the Holiday Bar
St. Mark's Place
A seedy almost-landmark on St. Mark's Place between 1st and 2nd Avenues, the misleadingly named Holiday Bar (it's not exactly that inviting a spot on the inside) is renowned for spectacularly slow and/or poor service from its octagenarian bartender. He will happily pretend not to hear or see you and ignore or entirely snub you if he doesn't like the look of you, which is more often than not. Don't come here if you're really in need of a quick drink. There's a brief scene in the arguably flawed cinematic adaptation of Jim Carroll's "Basketball Diaries" shot here.