Monthly Archives: February 2009

NYC

RIP Stefan Lutak

I just found out that Stefan Lutak, proprietor of the Holiday Cocktail Lounge in the East Village, died earlier this week.

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Amongst friends o’ mine, the Holiday Cocktail Lounge was the go-to pregame spot for an evening’s festivities. It was rundown yet strangely elegant. It was never too crowded. The seats in the back resembled the kind you’d find in an school bus, including the super-sticky duct tape plastered over the rips. It had an excellent jukebox.

And it was super cheap. You couldn’t get beer beyond Bud, Corona, and Heineken in bottles, or mixed drinks more complicated than a rum and coke. But you could have a few drinks with friends, and leave with your wallet not completely empty.

And somehow, someway, the place was never overrun with douchebags. You would think that a very affordable joint on St. Mark’s Place would attract some vile human beings. I can’t walk into any bar in this city without spotting some loudmouth jerk whose mere presence sours my evening.

Except, amazingly, for the Holiday Cocktail Lounge. It was a rare thing: a truly pure, awesome thing that was never ruined by awful people with tiny imaginations.

hcl_2.jpgThe Holiday Cocktail Lounge ran counter to every modern retail impulse. It was run in the way that old family businesses were in small towns (back when family businesses and small towns still existed). The place was open as long as Stefan felt like staying open. You could stay there all night if he did, but if he felt like going to bed early, you had to pack up and continue drinking elsewhere. Even if Stefan felt like hitting the hay at 9pm on a Saturday night.

It would be great if the Holiday Cocktail Lounge could stay open just as it is, and stand as a shining bulwark against the forces of Creeping Quality-of-Life-Ism. But alas, this is New York City, and even in the midst of an economic freefall, real estate is far too valuable to allow the kind of fun-first dollar-second atmosphere Stefan’s joint fostered.

So hoist one for Stefan tonight, and for the Holiday Cocktail Lounge. We won’t see the likes of either in this city ever again.

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Baseball

Bob Costas, Meet Joe Torre

costas2.jpgI’m very excited to be on the MLB Network, and I’m even more excited to interview manager Joe Torre, who’s written a book you may have heard a little something about.

torre2.jpgHah! Good one, Bob! I’m excited to be here, too.

costas2.jpgIt’s fitting that we’re having this interview in Studio 42, our facility named in honor of the legendary Jackie Robinson. After all, Jackie Robinson broke racial barriers, and you wrote a book!

torre2.jpgUm, thanks, Bob. Those two things aren’t really equivalent, but I do admire Jackie and his contributions to the game…

costas2.jpgDon’t be so modest, Joe! Sure, Jackie Robinson fought against a prejudice that modern minds can barely comprehend. But you–you told us what Brian Cashman said about A-Rod behind his back!

torre2.jpgBob, I don’t pretend anything I’ve done is as important as what Jackie Robinson did…

costas2.jpgNor should you. Because your achievements are far more important than Jackie’s! What did Jackie Robinson do except endure pain and burdens none of us can even begin to imagine? But thanks to you, we know that David Wells was a jerk!

torre2.jpgWhen did you turn into such a sarcastic jerk?

costas2.jpgI’m not being saracastic! All I’m saying is, why stop at baseball! Surely when the history of literature is written, up there with the greatest passages of Joyce and Tolstoy and Hemingway, there will stand your description of Roger Clemens slathering his nads with Ben-Gay!

torre2.jpgBite me, you midget.
/storms out

costas2.jpgJoe, please don’t forget me when they’ve carved your face on Mount Rushmore!

Cinematics, Life In These United States

A Shrine Befitting an American Legend

When in Jupiter, Florida, be sure to visit The Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum.

I can barely get past the fact that “and Friends” is in the name of this place. When you see “and Friends” in a title, it should refer to either a 70s variety show or a badly edited collection of old cartoons with awful linking material (like those “holiday specials” that Warner Bros. cranked out throughout the 80s).

I’m not going to say anything more about this establishment. Just click the link, browse the site, and marvel.

Once again, hat tip to Patrick of Oregon on the FOT Forum for pointing out this cultural gem.