RIP, Lakeside Lounge

After 16 years, one of my favourite neighbourhood bars in New York has called it a day. The Lakeside Lounge down in the East Village had it all: a jukebox with nothing recorded later than about the early 70s, an old-school black-and-white photobooth, great beers, weird bands, the occasional poetry reading, dim lighting and outstanding bathroom graffiti. Many’s the night I waddled there after a huge feed at one of the great restaurants on Avenue B, settled in at the Space Invaders table with a pint and fed a succession of quarters into the jukebox. Apparently Van Morrison is a fan of the jukebox too. I’ll forever associate Lakeside with my first Halloween. I will miss dancing in its bar, plotting to steal the awesome paintings on the walls, making out in its corners and smoking outside its windows. So will many, many others. Check out this lovely Times piece about the bar’s history…