Saturday, March 27, 2010

New hip spot or Jersey Shore dive?

A few weeks ago we got off the ferry and headed to the Cargo Cafe. But while walking on Bay Street we passed what was once a filthy coke den, and is now a fancy, clean -- possibly even swank-ass -- restaurant/bar called Pier 76.

So we decided to try it.

The pizza is great, it's basically that Joe & Pat's type-shit. (If there's one thing Staten Island can't fuck up, it's pizza.) The beer was good too. We ordered a Stella, which the barkeep said was two-for-one, but only served us one and said, "thank you" -- whatevs.

But there was one glaring issue: the people. It seems that Staten Island is not able to construct a halfway decent bar without attracting dickheads.

OK, we know, who cares, just enjoy your beer. No -- these people are loud and obnoxious and you can NOT just simply ignore them. Anyone within a ten-foot radius is required to listen them by the laws on physics.

The topic of conversation was basketball: fine. But the people kept repeating each other's talking points about how bad "Cornell fuckin' sux." It was like a Jean Paul Sartre-meets-Mike Francesa nightmare.

They also talked about work -- a lot. Dudes, we don't want to hear about your effin job, and do you realize how LOUD your talking it's 6-fuckin-30 at night.

And one thing was for sure, they did NOT like us being there. One dude kept saying we were rude for taking his spot. There weren't even seats. We are standing at a bar, go stand somewhere else, asshole.

So, yeah, it's great. A new restaurant by the ferry. But the clientele sucks.

We know that guidos run the island, but St. George??

This is just one of the places where a Jersey Shore-esque establishment has opened recently in the neighborhood.

So the question remains: should the cultural elite of SI (ie the Dump and it's loyal readers) support an institution such as this one?

Should we attempt to blend in and mingle with the Pier 76 crowd? Can we peacefully co-exist in a fist-pumping orgy of a good time? Or, should we just stick with the Cargo Cafe?

5 comments:

  1. I've yet to patronize Pier 76. People rave about the pizza and I'm curious to see how they've managed to renovate the space but this blog posting scares me! The atmosphere of Royal Crown immediately pops into mind- which, if it's anything like that place, I'll be avoiding like the plague. Despite great coffee and good pastries, the overly tan, juicy/victoria's secret PINK emblazoned velour clad crowds and their LOUD ass personas are enough to keep me from even the best cannoli.

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  2. Les Vinyl played a show there when it first opened and a bunch of Cargo regulars (myself included) went down to check out the new spot and support the band.
    What a bad idea that was.
    The bar was literally divided, in the back was us trying to rock out with the band while in the front the bar filled up with loud, obnoxious football fans who gave us dirty looks any chance they got.
    I'll definitely eat the pizza but forget about hanging out there. Not worth it.

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  3. i don't get this sense of entitlement.

    If they treat other Islanders like this, I can imagine what it's like when a tourist strolls in from the ferry speaking a foreign language.

    the location kind of requires that you be welcoming to outsiders. and that they are not. this will not be good for our image.

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  4. Let's get an army of Staten Island non-idiots and take back the bar.


    ...but would it then turn back into said coke den?

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  5. I had issue and curiosity about a place that has so many functions according to its awning. Are you a pizzeria? A bar? A lounge? A bakery? Clearly an identity crisis I don't need to have. The fact is, a noticeable contingent of Staten Island suffers from some sort of xenophobia and apparently no neighborhood is entirely safe. Lucky for us though that there are enough places not like that to give our patronage to!

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