PlanJam!From your screen to the scene

New York’s history is as dense and rich as the head on a good pint, but you don’t need to spend hours shuffling through some stuffy museum or wear out your shoes taking walking tours to find it. The history of any city is as entwined with the underworld as the mainstream culture, and some of the best places to find well-preserved windows into an older time are bars and pubs. From Fraunces Tavern downtown (where George Washington toasted the end of his presidency) to Chumley’s in the Village (the speakeasy where some of our greatest literary minds poisoned their livers), the Big Apple is chock full of historic watering holes. Although it may not be the oldest, McSorley’s Old Ale House holds a spot as one of the most unchanged, historically-significant, and most importantly, beloved bars in all of New York.

McSorley’s (according to their own accounts) opened in 1854, and though some historians dispute that date, it’s safe to say the place has been around for a long freaking time. Women were famously only allowed inside starting in 1970, which might explain why the women’s bathroom is so poorly labeled (listen for the shocked apologies issuing from the men’s room if you don’t believe me). McSorley’s is still a bit of a guy’s bar (expect to hear some gruff sports talk from the tie-wearing after-work crowd), but mixed-gender groups of friends make up much of the clientele these days. This is definitely a bar you want to bring pals to, otherwise you’ll be awfully lonely toasting to yourself amidst the raucous crowds. When you step up to the counter or order from your waiter, the first thing you should know is that the smallish beers here are served in pairs, so if you order three, prepare for six. The wee mugs of beer (two make for about a pint’s worth) come in only two varieties, McSorley’s Light and Dark, and both are perfectly palatable. Observing the servers’ mastery of the art of multiple-mug-holding is half the fun – you can place bets on how many glasses they’ll be able to carry in one trip.

If you come too late you’ll be lucky if you can find a spot to drink standing up, but if you can manage to secure a table in the crowded seating area, you’ll most likely end up making friends with your neighbors. Such close quarters, along with a large number of devoted regulars (who, by the way, swear by Monday nights as the best time to come here), make for a vibrant community atmosphere that is hard to find in any bar, much less one with so much history. Speaking of which, one of the only downfalls of such a crowded atmosphere is that you sometimes feel awkward reading over people’s shoulders, and that’s a shame when there’s so much worth reading on McSorley’s walls. You’ll find framed newspaper clippings and photographs commemorating visits by luminaries the likes of Abraham Lincoln, as well as moments from the bar’s, and the city’s history. Faded images speak of New York’s wild west past, when McSorley’s looked more like an outlaw-filled Texas saloon than a New York pub.

McSorley’s greatest asset is how little has changed there over the years, from the sawdust on the floors, to the old wooden kegs outside, to the friendly cat that’s known to leap onto your table at unexpected moments (though he might’ve come on the scene somewhat later than 1854). Even the simple bar foods like liverwurst sandwiches and saltines with cheese, mustard, and onions go unchanged with time – no coconut shrimp or cheeseburger spring rolls here. No, McSorley’s sticks with what works, namely, good beer and good people, and that’s the kind of tradition New Yorkers are happy to get behind.