09/09/09 Party at Solas
First, my girlfriend treated me to dinner. She said it could be any dinner I wanted. Steak, BBQ, lobster, whatever (ok, not lobster). So what do I choose instead? A cup of chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese with tomato at the Murray Hill Diner (222 Lexington Ave, NYC) of course. It was what I wanted.
Afterward, we stopped by Desmond’s Tavern (433 Park Ave S, NYC). A proper pint of Guinness for me and Frangelico for her. My night was off to a great start.
Shortly after, it was time to get to one of my favorite spots. Solas (232 E 9th St, NYC) is a cool cross between swank and dive. Just fancy enough with great drink specials. We had full reign of the back room. Well that was after we tossed out the speed daters. Plus, being on 9th street added to my theme of the night.
As friends rolled in, the liquids flowed freely. To be honest, it wasn’t long before my cognitive skills were less than reliable. So my memory gets a bit fuzzy.
There are vague memories of lassoing girls in from that speed dating event, a golf club wielded like a sward, putting on a show in the front window for passersby, and fighting over the iPod dock in the DJ booth. I do remember the last song I played was Deep purple ‘Highway Star’. Thru it all, plenty of laughter.
This is exactly how I wanted my centurial celebration to go down. I could have traveled to the big Trinumeral Festival in Asheville, NC and that would have been fun I’m sure. I would have met all sorts of characters and had new adventures, but I really wanted to be among friends. And that’s the birthday I got.
At the end of the night, the crowd dwindled and it was time for my unofficial after party at Lilly Coogan’s (102 First Ave, NYC). I could hardly say the name without sounding like Tom Brokaw on novocaine. I remember amusing myself to no end by repeating the name of the bar over and over.
Once there, I met up with musicians David Ribyat (who was at the first party for a bit too) and Tracy Thorne. Tracy was also the bartender so, you guessed it, more birthday spirits for me.
I like Lilly Coogans. There’s a great vibe here of music and Irish pub warmth. It’s a true neighborhood bar. I don’t cone here nearly as often ad I should. I must remedy that.
I got home. The fact that writing this attests to that fact. Getting here was a mystery. I ate too. Yet another mystery. But what kind of party of the century would this have been without a certain degree of blackouts?
Just kidding. As fun as it was, I’m using the holes in my memory as an excuse to detox. Don’t panic people, it’s just for a couple of weeks. Maybe less. I normally do a month a year booze free. Yeah, I’m not ready for that yet this year.
Thanks to Una and the Solas staff for their gracious hospitality and extensive patience. Thanks to Tracy at Lilly Coogan’s. Thanks to Marty Smyth for allowing me to retire my camera for the night.
