Runnin' Scared heard from the Department of Health who said, "The Mars Bar was closed because inspectors observed approximately 850 fruit flies in various areas of the restaurant and in a bottle of alcohol."
by Goggla--see more pics on her Flickr
In 2009, Goggla posted this report from the bar that shows the integral role fruit flies played in the life of Mars Bar. Was it the watermelon vodka that finally sunk the ship?:
A gaggle of girls came in to Mars Bar. One ordered a watermelon-flavored vodka with soda. By some chance, the watermelon was in stock, but had probably been sitting there for years.
She was horrified to find fruit flies in her drink and sent it back. The bartender held the glass to the light and just said, "Huh."
Another patron recommended the girl get a beer since that comes in sealed bottles. She insisted on a fresh drink from the same vodka. There were flies in the bottle.
We cheered and said that was lucky, but she walked out, leaving her jaw on the floor behind her.
Also read:
The Loss of Mars
Before Mars Bar
I'm going to ask Hank if I can buy that bottle of watermelon vodka.
ReplyDeleteRIP Mars Bar
ReplyDeleteRIP NYC
Hello Popped Collars and SATC Cotton Candy Dreams
L-O-Fucking-L at the DOH even bothering them at this point, but it just goes to show how violent and cold the Big Cupcake can get when its sugar level gets too low.
this is maddening beyond belief. and with max fish on the ropes, more devastation to come.
ReplyDeleteIt's a *perfect* NY story -- you couldn't make it up: "Fabled Bar Felled by Fruit Flies"
ReplyDeleteWe all knew it was coming, but it's a big loss and that corner is always going to seem empty from here on in. I had some great times in there and two very memorable Easter Sundays. Jesus Fucking Christ.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I forgot about that watermelon vodka - haha!
ReplyDeleteSigh...it was great to see people turn out last night, but also disappointing that there was no rioting in the streets. Where is the EV fighting spirit?
The East Village fighting spirit can't afford to live here anymore and has long since moved on.
ReplyDeleteHow come it is repeatedly left out that "the man who is bulldozing the building" is doing so because the people who live there asked him to?
ReplyDeletehey check it out, the yippies have a coffee bar and free wifi ;)
ReplyDeleteI was born & raised in the NYC of the 70's and 80's. The 90's were spent in an attempt to hold onto some sort of semblance of the two earlier decades in New Jersey. It was cheaper and there was a better rock music scene. That, by 1999, was real old and tired. So I moved to Philadelphia, fondly known as Philthy. Cheap rents and great public trans. History and neighborhoods. Characters and communities. Unspeakably scary at times. Right up my alley. Anyway, I got myself a sweet under-the-table gig tending bar at an African owned joint in West Philthy. Made a ton of money, not from great tips but by shear volume of customers. Never stopped coming and weekends were packed, always ending in the cops showing up. Good times! Why am I teling you all this? Because there were dozens of fruit flies in the bottles and in the soda lines. A good bartender knows how to flick 'em out with a stirring stick without the customer noticing! And the ones that got by me & discovered, well, my regulars would scoop 'em out themselves, the newbies would be ok with a new drink (bottled or canned). No one, to my knowledge, ever left that bar because of a fruit fly in their drink. And therein lies the difference now between Philly and the new NYC. And is why I'm moving back east but to Philthy not my beloved NYC that no longer exists.
ReplyDeleteI'm a native New Yorker living in unhappy secluded exile in Los Angeles. Like everyone here at Jeremiah's, I'm horrified by the gentrification of my hometown. But would someone explain this "popped collar" phenom that's often referred to please? I assume it's a Twenty-Worst Century yuppie fashion trend.
ReplyDeleteGoggla + Jeremiah: That's the fucking problem -- there is NO fighting spirit here any longer and it's pissing me off!!
ReplyDeleteWhen the city quickly condemned and immediately demolished a low-income city-owned building at the NW corner of First Street + Second Avenue due to a pipe leaking water a little over 10 years ago, at least 100 people maintained an angry vigil and demonstration that had to be restrained by a small army of cops.
This time, it's not about a developer using eminent domain to build another architectural monstrosity with "affordable" housing for the wealthy (or heavily in debt). In this case, the residents of this building cut their deal on their own with real estate developer Donald Capoccia (the same guy who destroyed community gardens in order to build 3 story condos on the LES) in order to get new apts in the huge yuppie ghetto complex he wants to build there.
The residents may be getting their Capoccia apts for $10 each, but Capoccia would get income from more than 50 "market rate" units that did not exist before.
And how are they going to afford the maintenance fees he will charge them for their new apts that they are not allowed to transfer to anyone else? These fees will be several times higher than the rents they've been paying!!
These fools will realize their mistake once they've been double-crossed, but there will be NO ONE there to fight for them!!
The Big Cupcake is right on.
ReplyDelete