If truth be told, I actually preferred the original Siberia Bar (when it was discretty tucked away in a subway station on 49th street -- so dubbed as it was purportedly a secret meeting place for KGB agents during the Cold War). In any case, they de-camped outta there sometime at the turn of the century (that sounds odd, doesn't it) and moved to a comparatively spacious Hell's Kitchen locale (adjacent to the also-once-very cool Bellevue Bar on 9th Avenue). I went a couple of times (and left my mark on the wall in `01 or so -- like a jackass --- I can't quite remember why, but I suppose it seemed like the thing to do at the time). I was also once asked to leave after barking out an emphatic "motherfucker!" during a particularly intense round of Ms.Pac-Man. They were oddly dead serious about their "no cussin'" policy.
In any case, it was a fine establishment. But, like some many other examples of its dwindling kind, it's leaving, because this city is starting to suck a giant tube of rancid bean paste.
Yet another cool joint bites the dust. Pour one out for Siberia.
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