Hungry Like the Wolf | Treasure Club NYC | Bar Belly | SoHo Park Cafe | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran came out in the summer of 1982. It was re-released in the US in December of 1982 and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #3 the following March. Duran Duran is an English rock band that formed in Birmingham in the late 1970s. They are considered one of the leading British bands in the MTV-driven Second British Invasion that took place in the US in the 1980s.
So I never knew any of the lyrics to this song besides the wolf part and the do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo. They are inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Honestly, I never knew that but I guess that makes sense I just picked the song this Wednesday because who doesn't like a mid-week do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo.
Their music video, cough, cough, YouTube Rabbithole, cough, cough, won the First Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video in 1984.
A quick refresher on Little Red Riding Hood, the moral of the childhood story is to be wary of strangers, don’t reveal personal information, don’t disobey your parents, appearances can be deceiving, and take care of your elders. That’s the PG Version that I remember, apparently Little Red Riding Hood goes back centuries, we’re talking Middle Ages, and the origins are a bit unknown because most countries have their own form of the story.
Nice little Throwback 80s tune that I heard at one of these bars I had a pint at. I’ve always been very wary of strangers, unless, of course, I’m drinking a Pint of Guinness with a Pen & Paper, then all bets are off!
On to the pints…
Guinness Challenge Season #1
@Kids don’t try this at home. Not just because you’re underage and will have plenty of pints to drink if that ends up being your thing when you’re older but also because Guinness is actually best served in a pint glass from a tap. A pint of Guinness varies depending on the drinking establishment. If the keg it sits in is rarely poured, it can lead to some underwhelming taste. Rather than stealing gimmicks, I’d like to start taking Notes while drinking Guinness. My grandfather from Connemara, who I never got the chance to meet, Thomas Davis, used to drink pints and by all accounts was a self-taught thinker. The one rule I’ve imposed on myself is that I will only have 1 pint per sitting from each establishment I review, so @AnyoneWorrying, don’t worry about my drinking habits. The Guinness Challenge is to “cut the G” on your first sip (more like a gulp and a half). If this is your first time hearing about it, I didn’t come up with the fun challenge @YouTheReader can try the next time you have a Guinness. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extraordinarily nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan ever to give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
Song On In The Background: Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Charlotte and Nick are the bartenders. Charlotte has lived here in The City for 4 years. “You have the best and the worst day, every day.” Treasure Club opened up in December. She has been bartending since “we re-entered society in ‘21 after the pandemic.” Romantic goth or Flight Risk are recommended. Rolling Stones Tour of Europe 1976 is Charlotte’s favorite item of memorabilia at Treasure Club. This was formerly the Boys Don’t Cry sports bar.
Treasure Club has a very nice quaint bar feel to it with a super casual vibe. The Rolling Stones in the spring of 1976 toured Europe, including doing two dates in Yugoslavia which was a big deal at the time because they were a Communist country. The bar has some very cool T-shirt merchandising you can check out on their website treasureclub.bigcartel.com. They have a Happy Hour every day until 7 PM, which includes a tantalizing frozen Aperol spritz. It is a cool spot located at 22 Orchard Street. I look forward to grabbing another drink at Treasure Club in NYC again soon!
Song On In The Background: Lazy River by Louis Armstrong
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Genesis is the head bartender, she loves the job and has worked in The City for 13 years. Bar Belly just gave me some complimentary popcorn on the house, much appreciated. Jazz band every Monday and Tuesday, live music on Sunday, with a DJ on the weekend nights too. Vegan Caesar salad and the $1 oysters are recommended. They also serve some excellent braised short-rib sliders. La Lupa is a recommended cocktail, it’s mezcal, and tequila made with in-house ingredients. Daiquiris however are Genesis’ favorite to make. Bar Belly was originally called Lead Belly after the famous guitarist.
Huddie William Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, was born in Louisiana on January 20, 1889. It was said that he first tried to play music at the age of two, hey it was 1891, and people grew up quickly. His uncle introduced him to a guitar and he fell in love with it as well as almost every other instrument he ever laid hands on. He quit school at age 14 and named his 12-string guitar his “Stella” because it was his ticket to life and freedom. Lead Belly faced jail time in his day because other men were jealous he could get the attention of women. He got into a bar fight in 1930 and was sentenced to prison because it was the Jim Crow South. While he was in prison, Ledbetter would meet John and Alan Lomax who were recording prison songs for the Library of Congress. Lead Belly’s guitar skills would be discovered by the Lomax family and they would bring him to New York where he would receive great acclaim by performing at campuses all over the North East like Harvard, Princeton, and NYU. (LeadBelly.org) Sadly, Ledbetter would pass away from ALS, then in 1949 known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, but his legacy as the King of the Twelve String Guitar lives on at Bar Belly. I’ll be honest, I did not know who Lead Belly was so this was pretty cool to learn about him. Bar Belly is a very nice cozy setting perfect for a date spot. I look forward to grabbing another drink at Bar Belly again soon!
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: The Bratwurst sandwich looks good. I guess we’re at a park in SoHo. No TVs. They have 10-foot trees in tree stands indoors. Kinda cool. I’m going to suggest the Raspberry Lime Ricky as the recommended drink. I’m thinking of heading to the Bronx this weekend to hand out some Week to Week Notes business cards to some fellow Yankee fans. This place is kinda cool kinda.
Remember these pints were drunk at the end of May. Next Tuesday’s Pint&Pen&Paper will be the Guinness around Yankee Stadium. SoHo Park Cafe is a nice dining and brunch spot. They host bottomless brunch parties 7 days a week. Monday to Thursday they do an afterword brunch party jam from 4 PM to 11:30 PM. On Fridays, they do It’s-The-Weekend Midnight brunch parties from 4 PM to Midnight. On Saturdays and Sundays, they have brunch parties from 11 AM to 11:30 PM. Brunches are $55, they come with a choice of fruit or fresh salad and an entree. I look forward to grabbing another drink at SoHo Park Cafe again!
YouTube Rabbithole
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf (Official Music Video)