Mars Bar. The Old East Village Disappears...

Usually if I mention a bar here it's because they have an amazing mixologist who makes his own tonic and bitters (the mole bitters in the Oaxcan Old Fashion at Dram are out of this world) but Mars Bar is a very differnt kind of place then the new bars popping up in the East Village.  The Mars Bar has always been there, or least as long as I can remember, I moved here in 1986 and it was there on the corner of Second Avenue and 2nd street.  They served cheap beer in bottles and shots of whatever cheap liquor you wanted. It was the quintessential dive bar.  And I am going to miss it when it closes at the end of June, the building is being demolished and a 12 story apartment building is going up in it's place.

If you are in NYC before then I hardily encourage you to stop by and get shit faced for old times sake.
This is the last of a dying breed...this is the kind of bar I grew up in, being a denzien of the East Village since I got to this island.  I always felt at home here in the East Village and the thing I noticed that this blogger also mentions is how friendly people where.  You were never wanting for conversation or company.  For more pictures of the insider check out this Nearsay posting

Below is the wall outside the Mars Bar announcing it's final hour using as the background the image of a fancy new hotel that just went up on the Bowery a few blocks away.