BoozeNew York

Don’t Forget to Remember the International Bar

Updated: Jun 03, 2011 14:09
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I don’t remember the first time I went to the International Bar, and if you’re willing to spend $20 there I doubt you will either. Drinks, like the beer and shot combo, start as low as four bucks. And when I say “shot” I don’t mean that puny thimble you’re getting around the corner, I mean a rocks glass filled to the brim with Evan Williams. This is a bar for old men (and by “old men” I mean people who know how to drink), a classic dive with regulars who are more than drunk enough to crack jokes with you for hours, tell you of their drug-fueled shenanigans, lovers gone wrong, or problems with the swine that’s sitting at the other end of the bar.

In the night it can get overcrowded, and it may be hard to find a seat or hold a conversation with anyone. The drink prices are still there, but I’ve never been fond of shoulder-to-shoulder situations when you feel lifting your drink to your lips may lead to a bump on the elbow. I prefer to go there in the daytime, when the old men are out telling stories, the bartender is friendly and refers to you as sweetie, and the garden is open for cigarettes. Buy backs are common if you’re nice, and the atmosphere is warm, comfortable, and keeps you coming back for more, even if you don’t remember it the next day.

International Bar
120 ½  1st Ave.
New York, NY 10009
Between 7th Ave. and St. Marks Pl. [East Village]

Image from Metromix New York

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Bobby Rich - Affordable Aficionado

Bobby Rich - Affordable Aficionado

Bobby dropped out of college at the age of 20, said goodbye to his papaw in the small town of Copper Hill, GA, and went to India, where he studied professional pauperism in ashrams and taught English to children. From New Delhi he flew to London, where emigration considered him a "vagabond with no roots to return to", and he was put on the first plane back to America. After finding himself in the freezing snows of Chicago, some guy at a bar offered him a job transporting a car to NYC, where he is currently stuck in Ridgewood, Queens. His travel website The Music Underground has helped many find the obscure in foreign lands.