OK, first of all … why the name ‘Overlook’?
It’s on 44th Street between 2nd and 3rd. It doesn’t actually overlook anything. Although on their website (overlooknyc.com) there is an image that seems to be looking down on the bar. I know they have an upstairs and a roof deck, but the vantage point of this image still confuses me. Overall it’s a decent bar with a charming and friendly staff and ceiling fans. Yes believe me you’ll be thankful for them. Though a decent sized place, the bar area of Overlook is a bit small and gets very crowded and hot.
Anyway, it was Maria’s birthday. She was one of the people that I was with to see the Fixx. And though she did not make it to my ‘after sobriety’ celebration, I dragged myself out for her. Just kidding … I had planned to come since the night we met at BB Kings. I’m glad I did too. It was a fun crowd although the unlikely large number of people named Steve and Amy was a bit unnerving at times. For example Maria was telling me that at one point one of the girls named Amy was being chatted up by a guy. He wanted to exchange numbers, yada yada yada. He left and apparently came back with his girlfriend. So I leaned over to Amy and said, “Hey I see your boyfriend with the baseball cap is back.” To which she shrugged and said, “That wasn’t me … that was Amy.” It took me a second for my befuddlement to clear up.
I met a married couple who are looking to get a place in NY but for now, she still has her place in Hoboken. Their friends commented that this was the reason for their happy marriage. Then there was Matt. The story of how he met Steven Morgan was impressive to say the least. They had both been out drinking, but not with each other. As the night ended, they were each about to leave a bar to walk home. At this time they noticed a girl screaming and yelling. She was being assaulted by some drunken idiot. Both Matt and Morgan took off in her direction, subdued the man and called 911. They’ve been friends ever since. Now that is a great meeting story.
Matt also flies small planes out of the Morristown Airport. So we spoke a good deal about how dangerous the traffic over Teterboro has become. For those not familiar, Teterboro is a small airport in a heavily congested area of NJ that has had a very high rate of accidents and near misses over the past few years. He also pointed out something I never realized. After 9/11 the flight patterns over NYC were changed (well that I knew), but not too long after, they were essentially changed back. Of course a change of even just a mile in the sky will seem significant to those of us on the ground.
Throughout the night, several people mentioned how amazed they were that Morgan and I never clashed over our political views. Unbeknownst to me, he and I have very different points of view. After spending so much time together in Ireland, you’d think it would have come up, but it never did. That sort of thing never mattered to me. In fact I enjoy debating with people who are honest about their beliefs and who can respect the fact that someone could disagree with them. This came up while speaking with Meg (who also was at the Fixx show). She shares Morgan’s point of view and we were able to have a very nice, friendly debate.
So the night was one filled with fun, spirits and my very first publicly broken glass. As I turned to talk to someone, my elbow grazed the side of a glass that teetered, fell and smashed on the floor to the cheers of everyone in the bar. It’s hard even for me to think that despite the many, many hours I’ve spent in bars over the years that this would be a first for me.
The night ended with me saying goodbye to Morgan and wishing a happy birthday again to Maria. I shared a cab with Amy (the one I thought was being hit on by the boy in the baseball cap, not the one that actually was). She was going to meet friends at a club on 26th and 6th whose name escapes me. I was beat and walked over to 23rd street to catch the PATH to Hoboken.
The boisterously drunken ‘boken-bound throngs were amusing. The car I was in was massively crowded and loud. Still several people were able to sleep. I got to Hoboken by about 4:00 AM. There was no way I would get a cab with this crowd, so I decided to walk. Along the way I stopped to get a Double Quarter Pounder w/Cheese. I got home shortly after, inhaled the burger and passed out on the couch.
I admit to having a pretty mean headache several hours later. I neglected to have that full glass of water to re-hydrate before falling asleep. It was nothing three Advil couldn’t cure.
See Also:
Overlook
