Double Tall Iced Mocha, Lite on the Chocolate

“i was sitting in mcsorley’s. outside it was New York and beautifully snowing.” E. E. Cummings started a poem with this line in 1925.

McSorley’s opened at East 7th st. in the East Village in 1854. If it was not for modern day clothing of the patrons, I could have easily forgotten what year it was. The only amenity this historical alehouse has is a burning wood stove which has probably been there since it opened. The interior is all wood, sawdust covers the floors, newspaper articles and pictures dating back to 1910 cover the walls.
No music, no television, just people and beer. Up until 1970 there were no Women in the bar either. McSorley’s was considered a gentleman’s haven until a Supreme Court ruling required them to change the policy.

Ordering beer at McSorley’s is quite simple, “light” or “dark”. I ordered 4 beers and headed over to the table. As I arrived at the table I realized we had 5 people not 4. I headed back over to the bar where there will still 4 mugs beer sitting idle. The Bartender informed me the 4 were mine. “I only ordered four”, “Thats why I gave you eight!”. Confused I did what any sane person would do and took them back to the table, where upon arrival I learned that a single beer consisted of a pint split between two of the small mugs.

If you are in the neighborhood, I highly recommend stopping in for a beer where Abe Lincoln, Woody Guthrie, E. E. Cummings and many more have before you.

Few pictures I took there

The urinals at McSorley’s

Flickr: McSorley’s tagged pictures

An etching of McSorley’s