beetrock

I was introduced to KGB by a fellow Eastern European when I first began investigating NYC alcoholics’ scene. Last weekend I decided to take my new Russian friend there. It turned out that Andrei – who recently moved here from Berkley and went to my high school in the motherland – heard of the place from a New York acquaintance of his. We went mostly to sample imported Baltika – aside from fine porcelain and equally fine views, the best thing to ever come out of our beloved Saint Petersburg. KGB is about the only place in Manhattan that serves it, which is exciting enough for me. Also exciting was the theory that Andrei’s friend had about the bar’s name – apparently KGB agents used to hang out in the third floor speak-easy of the nondescript old building on East 4th street. The bar’s gloominess, and a variety of Soviet and other communist propaganda on the walls, make this assumption not so far-fetched.

My curiosity was heightened and I conducted a simple investigation. It happens that KGB actually stands for Kraine Gallery Bar, and Kraine takes its roots from Ukraine, or the Ukrainian Labor Home, which the building once housed. KGB’s founder – Denis Woychuk – talks about the bar’s history in this wonderful piece.

But history aside, my experience with the KGB has always been positive, though I’ve noticed that over the years the price on the drinks has gone up, the music has been turned up louder and the crowd has grown dull. Perhaps it has something to do with me being older, less drunk, and more observant? The bar, underneath a hammer-and-sickle-spangled flag, still serves the fabulous Baltika and has a good selection of whiskeys.

I’ve never attended the readings that are regularly conducted in the bar’s space, and frankly, have little interest in doing so now. Why bother Lenin’s somber visage with jagged modern poetry and prose?

Address:
85 E. 4th St.
New York, NY 10003
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