The Williamsburg circuit

A couple Fridays ago I went to Williamsburg to check out a bar that I hadn't visited since last year. The place is called Zabloski's. It's on N. 6th Street and I used to hang out there while waiting to photograph performances at places down the street like Galapagos and Northsix. Zabloski's was the first stop in my quest to find some other pool tables in the neighborhood. It was a productive trip. I found two other places, all within 100 yards of each other and all within a stone's throw from Berry Street.

Zabloski's has a pretty stiff house rule: If you lose and all of your balls are still on the table you have to buy your opponent(s) a drink. I guess that says a lot about how seriously they take pool there: either beware of break-and-run players or get lost if you're a first-time player. I put my name up on the list beneath somebody named "Frat Boy" and went around to look at the black and white photos they had on the walls (all very much up my alley: Halsman, Levitt, Mili, Newton, Frank, Eisenstadt, etc.) then came back to watch people play. Before long it was Frat Boy's turn and I cringed as he used his own sketchy rule on an open table. Neglecting to consult his opponent, he blindly smashed into a cluster of balls without calling anything and then continued to play whatever had fallen. The opponent questioned it and all I heard Frat Boy say was, "Well, the way I play is..." Soon it was my turn to take on Frat Boy and during the middle of our game his cellphone rang. All of a sudden he was talking loudly into it, saying "Yeah, I'm on North 6th Street right now, right around the corner from you. I'm wearing a white hat and a blue jacket. I'll be right there." Earlier I had overheard him brag to his friends about "how cool it is that they just deliver it to you." When he hung up I said to him, "So, you gotta go meet your pot dealer or something?" He was clearly surprised that I knew, but I was more surprised that he did NOT say "Alright, it's your table, I gotta run." He then bolted, saying he'd be back in two minutes, never to be seen again. I went on to play pretty well for a couple games and then left.

Next I checked out Brooklyn Ale House, around the corner and up two blocks on N. 8th Street. In the back they have a tiny pool table. Now, many bars in New York have the small bar table.But I'm telling you, this table was even smaller. There's only one other place I've played on a table this small and that is Reservoir Bar on Universty Place. I lost on a bad roll, scatching the cue ball after a risky bank on the 8. It was okay, I was there more to observe than to win. After my game I asked the people playing if I could shoot some pictures and they said sure. Then some old man couldn't fathom why I was taking pictures of the pool table. I told him what I was doing, but he was a real grouch. Apparently he felt I was taking his picture. So I apologized and left, likely never to return.

The third and final place I visited is called Laila Lounge, on N. 7th Street. I could tell immediately it would be my favorite place of the evening. A cavernous space with a high ceiling, a stage up front, a patio in the back and a pool table right in the middle, the proportions of the space just clicked. Nobody was playing pool when I walked in. I went to the bartender and asked if I could snap a few pictures of the space. There was a man performing on stage and the place was pretty empty but it had a good vibe. Soon some people started playing, I put up my quarters and when it was my turn I asked my opponent about the rules. She said "Tournament or Bar?" Apparently, tournament rules are the same as league rules. I didn't play very well, but was stoked to have found the place. Even the guy on stage was singing a song about "the crack of pool balls," (turns out it's Tom Waits). I checked out the bar's website later that night and was pleased to find the slogan: "Drink. Dance. Shoot Pool."

Continental

Indeed, a nice place for a pool table.

Crossing Delancey

Tucked away on a quiet Lower East Side street is a place called Fontana's. I found out about it last spring when I was playing at Bull McCabe's and was studying the league division schedule they have posted there. Aside from not having heard of the bar, I was surprised when I saw its address, 105 Eldridge, which is very close to where I live (in SoDel, as I like to call it). The next day I went to check it out and I immediately liked what I saw: a striking purple-felted table that's bigger than most bar tables (I'm almost positive it's a 4x8). Located all the way in the back of the L-shaped space, near a second bar and below the DJ booth/loft, is the pool table, which is down in its own sort of sunken level. The table has excellent clearance and the only people near the table are players themselves or people using the restrooms. Fontana's does have a live music space in the basement, so a lot of people pass by the table on their way downstairs. I've mostly visited the place on weeknights, which are usually slow. So most of the times I visit I go in expecting to just get some solo practice. But on a handful of occasions I've played some really good people. The last time I visited, the table had been rotated 90 degrees due to a minor reconstruction of the entrance to the basement. I am not sure if they still have a team but it seems that it'd be a great place to host a league night. The top photo shows it the way it used to be and below is how it appeared a few weeks ago during a torrentially wet Monday night, when containers were set about to collect drips leaking from the ceiling. A photo gallery of pictures from the bar's website can be found here.


About 100 feet on the opposite side of Delancey is Lucky Jack's, a place that is very hard to miss. It's got two entrances, one on Allen and one on Orchard. I photographed the place for the Voice back in May of 2005, a couple weeks after I had just moved into an apartment nearby. Like Fontana's, the bar is very spacious and also has an underground space. The Allen Street entrance has a bright white sign outside, whereas the entrance from Orchard is much more understated. The first thing one notices walking by on Allen is the red pool table right there by the large windows, which are often open when it's nice out. I actually hung out there quite a bit in my first few months of living here. Thanks to fellow photog Pete Taylor for shooting this picture of me breaking with his camera phone way back when. I was actually with Pete when we came across the Whiskey Ward, where we started playing exclusively. At any rate, all the people at LJ's are cool, I actually got to know the bartenders and many regulars. A lot of excellent players to boot. But the place is just too narrow for a pool table. Granted, it's a common problem for bars in New York. But my general rule of thumb is that I stay away from places that require short cues. Still, I give kudos to LJ's for making the table so prominent near one of the entrances. That's got to be a fairly big draw. When it's crowded though, as it inevitably gets, forget trying to play a real game. Last I heard, LJ's league team (most of which came from Bull McCabe's) had disbanded and started a new team up at O'Hanlons. Below is a shot of a mischievous Jack Russell Terrier named Sprocket who managed to hop onto the table and get ahold of one of the balls.

Continental update

I walked by there yesterday with Yvonne and was stoked to see, in the back where I had hoped it would be, a lamp hanging above a very nice, clean pool table. We went back last night for a few games and had a fun time. The table is very brightly and evenly lit, and surrounding the table is abundant seating. The cue sticks are brand new and therefore their tips are very flat so I got out my scuffer and rounded some of them down a bit. There was a dolly underneath the table, perhaps for moving it on certain occasions, but I would guess the table is going to stay put. It's an ideal setup, I'm more than happy to put in six quarters to play. Afterwards we watched the last bit of the baseball game and even caught the first few scenes of Blade Runner while listening to great tunes like Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" and Billy Joel's "Movin' Out." Thanks Trigger, you did the right thing. I look forward to many more visits. Pics to come soon.

Will pool replace live music at Continental?

In early September of this year I had an assignment from the Village Voice to photograph the live music venue Continental. In particular, I was supposed to try to get a shot of the owner of the place, a man who goes by the name Trigger. It was a story that was going to accompany a similar article about the closing of CBGB's.

Trigger is not hard to find. He is the omnipresent doorman who always wears a traditional Vietnamese conical leaf hat. I only got a chance to photograph him during one song as he played harmonica alongside The Bullys. A week or so later the place was closed, with plans to reopen soon as a dive bar, sans live music. Soon I was in the neighborhood again and saw a huge sign posted atop the main entrance announcing a pool table and a juke box. I made a point to walk in there last week to see if a pool table had materialized. It hadn't, but a carpenter who had apparently been dismantling the stage said that it would be there on Tuesday the 17th. I checked out the place last night, no table in sight, but I spotted Trigger and re-introduced myself from the Voice.

I asked him about the situation and he conceded that although he had put up the sign promising a pool table, he was not sure if that was going to be the case. I asked him if it was because it would take up too much space and he said that wasn't the case as much as his concern about "frat guys getting into fights." I immediately thought of my experience in Taos but didn't suggest to him the horrid idea of shutting the table down with plexiglass at 11:30. He said he had considered putting it in the basement (the Voice article mentions a pool table going in the downstairs green room). But he said if it went in the basement he'd need supervision down there. I suggested that he could have a league team or two, that way there'd at least be a core contingent of regular players that care about the table that would always be around to help and keep an eye on everything. He was undecided on what to do. I told him I'd check back in a few weeks.

I sincerely hope he'll have a table, not in the basement, but back where the stage was. I checked out the space and there'd be more than enough room for a table and four or five booths surrounding it. Besides, who wouldn't want to play in the same space that was host to such acts as The Ramones, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Spacehog, Sebastian Bach, Patti Smith, Wyclef Jean, Lemmy from Motorhead, etc. Not to mention countless lesser-known bands with pool-appropriate names, many of which would make excellent names for league teams: Te-Cue-Dos, Hi-Balls, Beyond the Bridge, Sea of Green, The Know How, Moment of Clarity, Hurry Up Offense, The Beatings, The Collisions, Slow Motion Lies, Another Day Wasted, Beer Drinking Fools, Fast Eddie, Crowned by Lady Luck, Spin Cycle, and perhaps the best one, Stuck on 8. Below is a shot of The Bullys and below that a motion-blurred shot of the back of the room where the stage used to be. To be continued, stay tuned...

Came to play pool, Fats

This is a great moment from the final scene of The Hustler, brilliantly shot by cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan. It's when Eddie walks into Ames with $3000 in his pocket for a rematch against Minnesota Fats. It's a great contrast to the scene at Ames in the beginning, where the arrival of Fats is the big occasion. What I love about this moment is that everybody in the room can see it's Eddie that has walked in, whereas Fats is the last person to know. From everyone's silence he can sense something is brewing but he keeps his cool, not turning around to see who it is, almost as if he's trying to identify the intruder by the sound of his footsteps. Eddie walks out of the frame, briefly casting a shadow across Fats' face, at which point Fats allows himself a small glance over to see who it is.

--Eddie: Came to play pool, Fats.

--Fats: That's good, Eddie. For how much?

--Eddie: You name it.

--Fats: Thousand dollars a game?

--Eddie: Let's make it three thousand dollars a game, Fats. (pause) Come on, three thousand dollars. That's my bankroll, my life savings. (pause) What's the matter, Fats? All you gotta do is beat me the first game, and I'm on my way back to Oakland.

--Fats: (resignedly) Let's go.

Dismantling Corner Billiards, continued...

I just got an email response from Ria Katz of Corner Billiards. Many thanks for her clarification.

As you know Corner Billiards closed for business in July. Amsterdam Billiards' lease will be running out at the end of this year/beginning of next year. In order to stay in business the owners started to shop around for a space. The timing was perfect and they bought out Corner and will reopen it as a pool hall in December. My understanding is that Amsterdam Billiards is not a franchise. They are small business owners (very much like Corner) and while initially the two rooms might be operating at the same time, the room on the upper west side will close and the building will eventually be torn down to make room for high rise condos.

Dismantling Corner Billiards

Ever wonder what a pool hall looks like when its tables are being taken apart and removed? This is a shot from a few weeks ago of the inside of Corner Billiards. The door was open so I walked in to take a look. I had heard that it was going to become another franchise of the Amsterdam Billiard Club. One of the five or so workers said it should be up and running near the end of the year. We'll see. I have one suggestion that I'd like to make, based on my visit to ABC on the Upper West Side several months ago. After taking a stroll around that place and checking out the scene I was stoked to find a coin-operated table, into which I promptly put some quarters and got to practicing.

Killer Pool

Here are some recent pics from the past several Killer Pool nights in which I've participated. Mostly, I just go up the street to Edge Bar after 10pm Thursdays. But once I checked out the scene at Dukes on a Monday. That experience gave new meaning to the word Killer, considering things don't get underway until well after 1am. But every time I've played I've had a super great time.

For the uninitiated, KP is a ring game of cut-throat pool. You have a group of people, it could be any number, and everybody puts five bucks into the pot (which may or may not be matched by the bar). Everyone's name goes onto a chalkboard, along with a predetermined amount of marks (aka Lives) beside to each name. The first player up breaks (no soft breaks allowed, and a scratch on the break is a loss of one life). Second player just has to make a shot, and so forth on down the list of names. No shots need to be called. If you miss a shot you lose a life. Winner is the person who stays alive the longest, and who gets to walk away with the pot.

Special thanks to all the great players I've come across, either at Killer or during league matches or just when playing for fun. Some people I've gotten to know a bit, others are only recognizable faces. These photos are just a small, small sample of said folks. Below is AJ, followed by Julie, followed by Chris, followed by Alison.

Pool in the Upper Reaches of Chinatown

A few months ago, I heard one of the players at the Hamilton Fish Recreation Center on Pitt Street talk about a pool place on Grand Street. Mistakenly, I thought he was referring to 128 Billiards, which is on Elizabeth between Grand and Broome (closer to Broome), where I've played multiple times.

But while doing some searching online last week I came across a place called Grand Billiard & Cafe, at 90 Eldridge Street (right below Grand), just around the corner two blocks from where I live. I wondered, Is it a second-floor type place? Do they have billiard tables? I went to check it out and came across a place, like Slate on 21st, that I immediately knew I had walked by before, back when pool wasn't one of my main preoccupations.

It's a slightly crowded but cozy place, part of that vibe comes from the fact that all but one of the five tables are covered with dark red felt. There were lots of young Asian kids having a good time. I didn't check out the brand name, but the tables were unlike any I had seen. Very sturdy looking. One table had wooden shimmies under one of the legs, I liked that. I asked about prices, and was told the tables are $14 per hour (I'm pretty sure that's regardless of number of players). A little too high to pay for solo practice, but the place has got some character and I plan to return soon with some people in tow. The place also has many computer stations for internet surfing, as well as numerous video games. These first two photos are from there.

Back to Elizabeth Street. 128 Billiards is the only place where I've tried my hand at snooker. Compared to a 3.5 x 7 bar table, standing in front of a 6 x 12 snooker table feels like standing in front of a huge lawn. With the smaller balls and pockets and the springy cushions, it's a totally different animal. I only have a little knowledge of the game, most of which is from a couple videos I've seen online of Ronnie O'Sullivan running a staggering 147-point "maximum break." In addition to the snooker table, 128 Billiards has eight regular pool tables (at $8/hour for first person and $4 per additional person) and a very elaborately re-designed garden/jungle-themed bar.

Taos

A couple weekends ago I traveled to Taos, New Mexico to photograph a wedding. It was a ton of work, so after two days of wearing nice clothes and taking pictures non-stop, I was itching to relax and check out the local nightlife scene. I asked around about pool tables, and was referred to two places. One was called Alley Cantina. I was told the place had a table but that it gets packed early on. The other place was the local Best Western hotel, which I was told never gets crowded but has three tables. I headed for Alley first.

I found the place very easily, and had in fact driven by it earlier that day. I paid a five dollar cover charge, grabbed a beer and set out to put my name on the list. It didn't look good, as there were at least 10 uncrossed names ahead of mine. But I was patient. About 15 minutes later two bouncers came in carrying a giant sheet of plexiglass, covered the pool table with it then scattered a few ashtrays around.

Instant real estate. Nobody missed a beat. People immediately started gathering around it, sitting on it, setting their drinks on it, almost as if relieved that the pool playing was finally over. I was surprised, as it wasn't even 11:30 PM (on a Saturday, no less). I asked a third, scar-faced bouncer what the deal was and he said, "It causes too many fights." I think I was more amused than disappointed. During the first game I had watched, one guy basically broke and ran the table, I was impressed. Do New Mexicans take their pool too seriously? Perhaps. Or, maybe it is still a little like the Old Wild West. The place was crawling with cops as well. An odd vibe all around.

So next I set out to find the Best Western. Once I got there I was told the bar was closed. I poked my head in though and could hear a few people having a conversation in total darkness. I could see three pool tables in the back of the room. Promising only to be 30 seconds, I went and a snapped a few frames of the lonely, actionless tables.