The P&G Cafe and Bar, NYC, 12/30/06Last year it was McHale's in Times Square and now sadly, The P&G Bar's days are numbered as well. If you've never been, it can be described as a comfortable, classic, 1940's old man's pub with a dark wood bar and cozy booths, delightfully situated around the corner from the Beacon Theater that does not smell like old men or worse. I've been going to P&G before and after Beacon shows for years (last night's show, The Mississippi All Stars & Gov't Mule). But P&G is now another victim of ubiquitous citywide gentrification. Someone must have made them an offer they can't refuse. In the next year, it'll become a Starbucks or whatevs. Goddamned coffee. Why are you so inexpensive and delicious? I hope someone rescues the neon so it doesn't end up in a dumpster. I wonder whatever happened to the McHale's neon?
One of my favorite parts about this place is the ladies room. Modest and with old fixtures and a hook and eye for a lock, it's always kept clean and well stocked considering the state of most ladies rooms in bars; I've seen much fouler cans in hip clubs. Mounted above the sink is the real gem: A 1940s hand dryer. It's bigger than a bread box, it's metal painted dark green. It's on switch is one of those old timey light switches that makes a heavy flick sound when you flick it, and on either side of the interior are these lights that flash on when you put your hand between them and a ear drum splitting blast of high powered air scares the piss out of you if you haven't already pissed. The air blows on your mits for as long as you keep them between the lights. Oh, dinosaur hand dryer, I'll miss you.
Apparently they don't have one of these machines in the men's room. This is no surprise. Once I had a boyfriend who didn't wash his hands everytime he took a poop. Now he's super wealthy and is married to some other broad and they just had a baby. Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, I remember, he doesn't wash his hands everytime he takes a poop. In other words, Some Other Broad's Problem.
2 comments:
The antique hand dryer must be saved from the dumpster!
I used to LOVE to go there when I lived up there for school. It was rare as I was always broke, but once in a while I would scrape up the cash for drunken hi-jinx.
Who am I kidding, I'm still broke and scraping.
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