Artifacts

My teammate Jules just sent me these two images of Sophie's, circa 2000 or so. That's her lining up a shot in the bottom picture, and a former teammate of mine, Dave, is shooting up top. I love the couple making out. Other than the cigarette smoke wafting through the air, a new light above the table and perhaps the addition of a few more stickers, not a thing has changed. Enjoy.

Brady's, Upper East Side

It's been quite a while since I've gone out of my way to check out a bar specifically for its pool table. Brady's on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is one such place I'd been meaning to check out for some time. A few weeks ago I had my chance when I was in the area to check out the Robert Frank exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Walking from the 6 train east toward the Met, the idea popped into my head to do a search on my Blackberry to see if Brady's was nearby. Since the Met is at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, it was definitely a "cha-ching" moment when I learned that Brady's is also on 82nd, at Second Avenue. By whatever stroke of fate you want to call it, the UN had taken over the museum for a private event that night and so I did a 180 and went straight to Brady's.

The only thing I knew about Brady's going in is that it's where the Manhattan APA wildcard picks are made. Knowing it was a league-friendly bar, I had somehow put it in my head that Brady's would have at least two pool tables there. Alas, there was only one, but I was impressed to see a couple was playing on it, as it wasn't even 4:30 PM. I overheard them talking about pool and one glance at their game was enough to tell me that they were playing league rules. On a bulletin board nearby there was a poster announcing the National Amateur Pool League (more on this topic some other time). Eventually I went up and asked if I could play the winner, not wasting any time in mentioning that I, too, was a league player. Some polite chit-chat and a few innings later I had won a decidedly lazy game, somehow leaving my opponent with three balls on the table. I let the couple have the table back. I wasn't there to put together a string of wins, I just wanted to get in a quick game and shoot some photos.

I was told Brady's is host to six teams. For this reason, I wouldn't mind going back some Friday night when there's a list to get on the table, just to get more of a feel for the "pool" of players who play there. In terms of the layout of the bar, and number of league teams, it's almost identical to Barfly (sans food and "pole"–curiously, Brady's bills itself as a "no short stick needed" pool bar). Overall, I found Brady's to be a pretty chill place. It had a bit of a time-worn vibe about it, a down-to-Earthness. I'm not surprised to discover, via Brady's website, that a bar has been at this same corner for over 100 years, and that it's been called Brady's for nearly half of that time. I don't really feel at home on the Upper East Side but Brady's is the kind of place I would probably gravitate towards if I lived up there. Beer prices were a little odd, I think I paid $4.50 for a Stella and then $3.25 for a Bud Light (both pints). Regardless, I need up my efforts and check out more Upper East Side bars. Hopefully, there are still more than a handful left that are similar to Brady's. (Editor's note: image above is an assembled panoramic)