"Stump the Yankee"

[L Verge]

Forget it, that wasn't founded until 1863... Still searching

[J. Beckert]

That still counts as a wrong answer. I'd make the call if I were you.

[RJNorton]

McSorley’s Old Ale House?

[J. Beckert]

Rebels 11
Yankee 3

That's it, Roger! I was sure I had a winner there. I was just about to post hint # 3.5 too, just to give the Rebs one more tweak.

Founded in 1854, McSoreley's Old Ale House is a time warp that stubbornly refuses change. In 2011, they were advised by the NYC Health Dept. to finally remove decades of dust from the barroom. They did not admit women until a decision by the Supreme Court ordered them to in 1970. A pair of Houdini's handcuffs are there as is a chair it is said Abraham Lincoln stood on when addressing a gathering there at the time of his Cooper Union speech. It's said the chair was then hung on the wall where it's been ever since. And, as they claim, an original wanted poster for Booth has hung in the barroom since long ago. Good job.

[L Verge]

Bless your Southern immigrant bones, Mr. Norton, for saving the day! After the NY Health Department hint, I actually tried to find something related to Cooper Union - an old museum room that nobody knew about, or something. I would never have found this about MSoreley's. Wonder if it's clean enough to visit now? Reignette, are you game????

[ReignetteC]

Hi, Laurie,

Sorry for the delay in responding to you. For faithfully getting the flu shot every fall, I am rewarded with a bout of the flu, the latest round of which was just a few days ago. Consequently, I've been out of the loop (as the kids say!)

I'm always up for some investigative work, especially since it's been a few years since I've had a McSorley's famous liverwurst sandwich. Give me a few days and I'll return with a report.

Of interest is this article from New York Magazine:

http://nymag.com/nymetro/nightlife/barbuzz/11924/

"Though McSorley’s claims it opened its doors in 1854, NYC historian Richard McDermott used public records to prove it really opened in 1862. But McSorley’s is most famous for what happened in 1970 when kicking and screaming it was forced to open its doors to women. This Village mainstay is the last bastion of the liverwurst sandwich ($3), but if gray, pasty meat by-product slathered in mayonnaise isn’t your bag, you can get a cup of soup ($3) or burger ($4.75) and wash it down with light or dark beer. The beers famously come in pairs (i.e., order one, you get two; ask for two, you get four), served in small mugs with almost as much foam in them as the good stuff. The slightest display of confusion will surely betray you as a McSorley’s virgin. “Be good or be gone” is the motto here, although after 26 or 28 of those frothy mugs of beer, it’s a little hard to heed the signs that say as much."

[L Verge]

When I went online to check this famous place out, they cautioned to plan on eating elsewhere if you were hungry because it served very little. The only thing they mentioned were trays of cheese and onions. Joseph, is eating cheese and raw slices of onions a Yankee thing? I can't imagine ruining your great cheese with even a Vidalia onion (and that's a Southern onion! Just as sweet as can be).

[Jim Page]

I've spent a lot of time in NYC and never heard of this place! I'll have to check it out when I'm next in the Big Apple.

As a mayonnaise-hater, I'll have to ask for the liverwurst sandwich with mustard only! And, like Laurie, I'm rather baffled by the idea of a cheese-and-onion tray.

--Jim

[Rsmyth]

We went to the bar in the 60's in high school from New Jersey. It was known as a happening dump back then...hipsters and businessmen rubbed shoulders with tourists and skid row bums.

[J. Beckert]

(04-22-2013 05:55 PM)L Verge Wrote:  When I went online to check this famous place out, they cautioned to plan on eating elsewhere if you were hungry because it served very little. The only thing they mentioned were trays of cheese and onions. Joseph, is eating cheese and raw slices of onions a Yankee thing? I can't imagine ruining your great cheese with even a Vidalia onion (and that's a Southern onion! Just as sweet as can be).

I've never heard of eating cheese and onions. It must be an Irish thing. The onions would totally overpower the cheese, I would think. Eating white cheddar is a old Yankee tradition. If you eat enough, you start thinking like a Yankee. If I ship enough down there, I think I can win the next round.....

[L Verge]

Never, Joseph, never... Moon pies are an antidote for Yankee food.

Rich - one of the things that was said about the bar was how many times NYC cops were asked by Jersey kids how to find it. They said the Jersey pronunciation was something like Mick-saw-leese. The next time I see both you and Joe, I'm going to have you pronounce it for me to see if I hear that Jersey dialect (or whatever that's called). Actually, I don't remember detecting much of an accent with either of "youse" guys. Is there a difference between South Jersey and North Jersey?

[J. Beckert]

There's what I call the "down east" accent. That would be city folks, close to N.Y., who would pronounce it like you phonetically spelled it. I, as you know, speak the King's English. It's Mick-Sore-Lees. I still can't believe some of the Rebs down there thought I talked funny.

[Bill Richter]

After spending a whole day with Rick Smith and me at the conference, Joe, you still think YOU speak the proper English? Heaven help us!

[BettyO]

YA'LL Spoken here.....!!

Watch out, Bill -- Joe is a bonafide Southerner!! We've turned him into one - Moon Pies, Cheer Wine; the whole shebang!!

[J. Beckert]

(04-23-2013 11:48 AM)william l. richter Wrote:  After spending a whole day with Rick Smith and me at the conference, Joe, you still think YOU speak the proper English? Heaven help us!

That was a very educational and fun filled day! I'll work on my drawl for next year, Bill. I'm going to ask Betty to give me dialect lessons.