I got my cherry popped (metaphorically speaking)
at the age of 16 in New York City...
McSorley's Old Ale House is a historic bar in New York City at 15 East 7th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Established in 1854 by Irish immigrant John McSorley, it is considered the oldest "Irish" tavern in New York City. Known for its cash-only policy, sawdust-strewn floors, and history-patched walls. It traditionally only served its signature light and dark ales.
Famously, it was one of the last "Men Only" pubs in NYC, only admitting women after being legally forced to do so in 1970. Place stunk like a men's gym locker on a day when the windows wouldn't open and the toilets were over-flowing when I first went there in '69.
I was 16 and me and my buddies were trolling the Village for weed. I had no problem at all getting served when we bopped in to the joint. It was the first time I ever had a Guiness (that's the 'cherry reference'). To this day I still think Guiness tastes like liquid shit. Juss' sayin' - not my cuppa...
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In the fall of 1965, during my freshman year at Colorado State College in Greeley, one of my dormitory suitemates was from North Bergen, NJ. Since I had never been to New York as an adult, I listened intently to his stories. One of them was about McSorley's. I guess back in the day, in order to get the patrons to drink more alcohol, the bar offered free lunches. One of the items to partake in was roasted chicken. The wish bones of those birds were hung on the lamps attached to the ceiling. There were thousands of wishbones from many - many years ago.
ReplyDelete"To this day I still think Guiness tastes like liquid shit". Wouldn't expect anything else from a Rockshore fan. (RDaD)
ReplyDeleteI've never seen them serve Guiness, only mcsorley's light or dark. No liquor as I remember, they did have some soft drinks.
ReplyDeleteMcsorley's dark was not Guiness in 1965. It was Stegmeir's porter. If you ordered less than a half dozen at a time, the waiters would give you the cold shoulder.
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