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February 17, 2011

the corner bistro

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I took this pho­to­graph when I was in New York last week, back in my old neighborhood…

The Cor­ner Bis­tro was my regu­lar wate­ring hole, back when I lived in the West Village in the late 1990s, back when I was first dra­wing my tra­de­mark “car­toons on the back of busi­ness cards”.

I’d stum­ble in there late-at-night a few times a week. Great hamburgers.

Jeff would pour me a drink. Maker’s Mark on the rocks.

Jeff was a pho­to­grapher. Nice guy. Great bar­ten­der. He liked my car­toons. I’d show him the new ones. He’d tell me which ones he liked.

I liked Jeff. We had a rap­port. This was before I was ever published. This was long before blog­ging or Web 2.0.

This was when I was still unk­nown. A nobody. A goof­ball nobody in a tweed jac­ket, who would sit at the end of the bar for hours on end, dood­ling on the back of busi­ness cards for no reason.

So the Satur­day I was in New York last week, I walk into The Cor­ner Bis­tro, again.

Jeff was wor­king; he’s still there. He’s married and has a kid now. He’s got a regu­lar job doing something, but tends bar once a week for the hell of it.

He remem­be­red me!

I give him a sig­ned copy of Ignore Every­body [I had brought one with me, with the express inten­tion of giving it to him], the book that was ins­pi­red by my days when I lived in New York– my lazy wee­kends in the West Village, my Satur­day after­noons at the Cor­ner Bis­tro, enjo­ying a drink, watching the cabs through the win­dow, dri­ving up Hud­son, as Char­lie Par­ker pla­yed on the best juke­box in Manhattan.

It as really good to see Jeff again. It had been over a decade. It felt like coming home. It was nice to be able to say to some­body from the old ‘hood, “Yeah. I made it. Finally.”

“This is an awe­some New York story,” he said.

He’s right. It is.

Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, New York. Seriously…

[#Evil­Plans]

Tags: Cartoons on the back of business cards, Hugh MacLeod, Ignore Everybody, New York, The Corner Bistro

5 Responses to “the corner bistro”

1. David Gillespie says:

   February 18, 2011 at 12:04 AM

   Last Sep­tem­ber I was in New York with my girl­friend. Our flight from Aus­tra­lia had been dela­yed, we mis­sed our con­nec­tion in LA and wound up lan­ding at JFK well into the eve­ning. Sit­ting in our apart­ment that night, jet-lagged and wide-eyed (it was her first time to NYC), we stum­bled out into the night and wound up at The Cor­ner Bis­tro, relie­ved to be back in a city that unders­tands peo­ple like to eat after 10pm at night, a les­son my island is for the most part yet to learn.

   The place is imme­diate, and it’s obvious how that kind of spot could be the local you come loo­king for. It was for us.

   And the bur­gers were brilliant.

   Reply
   • Hugh MacLeod says:

     February 18, 2011 at 11:41 AM

     David,

     Yeah, it’s one of those pla­ces. Feels very spe­cial if you catch it in the right moment, in the right state of mind.

     Glad I’m not the only one in my ‘sphere who knows of it

     Reply
2. Catherine Monahan says:

   February 19, 2011 at 4:56 PM

   What a great story!!

   Reply
3. Subwaysurfer says:

   February 20, 2011 at 11:39 PM

   Awe­some post. As New YAWKER myself, I always am on the loo­kout for a good bur­ger. Will defi­ni­tely stop by. Love the way you gave props to Jeff who sup­por­ted you in those early days. Must have been a blast to pre­sent him with a book of toons ‚many of which he undoub­tedly saw and appro­ved. What a great story. Just another exam­ple of why we should never blow peo­ple off. You never know who they will become. And also a great les­son in never for­get­ting where you came from

   Reply
4. Roberto Lebron says:

   February 22, 2011 at 9:39 AM

   What a great little story!

   As a for­mer deni­zen of Soho, now tem­po­ra­rily living abroad (that is, outside of NYC), this story felt true to me. I could almost smell the Village air.

   I’m new to you, but this ins­pi­red me to learn more.

   Thank you.

   Reply