I went ahead and got one as well! It turns out they're members of the Manhattan Concert Productions and they invited us to a show on Sunday at Carnegie Hall, but we had other plans. Maybe next time.

And here we are at our table, we were seated right near a fireplace which was nice.

And here's my folks at the table and my dad in his infamous Bobby Knight sweater vest. I put my camera away after this so we could have a nice visit.

But I had to take it out to get a photo of this week's cheeseburger. Cheddar on top and bacon to the side, looks like a great burger!

And one last shot of our pretty waitress, Brittany serving dessert, fresh chocolate mousse and whipped cream. It was a great dinner and great to see Cara, Caylin and Greg! And now, I'm off to another location...

Rue-B in the East Village. There's a party here tonight to celebrate frequent TWM guest star, Shawn Chittle's 40th birthday. I invited my parents, but they were already falling asleep in their hotel room five minutes after dinner was done.

The bar is open, so let's go inside.

Wow, it's nice and dark in here and I can hear the tinkling of live jazz in the background. Kind of like a slice of New Orleans in the East Village. It's crowded, but not too loud or crazy in here. Okay, let's find the birthday boy!

Here's a slice of birthday cake, he can't be far away!

And here his is with his parents who came in from Flint, Michigan to attend the party, very nice people and nice to chat with some fellow midwesterners!

And here's Mr. and Mrs. Duncester!

The tables are all candle lit and it was a great evening.

More guests were seated on the other side of the front room, there was really a big turnout to celebrate Shawn's birthday.

There's a small bar in the center of the room and it was packed.

Here's a shot of the copper-topped bar from the other end.

And here's where the jazz music was coming from. A piano and bass duo were set up across from the bar.

Cool jazz on a fun night. Very nice!

One thing I love about Rue B is the place is loaded with classic and vintage photos, let's take a look at a few.

Jimi Hendrix is looking down at our table.

Here's Keef passed out among everyone else.

Why hello there!

Tough guy Robert Mitchum looks longingly at the drinks on the bar.

Here's a great shot of Dino!

And speaking of Dino, here's a great shot of the cast of "Ocean's Eleven" in the bathroom. And since we're in the bathroom...

Obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Happy birthday Shawn! See you all tomorrow!

My Meal
I had the Prime Burger which is the only burger choice on the dinner menu. It’s made with dry-aged beef and I got it topped with cheddar cheese. It’s served with hickory smoked bacon slabs and french fries on the side. I put the bacon on top and it was a delicious burger.

The Redye has a large and diverse menu with such entrees as: Cedar Planked Salmon; 3-Hour Braised Short Rib; Weiner Schnitzel a la Holstein and Prime Bone in New York Steak Frites. There’s also sushi and a full raw seafood bar where you can build your own seafood tower. A couple signature dishes of the house is their dinner Cobb salad and Dancing Shrimp which is  coconut crusted jumbo Mayan shrimp with cajun seasoning, and it’s served with pineapple, orange and coconut sauces.

Cheeseburger Rating

Three Wimpy's, a great burger!

Redeye Grill
890 Seventh Ave. (Near 57th St.)
212-541-9000

Rue-B
188 Ave. B (Near 12th St.)
212-358-1700

Further Reading: New York Magazine, Time Out New York and Meet Up.

I know you know that you're are an April Fool,
We used to roam so freely. It's been so long,
I took my dreams to bed now where they belong.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

Not The Blooper Reel

Ususally I don’t go out on Friday, but yesterday I went to midtown to meet my parents again and before that I met a reader of TWM at a bar near my parents hotel. His name is Bill and he’s visiting from Georgia and wanted to meet for a beer or three, so who was I to refuse this offer. It’s always fun to meet readers of the blog when they come to town. So this is a little different than the usual random Blooper Reel that I usually do on Saturdays. Enjoy and have a great weekend, everyone!

Look at the line for the Mega Millions! Luckily I've already got my ticket and I hope it's the winning one. If so, we'll really start tripping here!

Okay, I chose this place to meet Bill at because it's just a few blocks from my parents hotel.

And happy hour has begun! Let's check it out.

It's nice in here, not your typical cookie cutter midtown Irish bar. This place is the real deal.

Large booths line the wall opposite from the bar.

Maureen, the pretty bartender served me up a beer. Love her smile!

Here's a shot from the other end of the bar.

And here's Bill, who's in town from Georgia. Bill's been reading my blogs since the 365 Bars blog and he's what I call a "silent reader." He's never commented, but reads the blogs religiously which I appreciate. We had a few beers and a nice chat about New York, bars, blogs and before you knew it, I had to get to parents hotel. Great to meet you Bill, and let's have more beers the next time you're in the city!

And here I'm making my way back to my parents hotel.

And here's the old finger on the spy hole trick. It never gets old!

And through the magic of the internet you're transported to our dinner destination, Shun Lee. Our favorite Chinese restaurant on the Upper West Side.

Cheers from the Wombachers!

The highlight of going to Shun Lee for me is always seeing the "Chicken With Three Different Nuts" on the menu! Have a great weekend everyone!

Shun Lee
43 W. 65th St. (Near Columbus Ave.)
212-595-8895

Further Reading: New York Magazine, Eater NY and NY Daily News.

And now that Superman’s made a movie,
No one reads his magazine.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

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Bonus Birthday Wishes for “Boris!”
I found out via Gidget’s blog that TWM in-house artist, “Boris” had a birthday this week. “Boris” has been a great friend to me through the years and has done banners and design work on all my blogs and has really helped me out a lot. So take this time to wish my friend and brother, “Boris” a happy birthday! And “Boris” is also the man behind the music on DJ Gidget’s “Secret Weapon” show, he picks the tunes and DJ Gidget spins the discs, check it out at Woody Radio where there’s a lot of other great shows as well, including DJ Lokie! “Boris” has also taken up photography with a vengeance this year and has taken some fantatstic photos, check out some of his work here. Happy birthday, Daddio!

Happy Hour at the Hilton and with my Parents

Okay, as I stated yesterday, my parents are coming in for a weekend visit today. My apartments all clean and I’m meeting them at their hotel when they get in, which if all goes well with their flight, will be at five o’clock. They’re staying at a hotel in midtown, so I thought I’d go to the nearby Hilton Hotel and spend this week’s happy hour there, before I meet my folks. In reading about the Hilton online, I just discovered that the Beatles stayed in the penthouse suite when they first played the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And here we are in midtown. Not far from the Hilton.

There's Radio City Music Hall.

There's the Time & Life Building where I had several failed job interviews years ago.

And here we are at the Hilton. It's the biggest hotel in New York City.

Steel and glass.

We'll go through the mammoth revolving doors...

The lobby is huge in here!

Grumbler alert!

This is the lobby cocktail lounge, nothing too exciting, but hey, I'm sure they have beer, so let's let the Happy Hour begin.

And here's the bar, plenty of seats, let's go grab one, I'm thirsty!

And the bartender serves up a beer. I didn't tell him I was doing this for the blog and he thought I was a tourist, after I asked to take his picture. He asked where I was from and I told him, "I'm from Podunk, Iowa." He said, "Great town!" Ha ha ha!

Free potato chips! Cheers!

A longshot of the marble-topped bar.

Obligatory asshole with an iPad at the bar shot.

The view from my perch at the bar.

After a couple beers my phone rang and my parents have arrived! So it's back through the revolving doors and over to their hotel.

And here we are. I always plug the spy hole on the door, my mom says, "Who is it?" And I reply, "It's the police, open up!" This has gone on for 18 years and it never gets old! I tell you the laughs just never stop when you're with the Wombachers!

And here's my mom, eyes closed and all!

And here they are for the first time on TWM, my parents, Anne and Jerry Wombacher! Now the real Happy Hour begins!

And after a nice visit and dinner, an obligatory elevator mirror shot before I walk back home. See you all tomorrow!

Further Reading: New York Magazine, oyster.com and Time Out New York.

It’s a family affair,
It’s a family affair.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

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Bonus Links for Mosaic Man Merchandise!
Legendary East Village artist, Jim “Mosaic Man” Power has been making the East Village colorful and beautiful with his mosaic artwork on the streets and storefronts of the EV for years. EV Grieve recently posted links to his online stores where you can buy his wonderful mosaic art and merchandise. Help support the Mosaic Trail by buying something from one or both of these stores. You’ll not only get some wonderful artwork and merchandise, you’ll be helping to keep the Mosaic Trail alive! Let’s have a cash mob for Mosaic Man, starting today! Here’s the links: Mosaic Man’s Etsy Store and Mosaic Man Merchandise at Cafe Press.