October 25, 2007
Drinking for Charity at Still
I'm always willing to help children, especially if there's a party involved
By Stephen Bailey

My friend Jennifer invited me to a charity happy hour. Never being one to need an excuse for drinks with friends, I certainly appreciated the special reasons behind this night. A friend of hers named Ryan was running in the NYC Marathon. Her run was a way to raise money and awareness for the NYRR Foundation's Team for Kids. They're a group dedicated to the fine cause of bringing physical fitness programs to NYC children in need.

The party tonight was an additional leg in Ryan's mission to raise funds with each of the $10.00 donations, all of the bar tips and money from a raffle being donated to the Team for Kids. A funny thing happened when the first raffle numbers were called. A guy behind me was sifting thru his money wondering if he had enough to buy another round. All of a sudden he starts yelling that he had the winning numbers. As it turned out, this didn't help him buy his drinks because he did the right thing by immediately giving his winnings back to the charity.

Still (192 Third Ave) is a typically large, after-work joint. The drink prices were decent enough but the service I have to say was painfully slow. Yes the place was crowded, but the bar staff was remarkably inattentive. There were at times four bartenders, but at any given moment two would be talking, one would be gazing at the large TV screens and the last would be doing the actual serving. I was not the only one to notice this. Many others stood at the bar literally waving their money trying to get someone's attention.

photos courtesy of stillnyc.com

And for some reason the music was as loud as a dance club. I understand the reasons for bars playing slightly loud music. It keeps the patrons straining their voices and therefore thirsty. But this actually caused pain in my ears. After a few complaints from other patrons, the music was turned down to a bearable level. The bar service began to improve as well. After I made a stink about them trying to serve Guinness in a plastic cup (sacrilege), I was even offered a free round of drinks.

By the time I left, my comfort level had returned to a more enjoyable one and I could see this place being a good happy hour spot. They just need to work on reigning in the DJ and being able to handle larger crowds. Apparently they only deal with this type of density on occasion. However, the fact that this place can get this crowded should be reason enough for the staff to be better suited to take on the pressure. Or at the very least try to take on the pressure.

One last thing. Apparently the name Still comes from all of the still life photos on the wall. Or at least that's according to New York Magazine. Of course I would have guessed it was a play on the word 'distillery'. This to me would make more sense for a bar. But what do I know?

Links:
Still
Team for the Kids
NYRR Foundation
MurphGuide: Happy Hours
Stephen Bailey