Saturday, 11:59pm
Subway Inn
143 E. 60th St. (Lexington Ave.), Manhattan
It's a challenge to think of this block as part of the Upper East Side and not Midtown, but that's the case. It's not, however, a challenge to think of this bar as one above a subway, which is why we knew our two new friends from Toronto would enjoy it (feels "New Yorky") as much as we do ("quick commute home").
When we arrived, the Subway Inn was full of some sort of
girls roller derby team party (late 20's, in pigtails and gym socks), male regulars at bar (late 60's, Member's Only jackets, probably purchased before they got cool again), three bankers (barely-20, oxfords and baseball caps), and a handful of 30-somethings. 39 immediately asked us for quarters and promptly lost them playing Galactica (pictured). Suddenly he, an internist, was a thousand times less drunk (how do guys do that?) and was blood-clot-airplane advice for her mom, and continued to tease Sara about her shirt, but we knew he was a good guy. Another beer or two illuminated his shocking resemblance to the 19-year-old cadet from last weekend.
Later we gave 39 quarters for the jukebox. He and 37, a lawyer, returned the favor by way of beer-buying. Around 2am, singing and dancing to Blind Melon, Prince and Lionel Richie(!), we felt Age Appropriately complete. Sara turned down a 25-year-old. He got dramatically angry with our ageism. We were empowered.
37: I'm so sorry my friend was making fun of your shirt all night. I'm so glad I met you guys. It's exactly what I needed. You're intelligent, creative, cute, unpretentious, and your project seems semi-legitimate.
Thank you, gentleman, for the endorsement, and the reminder of why it's always best to hang out with people your own age. Even if we blew our curfew by four hours.
PS: While there were definitely youngsters here tonight, we still placed this bar in the Age Appropriate category because it was predominantly AA after midnight and at points before.
This is the second of a multi-part story. Read part one.