Pete's Tavern Kinda Bugs Me
I know there are detractors of this blog out there who think my modus operandi is a mindless, knee-jerk exultation of all things old, regardless of worth. But I do make distinctions. Modell's, for instance, is a very old sporting goods chain in New York. But who cares? The stores look like crap, with no vestige of their history in sight, and entering one makes you want to hang yourself.
And then there's Pete's Tavern in Gramercy Park. I perhaps love old New York bars more than old New York anything-else. Just a glimpse of a huge, beautifully wrought, 19th-century mahogany bar with a towering back bar mirror is enough to bring tears to my eyes. But for all of my affection for Old Town Bar, P.J. Clarke's, White Horse Tavern, Bill's Gay 90s Saloon, the Brooklyn Inn, and many others, I've never been able to warm to Pete's.
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