Related Recs

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TJ Byrnes

It’s an Irish pub somehow located in the interior plaza of a FiDi housing complex. The blinds are down; the red vinyl booths are empty. There’s an octagonal painting of the Twin Towers; Tiffany lampshades; a dim back room with stained glass windows; an ancient waiter who wears a suit; a horrific porcelain leprechaun. The wings are pretty good.One of the few bars in the vicinity to predate 9/11, Byrnes is a holdout against the mass extinction of normal places for normal people to get a drink in the city. For every haunt like Forlini’s that closes we’re treated to half a dozen new TikTok-bait establishments called, like, Ghosted & Fried that serve TUNA POKE WONTON TACOS and MEXICAN STREET CORN RAVIOLI (real menu items at Beauty & Essex) to Syracuse marketing majors in Allbirds. And don’t get me started on the neon signs…Even more insidious are the places like Bernie’s that mimic suburban taverns in order to sell homesick creative directors a plate of five mozzarella sticks for $17. Skip all that, go to Byrnes.

@ezra

Jun 28, 2022

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Old town bar, nyc

I have been working in this neighborhood for SIX years at [redacted art school] and just went here for the first time. It is 132 years old. That math is pathetic ! much time to make up for. this place is a treasure if you like things like observing the oldest dumbwaiter in NYC, tin ceilings, and old stained glass and wood. The women’s bathroom still has little makeup stations with mirrors and tables. It‘s very charming. I’ve also heard something about the urinals but will need a counterpart to report back. The food and drink don’t matter to me. A beer is a beer everywhere. It was fine. Go for everything else.

@yv4dyll0m

Oct 18, 2024

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‘The ear’

A venerable NYC dive/drinking institution since long before I lived in this hood. Surprisingly good comfort food (lamburger, chicken pot pie) too. Spring and Greenwich, Soho. Cheers 🍻

@coreydubrowa

Feb 6, 2024

Top Recs from @jon-lindsey

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Do the Thing People Tell You Not to Do

That thing is your style. Probably it’s still raw, which is why others don’t see what you see. Refine your thing, your idiosyncrasy. Sharpen it but don’t smooth out all the rough edges, these are what stick in people’s brains. Be inelegant. Be brave.

@jon-lindsey

Apr 3, 2023

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Costco Socks

You have to be a member to shop here. Members only. Sorry. It’s called luxury branding. Can’t let just anybody in on these deals. These softer than soft, warm, fuzzy deals. Better luck in the next life. What’s that, you don’t need a membership to buy online? Aw naw!

@jon-lindsey

Apr 3, 2023

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Ancient Apocalypse

This new limited series on Netflix is causing a lot of controversy in the archaeological community. Graham Hancock, the host, loves to say, “Human beings are a species with amnesia.” To prove this he travels around the world to pre-historic sites and makes the argument that an advanced human civilization existed during the last Ice Age before being wiped out by asteroid strikes around 12,800 years ago. I’m a natural born skeptic, but I’ve read several of Hancock’s books and they raise a lot of questions that archaeologists haven’t, or can’t, sufficiently answer.  Sometimes I wonder why I’m so interested in the mysteries of prehistory. The conclusion I’ve come to is that they calm me by making my own problems—finishing my Perfectly Imperfect, writing the next book, death—feel less significant.

@jon-lindsey

Apr 3, 2023