StyleSpy with Katrina Szish

Spiced coladas served in ceramic coconuts with umbrellas.  CHECK

Retro bamboo furniture.  CHECK

Kitschy ship's wheel decor.  CHECK

Pool table.  CHECK

Cheesy Budweiser lamp above pool table.  CHECK

Tacky fish tank complete with neon scuba diver figurines.  CHECK

Jukebox stocked with so-bad-it's-good 70s tunes.  CHECK

I've always been a fan of both Ken Friedman (The Spotted Pig) and Taavo Somer (Freeman's Alley and creator of the original "My boyfriend is out of town" t shirt) who have joined forces to open the Rusty Knot -- but now I am officially in awe.  They have tapped into an aesthetic, a vibe, and an attitude that many hip New Yorkers have subconsciously wanted, but hadn't yet realized they wanted.

With the Rusty Knot (in the spot vacated by West, although the old awning remains), Ken and Taavo have articulated those latent desires:   Nostalgia, with kitsch.  Groovy tracks from Journey, Starbuck, Christopher Cross, Heart, and Cheap Trick.  A dive bar with a marlin on the wall flanked by a ship's wheel mirror and a diner-style menu board that lists pretzel dogs, roasted razor clams, meat pie, peel-and-eat shrimp, their (already) wildly popular bacon and chicken liver sandwich, as well as the times of high and low tide and sunrise and sunset.   

After gushing to Ken last night about how beyond right-on the place was, he laughed and said, "It's like your parents' basement in the 70s, isn't it?"  Well, maybe more like a friend's parents' basement a decade later, but you get the idea.  I see it as more of a surreal, time-warpy, transporting experience: Basically, if you were living in the original Jaws movie (not swimming, duh) and went to a local dive bar, this would be it.  I actually heard someone greet his friend with an affable "Ahoy!" when he came in the door. 

And, the crowd congregating last night (including Robin Wright) was not drinking green beer, nor did anyone appear to be congratulating themselves on being too cool for school.  Instead, everyone kind of hung out together like a group of new friends...we chatted about the cute fish in the tank, reiterated the virtues of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and marveled over the obscenely long straws that come with the scorpion bowls. 

Come to think of it, it was kind of like being in my (friend's) parents' basement...

Can't make it to The Rusty Knot?  Throw your own nautical-themed basement blowout!  Get inspired with these cheeky coasters:

$29.95 at Seaside Treasures

Or these porcelain coconut mugs (dead ringers for the ones at the Rusty Knot):


$8.50 each at Myriahs


And seal the deal with cocktail mermaids:

$8 for 100 at Myriahs

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