Screenings take place at a number of outdoor locations across the boroughs of New York, including Open Road Rooftop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the rooftop of El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, and on the pier at Solar One at 23rd Street and the East River. 

The season begins this Saturday, May 31 at Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn with a free screening of the documentary At the Death House Door, a film by Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and Peter Gilbert (Vietnam: Long Time Coming).  The film introduces viewers to Pastor Carroll Pickett, who presided over 95 executions while acting as the prison chaplain at the infamous “Walls” prison in Huntsville, Alabama.  The film also introduces the audience to Carlos De Luna, a convict who was counseled by Pastor Pickett and whom Pickett believed was innocent.  The film follows the developments of Chicago Tribune reporters, who later compiled evidence to suggests De Luna was, in fact, innocent and wrongly convicted.     

Rooftop Films continue at various locations every weekend through September 27, 2008.  Tickets cost $9 at the door and $6 online in advance for select shows.  For a full list of the scheduled films as well as more information, check the IFC’s Rooftop Films 2008 Summer Series.

Photo credit: Flickr

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

Mé Bar is pronounced “May Bar”  and can be roughly translated as “mountain bar” in Korean.  The name is only fitting seeing as the bar is located on the 14th floor rooftop of the La Quinta Inn in Koreatown. 

The indoor bar, featuring high tables, barstools, and skylights, is little different from any hotel bar.  However, the outdoor seating area is the real draw to Mé Bar.  Wide wood planks, colorful tables and chairs, and white benches are surrounded by potted plants and outdoor lights.  It is there, on the rooftop, that you may sip your cocktail while in the shadow of the Empire State Building.   

Drinks are nothing spectacular and moderately priced ($5 Buds).  No food is served due to the spatial limitations, but ask for the menu binder which contains nearby Korean restaurants that are willing to deliver. 

The hidden location still keep the crowds as bay, but finding the Mé Bar will be well worth your time!  

Location:  Mé Bar, La Quinta Inn, 14th floor, 17 West 32nd Street (map) 212-290-2460

Subway:  N, Q, R, V, W to 34th Street-Herald Square, 6 to 33rd Street

Hours:  Daily 5:30pm-12 midnight  

Photo credit:  View of the Empire State Building from the Mé Bar, flickr

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

Uptown

• The Kinsale Tavern (map), an Irish bar on the Upper East Side, is my personal favorite bar, if only for the fact that they serve Brahma, my fave Brazilian beer. Don’t worry, they have all of the normal standbys included on their 30-beer-long draught list. Just remember that you are on the UES when you see the Zucchini Rounds on the menu!
• Those that say there are no neighborhood bars left in Manhattan obviously haven’t been to Abbey Pub (map).  Tucked away (way) uptown in Morningside Heights, this bar still believes in buybacks!   

Midtown

• At Molly’s Pub and Restaurant (map) you can pull up a chair by the fireplace and chow on Shepherd’s Pie while downing Guinness by the pint.  The sometimes lackadaisical waitresses just add to the laid back atmosphere.  It really feels like you’re at a proper pub in Ireland.
• Maggie’s Place (map) is on the upper-end of Irish restaurants and bars in Manhattan.  This small family-owned restaurant serves everything from Dublin Fish & Chips to Irish Lamb Stew.     

Downtown

• I recently featured McSorley’s Old Ale House (map) in my Tavern Day post.  This no-fuss bar in the East Village serves two types of homebrew beer:  dark and light and both are delish!    
• Swift in Greenwich Village (map) will at least make you feel like you’re at mass as you sit in the church pew booths.  The backroom that has enough space for you and your entourage.     

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

McSorley’s Old Ale House, has had ale flowing freely since it was founded in Manhattan in 1854. Famous patrons are said to have included Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, among others. The famous bar has found itself to be the subject of countless books, songs, paintings, and even the e.e. cummings poem, i was sitting in mcsorley’s. In the poem, cummings refers to the famous McSorley’s beer as “the ale which never lets you grow old.”

In the more recent sorted history of the tavern, it is worth noting that McSorley’s was one of the last “men-only” bars that did not allow women patrons. That all came to a crashing halt with the rise of feminism and in 1970 when the court case Seidenberg v. McSorleys’ Old Ale House was taken to the District Court. The court ruled against McSorley’s and the bar was obligated to allow women through the doors.

Located in the middle of East Village, a stone’s throw from New York University, there isn’t a college frat boy in sight at this bar. The sawdust floors and walls that are covered in memorabilia made me forget that I was in the middle of East Village.

The drinking menu at McSorley’s is very simple: McSorley’s own recipe dark beer or light beer, both of which is served in two half-pint glasses ($4.50). Just a note, the “light” beer isn’t really that light. From the food menu, you can expect some very “down-home” and thoroughly unpretentious snack options. The most popular offering, the Cheese Plate (small $2, large $3), is served with a sleeve of saltine crackers (not kidding), sliced raw onions, hot English-style mustard, and contains what looks like Kraft singles. I have been assured my many people that it is quite delicious.

Location: McSorley’s Old Ale House, 15 East Seventh Street 212-474-9148

Subway: 6 to Astor Place; N, R to Eighth Street

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-1am; Sunday 1pm-1am

Tavern Day can be enjoyed by anybody, anywhere in the world. Check out fellow b5media bloggers in D.C., Las Vegas, Paris, San Diego, Sydney, and Europe to see their suggestions on where to best celebrate this Tavern Day.  Even the Geeky Traveler chimes in and tells us about a device that finds the nearest bar by using GPS technology.  Sign me up for that service!

Photo credit: Personal Collection (Taken after three rounds of McSorley’s Dark Ale)

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

Where to Eat:

• Great Jones Cafe (map) is home of the famous 95¢ jalapeno cornbread. Come early as this place gets packed.
• Mara’s Homemade (map), located just a few blocks from Great Jones Cafe, has a Mardi Gras menu featuring crawfish, gumbo, and Po’ boys. Hurricanes are $11 and you get to keep the souvenir glass. See if you can collect a set of 8 before the night is done!
• Delta Grill (map) is on the pricey side (entrees approx. $20) but offers live Cajun music and good New Orleans’ favorites like Fried Catfish and Jambalaya. Try a martini made with jalapeno vodka.

Where to Party:

• The Big Easy (map) proves that you don’t have to go to Mexico to find a bar where is it appropriate to do body-shots– you just have to go to the Upper East Side!
• Bourbon Street (map) on the Upper West Side starts its party at 12noon and goes all night long! Drink specials and a DJ spinning music.
• Union Hall (map) has it all in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Have some Jambalaya, a few Hurricanes, and collect some beads while you listen to live music from The Doc Marshalls, Carrie Rodriguez, and the Tall Pines.
• Banjo Jim’s (map) keeps it real with live ragtime music and a full-on Mardi Gras party.
• TG Whitneys (map) has $2 Hurricanes and Bud from 4-7pm is followed by a night of dancing to Zydeco music.

Photo credit: Joits (via flickr) lifted his shirt for the beads

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Post from: The New York City Traveler

I just saw this come across the wires and it is just so surreal that I had to share it.  "Long Island Lolita," ex-convict Amy Fisher, will be a Guest DJ at Retox Rock Bar in New York City.  Fisher will be joined by self-proclaimed "NYC Club Guru" JE Englebert.   

Amy Fisher rose to fame in 1992 when the then sixteen-year old was convicted of shooting Mary Jo Buttafuco, the wife of her former lover, Joey Buttafuco.  Fisher served seven years in prison and was released in 1999.

But it doesn’t just stop there!  Apparently she’s been busy since her prison release in 1999.  Fisher’s guest appearance will also mark the official debut of her controversial sex tape that ex-husband and former cop, Louis Bellera, sold to Los Angeles porn distributor, Red Light District.  Red Light District, also the distributor of Paris Hilton’s sex tape, must be marketing geniuses because the Fisher sex tape is the #1 selling tape in the United States. 

If you absolutely must go see this train-wreck, here is the info:

Location:  513 West 28th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenue) map

Subway: 1, 2, 3, A, C, E to 34th Street-Penn Station

Date and Time: Friday, January 8th 2008, 11pm

More Information and Table Reservations: 212-268-5105

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Post from: The New York City Traveler