..."And One More For The Road"

There is a legend in the saloon business that Johnny Mercer wrote the words to the barroom ballad "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" at the bar in P.J. Clarke's in New York City, on the back of one of their cocktail napkins. It has been described as the best "getting drunk because your woman left you" songs ever written. P.J. Clarke's is exactly the kind of place you can imagine that happening. It has the right feel. 

Frank Sinatra made a lot of money off that song, as did Harold Arlen who wrote the music and of course, Johnny Mercer who wrote the lyrics. The owners of P.J. Clarke's have made a lot of money off the saloon business, selling food and liquor to their clientele, starting in 1884. 

During the 40 odd years of my food and beverage career, I have spent some time visiting New York City. P.J. Clarke's has always been a favorite haunt. I have always felt comfortable there. My first memories go back to the early 1970's, when I was working at the Golden Pheasant Inn in Buck's County PA. The owners of the Inn had an apartment in New York in the Sutton Place neighborhood in a building next to the Queensborough bridge. 

P.J. Clarke's is about a 6 block (5 minute) walk from the apartment. Back then I used to walk the city. I had learned how to use the subway system and how to hail a cab, but New York is a city you need to walk. Like Paris, walking the streets of New York, you get an understanding and feel for the city. When I say city, I'm talking about Manhattan. There is nothing quite like walking around Manhattan.

I don't think anyone told me about Clarke's or took me there. I think I found it on my own. Of course, that was a long time ago and my memory isn't what it used to be. If someone did, thank you, and I'm sorry I don't remember.

Most of the time, I went to Clarke's for lunch. I would go at 11:30, when they first opened to be sure to get a table. I would go in the 55th Street side entrance, which puts you at the tables at the end of the mahogany bar. To the right is the entrance to the back dining room. These few tables were in the main bar area of the saloon. It was rare that I sat at the bar. I liked this area because you had a table and still could see everything going on. 

Clarke's is the kind of place that from 11:30 when it opened, until 11:59, no one is in the place but employees. At 12:01, it's completely full with 3 and 4 deep at the bar. Mostly with men dressed in expensive suits - bankers, stockbrokers, ad men and lawyer types, drinking and eating. This was 1973, so I'm sure that there were women too, but it's the men that stand out in my memory and the expensive suits.

The servers and bartenders, that I remember, were men too. I know for a fact there were women servers and bartenders, but I only remember the men. They were grumpy old men dressed in white long sleeve shirts, black pants, long black ties, a long white apron, and long in years with 40 to 50 (I had 24). They did not put up with any bullshit. In my early years, some had black sleeve garters. They tended to be gruff but acquired a big smile and friendly nature when they realized you were in the business and going to leave them a good tip. Most were of average height and a bit stocky.

Back then, they had a simple order pad system. There was a small paper pad on each table and at the bar. You wrote what you wanted (1 Guinness, 1 Cheeseburger, rare, 1 French Fries) and then handed the slip to the waiter or bartender. He brought you what you ordered. It was a pre-digital age system. It worked quite well. 

The menu was fairly simple back then as well. It was typical saloon food, i.e. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Steaks, Meatloaf, French Onion Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Oysters, Cheesecake... They also had a favorite of mine Steak Tartare. Yes, raw beef, with all the correct garnishes - capers, minced shallots, Dijon mustard, minced parsley, gherkins, and of course the raw egg yolk on top. A side of Tabasco was always included to be sure it was spicy enough for you. 

They had another favorite of mine, the "Stoli Martini Up". In the early 1970's Pepsi worked a deal with the Russians to import Stolichnaya vodka into the United States. Clarke's had it and introduced me to it. They served it ice cold and with a twist of lemon. It was delicious. It went well with the Steak Tartare too.

I wasn't the only one to like it either. It was a favorite of Cate Blanchett as well. This was evident in the movie Blue Jasmine.

Up at the front, across from the end of the main bar, was a grill counter which at this time served hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches. If you were short on time, you could step up to the main bar and get the beverage of your choice, then turn around and step over to the grill counter and get something to eat. You had to stand while you ate but for a lot of people this wasn't a problem. They have since taken out the flat top grill and put in an iced seafood raw bar. The counter still has that old comfortable feel.

The main bar, most of the time, was 3 or 4 deep with customers drinking, talking, and engaging their compatriots. After 12:00, all the tables were full and there were people waiting for the lucky ones to get up and leave. This grill counter was a big plus for some, who were short on time. Everyone seemed happy to be at Clarke's no matter how crowded it was. The crowds added to the ambiance of the place. 

A lot of famous people hung out at Clarke's. A lot of unfamous people hung out there too. There were tourist like me, who felt at home here. And there were the locals who lived nearby. They just liked the fact that Clarke's was still there after all the years. 

The building was built in 1868 as a 4 story townhouse. It was constructed in a neighborhood of working class Irish immigrants. The ground floor was converted to a saloon in 1884 by a man named Jennings or Duneen. The early history is a little vague. The upper floors were used as residential apartments. The saloon served the local Irish laborers. It was by no means fancy. 

Patrick "Paddy" Joseph Clarke immigrated from Ireland in 1902 and started working there as a bartender. After 10 years, he had saved enough money to buy the business and renamed it P.J. Clarke's. He and his family lived in one of the apartments above the saloon. He never bought the building itself. He had a long term lease and a benevolent landlord.

This was right before the First World War and the neighborhood was industrial and blue collar. Paddy ran a straight, friendly neighborhood saloon known for keeping a clean bar, decent beer and a warm welcome for his patrons who were mostly laborers, dockhands, delivery drivers and brewery men. It was respectable but lively, a workingman's place without fights. The Third Avenue Elevated Train ran right in front of Clarke's and rattled the glasses on the back bar. The track structure shaded the front of the building but no one cared. Everyone felt at home. 

With the start of Prohibition in 1920 things changed. Clarke's made it through Prohibition by illegally selling bootlegged liquor and bathtub gin that Clarke made in the bathroom upstairs. It was a "Speakeasy". In New York and the rest of the country Clarke's was not alone in this respect, i.e. the "21" Club, the Stork Club, and Chumley's. The neighborhood was starting to change and so was his clientele. Men and women started drinking together. What a novel idea.

During and after the 2nd World War, Clarke's started to attract a more upscale clientele, including some famous people. The most famous nighttime customer was probably Frank Sinatra. He had his own table in the back room, Table 20. The most famous daytime customer was probably Jackie Kennedy Onassis. She sat in that middle area I liked so much, by a window. 

A lot of the crowd included writers, newspapermen, actors, and musicians. CBS had a building nearby so a lot of their staff and newsmen hung out at Clarke's, like Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid. Nat King Cole was a fan of the bacon cheeseburger naming it the "Cadillac of Burgers". It's called that on the menu to this day.

Buddy Holly proposed to Maria Elena Santiago in Clarke's on their first date. Paul McCartney, Peter Falk, Ernest Borgnine, Ethel Merman, Truman Capote were all regulars. Actor Richard Harris would come directly from the airport to Clarke's for his "usual", 6 double shots of vodka. 

The author Charles R. Jackson who wrote "The Lost Weekend" was a regular at Clarke's and several other bars in the area. The bar in the novel is called "Gus's". Jackson's favorite bar was close to Clarke's and was also named Gus's. In the movie Director Billy Wilder liked the look of P.J. Clarke's much better so he made a copy on a Hollywood soundstage. They couldn't shoot in the actual P.J. Clarke's (they tried) because of the lack of control over the sound and lighting. They did shoot some of the exterior scenes in New York City. He obviously knew what he was doing because the movie won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay. It also won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. 

I never saw any of these people in P.J. Clarke's or never recognised them if they were there. I did see some people that were famous to me. One day at lunch, I saw singer Dionne Warwick at a nearby table. On another day, Liza Minnelli was sitting at the bar. I saw actor Ben Gazzara at a nearby table a couple of times. I knew him from the "Run For Your Life" television series. I was lucky enough to catch Dustin Hoffman coming out the 55th Street door as I was walking in. He was with a slender much taller woman, I later found out she was his wife and a ballerina. All these folks just added to the mystic and charm of P.J. Clarke's. 

One of the most unusual aspects of P.J. Clarke's is the visual impression you get as you walk south on Third Avenue. A skyscraper, 919 Third Avenue, starts at 56th Street and encompasses the whole block except for the corner of 55th Street where P.J. Clarke's sits. It looks as if this building was built around Clarke's. It was one of the things that attracted me to Clarke's in the first place. I never knew the whole story until much later.

The story is pretty interesting. In the mid 1950's they started tearing down the Third Avenue Elevated Train. It was ugly and had outlived its usefulness. It darkened the avenue, depressed property values directly underneath, and created constant noise. The demolition transformed Third Avenue. Property values rose, the sunlight returned, and much of the avenue was rebuilt. 

The area around Clarke's became prime property for a skyscraper location as real estate developers moved the skyscraper dynasty from the southern part of Manhattan to the north. In 1942 the building had been bought by the Lavezzo family for $19,000. They opened an antique refinishing and furniture repair shop on the upper floors. They became the benevolent landlord for P.J. Clarke's. The Clarke family moved to a nearby apartment and commuted to the saloon. P.J. Clarke died in 1948 but his family continued to run the business.

In the mid 1960's, Tishman Realty and Construction began to assemble all the lots on the east side of Third Avenue from 56th Street to 55th, P.J. Clarke's block. They wanted to build a 47 story office tower. By 1965 Tishman had accumulated all the property on the block from Third Avenue halfway to Second Avenue, except for Clarke's building on the corner. They were a "holdout". The Lavezzo family refused to sell. 

They were offered extravagant amounts of money. Their reasoning was both personal and practical. They didn't want to lose the family property and they didn't want the saloon (their tenant and source of steady income) displaced or demolished. 

After years of negotiations, Tishman and the Lavezzo family came to a compromise. The Lavezzo family would sell the land and the air rights to the property. They would retain the building under a 99-year leaseback. Tishman would preserve the saloon as it stood although for structural and zoning reasons they would have to remove the top 2 floors. This unusual deal allowed Tishman to proceed with building the skyscraper around the saloon rather than over it. 

Clarke's stayed open during the construction. They did close for a few weeks with the removal of the top 2 floors and some added structural reinforcement. The Lavezzo family closed their antique business and became a benevolent landlord. My guess is, Tishman had supplied them with enough cash to make this work for them. 

They built this building around Clarke's and it looks like it. This deal added to the mystic and the history of both buildings. In 2002 ownership of the business changed hands and the new owners did a total gutting of the place, from cellar to roof. They took thousands of digital pictures before and carefully removed everything and put it in storage. At one point there was nothing inside but the brick structure. There was nothing from cellar to the roof, no floors no roof, nothing. They structurally reinforced the building and added all new electrical and plumbing. They brought everything up to code. Then they replaced everything just like it was before, exactly like it was before, including the men's urinals. They wanted the place to last another 100 years. I imagine this place was a real money maker.

The upper floor eventually became Sidecar, an additional dining space. You enter on 55th Street. Named Sidecar for the drink or the passenger compartment attached to the side of a motorcycle? I don't know. It has been used as an private club, additional dining space, and a space for private parties. It is adjacent to the main saloon business downstairs, so the motorcycle connotation makes sense. It makes a nice addition to Clarke's. 

I recently read one of the long-time waitresses, Pat Moore died. She had worked there for 45 years, longer than any other employee. So for sure, they had women working there when I first started enjoying the place. She was famous because she was a former model and dated Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Warren Beatty, and William Shatner. I'm sure there were others. She was quite attractive. She was famous at Clarke's for her fantastic memory in taking orders and the fact she made everyone feel welcome even if you weren't famous. Sad to say I never had the chance to meet her. 

Also famous at Clarke's were the urinals in the men's room. They were huge, white porcelain structures. The room was small and dark wood paneled. The urinals were about 5 feet tall, 2 feet wide, and 18 inches deep. They sort of envelope you. Every time I've been in the men's room throughout all the years, the urinals have had a large block of ice in them. I'm sure when they did the renovation in 2002 they retrofitted them with flushing mechanisms, but you can't tell. They have always had the block of ice when I've been there. Of course I could be mistaken. My memory isn't as good as it used to be.

There is one thing I do remember very well. I once took a long walk around the main part of Manhattan. It was late at night and I was under the influence of a wee bit of alcohol. When I say a long walk, I mean a long walk. I started at the apartment after a night of hitting the bars on 1st Avenue. There were a lot of them, like Maxwell Plum and the original T.G.I. Fridays (the "singles bars" of the era and I was single).

I decided I needed "one more for the road" and walked over to P.J. Clarke's. I had "one" and started walking back to 2nd Avenue on 55th street. When I got to 2nd Avenue, instead of turning left to head back to the apartment, I turned right and started walking. I walked all the way down to Canal Street. Then took a right and walked over to Greenwich Street. I took another right and walked up to Columbus Circle.

This put me right at the southern edge of Central Park which sits on 59th Street. The Queensborough Bridge is also known as the 59th Street Bridge, so I was almost home. This walk was about 10 miles total and took me about 4 hours but I wasn't counting. The sky was just beginning to lighten as I walked (stumbled) into the entrance of the apartment building. 

Why I didn't get mugged or arrested, I can't tell you. I guess that old saying "God looks out for children, fools, and drunks", is true. I know I covered 2 of those categories, if not all 3. I know for sure I wouldn't have made it without that "one more for the road".