It’s Saturday and time to roll out the blooper reel of photos I took through the week that didn't make it into a post. Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow for Cheeseburger Saturday Night!
But I don't want to meke my own pasta! What, do I look like Chef Boy Arr Dee over here? This just in...happiness can be bought, in the form of a discounted chocolate bar!
Well, you know the economy is still in the shitter when there's a line out the door for a horrible one dollar slice of pizza.
This wins the award for the most disturbing thing I saw in a window all week.
Every Christmas season I go to Rolf’s German Restaurant and check out their over the top Christmas decorations and I’m sure I’ll go again this year. While Googling around for bars to go to on Casual Free Food Friday here at TWM, I found out that from 5 to 6 PM, Rolf’s serves free finger sandwiches at the bar. That’s when it dawned on me that I’ve never been to Rolf’s in the off season, so today’s the day. And I’ve never had finger sandwiches, I’m hoping to try an index finger, I’ve heard they taste like chicken.
It's a gray old day out here today. It's only a little after four in the afternoon and Rolf's is just about a fifteen minute walk from my apartment, but I want to be there when the finger sandwiches come out. I've been obsessing about them all day long. Why am I obsessing over finger sandwiches? Only my therapist knows for sure and I stopped going to him decades ago, so I guess we'll never know. All I do know is I want to be there when they first hit the bar.
There's a lot of cops and barricades on Broadway. I asked a cop what was going on and he told me the President was going to be traveling through here this afternoon. I had my camera in my hand and as I walked away he said, "You're not going to stick around to take pictures?" I told him I couldn't, the finger sandwiches were coming out at five. He looked at me like I was nuts. I was tempted to tell him my name was Henry Krinkle, but didn't feel like getting shipped to Guantanamo Bay, so I just moved along.
And here we are at Rolf's. Wow, sure looks different when it's not Christmas time.
The Christmas decorations may be gone, but there's still a lot of cool things in here, like the indoor street sign that greets you as you walk in.
Since it was early in the afternoon, there was plenty of seats open at the bar. I took a seat and got a beer from the owner of Rolf's, who was bartending. He's a little camera shy and didn't want his picture taken. I asked him when the finger sandwiches would be coming out and that's when I was hit by the sad news that they stopped doing this a few years ago. This was devastating news, now I'll never know if an index finger tastes like chicken.
There was a glass of pretzels in front of me, so all was not lost on this Casual Free Food Friday. I had another beer and vowed to find a place that has finger sandwiches in the future.
Martha and Peter were at the end of the bar and I had a nice conversation with them. They're regulars at Rolf's and told me that they've been coming here for years. Rolf's has been on the block since 1968.
As I was talking to Martha and Peter, Patti came in and heard me talking about my blog and said she had heard about it. It turns out she's a regular reader of EV Grieve and had seen a link that he had posted about TWM. It's a small internet world out there in cyberspace!
Here's the back dining room of Rolf's. Even without the Christmas decorations, it's still a festive looking room.
Luckily all the headlights are outside, so this guy is nice and calm on the wall.
Polished wooden booths line the outer wall and add to the Bavarian feel of Rolf's.
Colorful and ornate glass chandeliers hang overhead.
I love the stained glass in here.
There's a trifecta of Marilyn Monroe photos in here. Here's the first one in the back of the dining area.
And here's one tucked away up near the ceiling.
And the third one is this classic Marilyn photo up by my seat at the bar.
A bar that has coat hooks is a sure sign of a bar that has class.
As is a tin celing. As I was taking the photo of the ceiling, Patti told me to take a shot of Chuckie and pointed to the left of where I had just shot this photo...
And heeeere's Chuckie, suspended up in the air in an antique baby carriage.
A shot of the other end of the bar.
And I've polished off about half of the pretzels and I've drained several beers, so it's time to hit the road.
Out the colorful door we go...
And night has fallen on Manhattan...have I ever mentioned I love it when that happens?
My friend and fabulous DJ Gidget has invited me to call in to her afternoon show today on Woody Radio! I'll be calling in at 2 PM EST, and you can hear what a nasally, whiny voice I have compared to Gidget's radio friendly octaves. It's going to be a lot of fun and I hope you can tune in and listen on your computer, just click here at 2 PM, today: Woody Radio.
New York is known as the city that never sleeps and to cater to such a city, there’s a lot of place open late if not all night. I thought it might be fun once in a while to go somewhere at midnight and see what’s happening. To kick off this series, I’m going to go to a record store I visited when I was doing MAD, called Colony Records. When I originally went there, I just kind of stumbled on it and didn’t know the history behind the store. The original Colony Records was founded by Harold S. “Nappy” Grossbardt and Sidney Turk and was located at Broadway and 52nd Street. The store kept late night hours, making it popular with musicians and the late night shift in Manhattan. It moved into the famous, Tin PanAlleyBrill Building in 1970 and that’s where it still operates. Some of the famous clientele that have walked through the doors here include: Benny Goodman, Chet Baker, Madonna, Elton John, John Lennon and Michael Jackson. It’s a little after eleven, so let’s hit the rode and see what midnight is like in Colony Records.
It's kind of a miserable rainy night out tonight.
And through the magic of the internet, we're magically transported to the corner of 49th and Broadway, home of Colony Records.
Colony Records has been housed in the legendary Brill Building since 1970.
Let's go in and check it out.
Here's the front half of the store...
And here's the back half of Colony. Let's go exploring this place.
Let's take a look at what's in the front glass display case.
There's plates with original John Lennon art on them.
Directly above is a Kiss plate and memorabilia.
And below is the guy often known as the 57th Beatle, Beaver Cleaver. I think he went on to drum for Spinal Tap.
Richard works in sales here at the store and is very knowledgeable in the history of Colony Records.
He wanted to show me an album that has a historical significance to the store.
The album is called, "The Bebop Singers," and the in the center photo behind singer Joe Carroll is the corner of 49th and Broadway before Colony Records moved in. The ground floor space where Colony is now was a restaurant called, "Turf" and above it was a nightclub called, "Bop City."
Next Richard took me over to the book section of the store to show me another photo from a photography book.
This is a photography book showcasing the work of legendary New York photographer, William "Popsie" Randolph.
And here's another classic photo of the corner where Colony Records eventually ended up in. Richard told me that the floor above Bop City were music publishing offices thriving off Tin Pan Alley tunes.
Richard had to get back to work, so I roamed the store on my own. Check out the vintage TV Guides.
Here's some rare Beatles memorabilia on display at the back of the store.
Blowin' in the display case, a signature Bob Dylan harmonica.
Fun in Alcapulco with Elvis. Thank ya...thank ya, very much!
Colony Records is the largest seller of sheet music in the world.
And the front counter has reminders of the two latest celebrity deaths, Whitney Houston and Davy Jones.
Bethany was working the front counter. She's worked at Colony for about a year and a half and is an actress who's done some off Broadway work. I'm holding onto this photo, maybe I'll be able to sell it to TMZ one day!
Colony Music 1619 Broadway (@49th St.) 212-265-2050
It’s Saturday and time to roll out the blooper reel of photos I took through the week that didn't make it into a post. Have a great day and we'll see you tomorrow for Cheeseburger Saturday Night!
But I don't want to meke my own pasta! What, do I look like Chef Boy Arr Dee over here?
This just in...happiness can be bought, in the form of a discounted chocolate bar!
Well, you know the economy is still in the shitter when there's a line out the door for a horrible one dollar slice of pizza.
This wins the award for the most disturbing thing I saw in a window all week.
ConEdison...sticking our thumb up your ass since 1823!
Speaking of ass...
Nope, that's all you need to say! Thanks!
Uh...I just told you, you don't need to say anything else. I hear you loud and clear!
SHUT THE FUCK UP!
Aaaaahhhh!
Blloopers, 
