McSorely’s Old Ale House has been an New York City institution for more than 150 years. It’s on East 7th Street, and not hard to find. Certainly worth a stop for a glass of ale.
McSorely’s Old Ale House, New York City, USA.
The place has quite a history, having been visited by presidents and other dignitaries. Sorry for the shabby photo, but the interior is old-school barroom as you can kind of see here:
Interior corner of McSorley’s Old Ale House.
Plenty of old photos, newspapers, even record albums hanging on the wall, meaning there is plenty of eye candy to keep you busy. You can order light ale or dark and you get two glasses per round as you see next:
Light ale at McSorley’s Old Ale House.
Two at a time also keeps you busy. Then there’s a short menu of food items chalked on the board:
Menu at McSorely’s Old Ale House.
After all that drinking, you may need the toilet, and it’s old school as well. Check out these urinals:
Urinals at McSorely’s Old Ale House.
All in all, quite an establishment. Worth your visit for a drink or to linger with friends and chat. Maybe you’ll meet someone new or find a piece of memorabilia that fills in an historical blank. Enjoy the journey.
The Bent Page 
Matchbook Memento
Matchbooks used to be a nice memento from restaurants and bars or weddings and other events. These days, I imagine, they are no longer the keepsakes they once were. Fewer people smoking and no real need for matches has taken away this micro-design memory jogger. Nonetheless, while cleaning out a drawer, I found this little book from Chumley’s, the old speak-easy on Barrow Street in New York City:
Chumley’s Matchbook, circa mid-1990’s.
Had many great times at that little place: food, drink, laughs, and more. It was located behind an unmarked door, maintaining its speakeasy charm at 86 Barrow Street as the number on the reverse of the matchbook implies:
An “86” for the street number of Chumley’s.
As far as I know, the place is closed at this time. Ah, well, still have the memories and this little memento as a reminder. Cheers!
- New York City
on August 25, 2013 at 12:46 pm Leave a CommentTags: Barrow Street, Chumley's, Commentary, ideas, matchbook, matches, New York City, photo, random, speakeasy, thoughts, travel