Jimmy’s Corner

Jimmy’s Corner is a dive in the best sense of the word. This narrow, 40-year-old haunt feels like it’s been plucked from Times Square’s seedier past and plunked down on today’s 44th Street where, ignored by tourists, it quietly ministers to a cross-section of locals. History stares back at you from walls cluttered with autographed photos of boxers, and from the tables, covered with snapshots of random folks preserved in amberish laquer. The beers are cheap ($4 pints of Bud Light, Hennekin, or Sam Adams), sports flickers on the TV, and the jukebox cranks out one Stax soul gem after another. I haven’t heard anything that sucks, or was recorded before 1980, from that wonderful device. If you endure this neighborhood as part of your daily grind, and especially if the recent storm of layoffs that are seemingly hitting everyone has you feeling a bit low, Jimmy’s is a cheap, low-key refuge. It’s a good idea to limit your posse to one or two friends, it is quite small.

Jimmy’s Corner in Midtown Lunch. (This review has a good neighborhood lunch tip–at Margon (136 W 46th st.) you can get a decent Cuban sanwhich for $6 or a heaping platter of roast chicken, rice, beans, salad, and fried plantains for about $8. They’re open until 5pm weekdays).

Jimmy’s Corner, 140 W 44th St. between Sixth and Seventh Avenue