Mechanical bulls, Cambodian drinks, dingy dive bars and boutique hotel dungeons. All this and and you don't even need a subway map! Shecky's makes it possible with our brand new, recurring feature: A line-by-line drinking guide to the NYC transit system. We're starting with a trip on the F, so get your Metrocard handy, and stand clear of the closing doors, please...

First stop: Lexington Ave.- 63rd St.
First bar: Subway Inn. The only dive bar in the zip code, this place is every bit as run-down as the service it’s named after (and cheaper).  What better place to start this journey, or this feature? 
Fun fact about the stop: Though the platform's over 80 feet below the ground, this is not the deepest station in the system. In fact it’s not even close: The 191st St. 1 train station goes 180 feet down.  

Next stop: 57th St.
Next bar: Judge Roy Bean. Giving an Irish bar a name from Western folklore seems odd, until you consider the judge used to pack juries with his drinking buddies. That said, it's no surprise this place is guilty of being a cheery, Cheers-like after-work spot. You are sentenced to hang...out!

Next stop: 47th-50th Sts. – Rockefeller Center
Next bar: Johnny Utah’s. Your mosey through the Wild West '50s continues with fried pickles, $2 Modelos and a big ol' mechanical bull in this urban cowboy bar. Screw the F train, you should take your horse here.


Next stop: 42nd St. – Bryant Park
Next bar: Cellar Bar @ The Bryant Park Hotel. With botique hotel bars all the rage, why not take another look at a true O.G. With flickering candles, bustier-clad waitresses and large vaulted ceilings (to give you that Grand Central Oyster Bar feel), this cellar isn't musty...it's a must-see.
Fun station fact: Switching from this station to the 7 train at 5th Ave used to involve paper transfers.

Next stop: 34th St. – Herald Square
Next bar: Third Floor Café. Karaoke AND all-you-can-eat fried chicken Tuesdays? In a bar you have to take an elevator to? Next we're going to tell you unicorns exist.
Fun station fact: This station used to be connected directly to the Penn Station stop on the 1/2/3 by a tunnel.

Next stop: 23rd St.
Next bar: The Yard. Note that 23rd St. is also the home of the PATH train to New Jersey. So it's probably not a conincidence that some of that Garden State magic rubbed off on The Yard, a Hoboken-style drink emporium. Pop that collar, get the $40 all-you-can-drink special, and be glad you don't have to drive home (whichever state home is in).


Next stop: 14th St.
Next bar: Raines Law Room. After your visit to The Yard, you might feel a need to class it back up (either that or barf). If it's the former, that's a job best left to the Milk & Honey alums at this stately speakeasy. And if it's the latter, there's always sketchy north passageway leading up to the 16th St. exit.

Next stop: W. 4th St. – Washington Square
Next bar: Amity Hall. It's a new addition to the NYU brew scene, and, well, we love that name. It's almost like they're saying beer is your friend. Aw. Okay, sounds silly, but after a couple of stiff Belgian selections, you'll be slurring stuff like that out loud. 
Fun station fact: Speaking of names, none of W. 4th St. station's exits actually go to W. 4th St.

Next stop: Broadway – Lafayette St.
Next bar: Mermaid Oyster Bar. Missed out on the fried chicken a few stops ago? The latest addition to the Mermaid Chain offers $1 oysters and $1 Coors Lights at the bar if you get there by 7pm! Here's hoping the F isn't being the eff-ed train today.


Next stop: 2nd Ave.
Next bar: The Norry @ Kampuchea. Sure, there are a billion places to go around here, but where else are you going to find a Phnom Penh Hot Punch? That sounds like something you should be paying a lot more than $12 for. Added bonus: the mural of the giant purple chicken.
Fun station fact: One level of this station was reserved for the long awaited Second Avenue Subway.  Should be ready any day now...

Next stop: Delancey Street
Next bar: Mason Dixon. Bet you didn't think you'd end up at two bars with mechanical bulls now, did you?
Fun station fact: This station originally had exits at Rivington St. Now you have an extra block—and an extra reason—to drunkenly curse the MTA on your trip home.

Last stop: East Broadway
Last bar: 169 Bar. In its 80-year existence it has morphed from a great place to get stabbed to a charming dump to a backdrop for an episode of Flight of the Conchords.  A perfect metaphor for the subway itself.

Thank you for riding with Shecky's!  Remain alert and have a safe day.