'21' Club

I haven’t been out on a searching for a swizzle stick adventure since I started TWM, so I thought tonight I’d go out in search of one. One classic New York Bar I’ve never been to is the ‘21’ Club. The ‘21’ Club originally opened in Greenwich Village in 1922 and was called the Red Head. They moved to the current location at 21 West 52nd Street in 1929 and changed the name to Jack and Charlie’s 21 Club in honor of the new address and the two owners first names. As time wore on, it became simply known as ‘21’ Club. You’d think an iconic place like this would have swizzle sticks, let’s go and find out!

And it's down into the subway we go as we make our way to 21 West 52nd Street.

And just as I walk onto the subway stop, a train is approaching, one of the best feelings in the world!

And here's an iZombie texting her life away seated next to me. She never once looked up from that thing.

I hate this escalator at the Fifth Avenue subway station. It's the tallest escalator ever and it really fucks around with my fear of heights. I get vertigo just looking at this picture.

Okay, I made it up the escalator with only a minor anxiety attack and here we are. The '21' Club is about a block away.

And here we are. While there's no sign outside, one thing that gives it away...

Is the ceramic jockeys out front. Through the years, horse owners and breeders have donated jockey's to '21' Club and you can read about the history of that here.

Here's more of the jockeys leading you up the stairs in the front of the building.

And here's more on the top floor. Okay, enough of the jockeys, let's check out the bar and see if we can score a swizzle stick.

This is the bar, it's situated in the front of the dining area. it's a classic dark bar and so all the photos will be flashless and maybe a little on the dark side, but I didn't want to break the mood of this place by popping off a bunch of flash photos.

Here's a shot of the wooden bar from where I stand. There are no seats or stools at the bar. One thing that's cool about this place is the way its lit, small spotlights hang from the ceiling lighting up certain areas and leaving others dark. It really gives the place a cool ambiance. You kind of feel like you're in a movie in here.

I ordered a gin and tonic in a tall glass and was disappointed that there was no swizzle stick in it. I expressed my disappointment to the friendly bartender Anne-Marie (she's camera-shy and didn't want to be photographed) and she said she could fix me right up.

She summoned Michael, who's worked at '21' for over 25 years to come over with a '21' Club swizzle stick especially for me. It seems they are on short supply and are waiting on a new order to come in, but they dug this one up just for me! Very nice!

Houston, we have a swizzle stick! Very cool, now let's take a look around in here.

Here's a shot of the back of the classic, old school bar.

A glance of the circular wooden bar from the opposite end from where I was standing.

And here's the dining room behind the bar. Notice all the items hanging from the ceiling.

There's everything from model airplanes to trucks, to football helmets and basically anything you can think of dangling from the ceiling in here. It's really something to see.

There's also lots of pictures from the past and memorabilia on the wooden walls in here.

As the night wore on, some of the tables emptied out, here's a shot of some of the spot lit tables and the red banquette behind them.

And here's the new swizzle stick...

That is added to the collection. Thanks to Anne-Marie and Michael for making this a great night out at the '21' Club and a successful swizzle stick adventure!

‘21’ Club
21 W. 52nd St. (Near Fifth Ave.)
212-582-7200

Further Reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, Wikipedia and Hub Pages.

Never 21 when everyone's a sailor,
Coming up strong at the animal bar,
Ever loving mug of Mr. Norman Mailer,
Turn another page at the animal bar.

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

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Surprise Candy And Fear Of A Stalker!

Last week a mysterious package showed up in my mail from Vermont. I wondered what it was, as I don't know anyone in Vermont, so I opened it up.

Inside there was a gift box, but no card saying who it was from. I opened it up and inside...

It was filled with maple candy. I immediately remembered answering a question from Gidget in her questions post  at her blog about my favorite childhood candy. I told her it was maple candy that my grandma gave to me as a kid. I thought maybe the candy came from Gidget so I called her. She told me that she had planned to send me maple candy, but hadn't had time to do it yet, so now I was a little freaked out. Who had my address and was sending me candy? I immediately started looking both ways as I left my apartment, fearing a stalker. Then yesterday, TWM commenter, BBC member and friend, Gene sent me an email stating that he and Smoopy had sent me a package and wondered if it had showed up. It turns out he and Smoopy read Gidget's blog, sent the candy and the people in Vermont forgot to include a card saying who it was from! So a belated thanks to Gene and Smoopy for sending the candy! It was delicious and brought back fond memories of my childhood and my grandma!