Uncle Sam's New York Tours: Bar Profile: Rudy's Bar and Grill

Rudy's Bar and grill, located in Hell's Kitchen, opened it's doors in 1933 by the Rudy family and was one of the first bars in New York City to receive a liquor license after prohibition had ended. Not much has changed since then including the original wooden front door which is still fully functional today. If you are lucky, you'll get to hear about this historical bar firsthand from the present owner Jack, who has been a regular at Rudy's since 1943. As you arrive at the entrance, you are greeted by a giant pig statue, which has become a landmark of the bar as well as a red neon sign displaying the bar's name. Inside, you see exactly what you'd expect from the winner of best dive bar by AOL-City Guide. Bar stools and tattered red banquettes up against beer stained tables furnish the bar for the most part. But just as you'd expect from a great dive bar, you also get cheap drinks, a great jukebox, and best of all FREE hot dogs.

Rudy's has 12 beers on tap including the house beer Rudy's red, which has a watered down taste but at $3 a pint you have to take what you can get. Other great deals include $7.50 PBR pitchers and McSorley's Ale cheaper than AT McSorley's! Catch the early bird special and pay only $4 for your cocktails and shots from 8am to 5pm. It's no wonder that Danny, a manager at the bar said “Rudy’s won’t match neighborhood Happy Hours. We refuse to raise our prices!” The jukebox, which blares all types of music from jazz to classic rock to mainstream music is also an attraction at Rudy's. To accompany your dirt-cheap drinks and good tunes you also have a complimentary hot dog which has lured in customers time and time again.

During the warmer months the "backyard" (a tented concrete area) is open for fresh air and extra space. This does not prevent the bar from being extremely packed and noisy all the time so keep that in mind. Every Thursday the "Drinking Liberally" social group stops in at 7pm to discuss left-wing politics, which may intrigue/sway some of you away from stopping by the bar at that time depending on your political affiliation. Either way, Rudy's Bar and Grill is a historic landmark for bars in NYC and should be visited by all locals and tourists alike. With cheap prices and free hot dogs it's hard not to consider this a first-stop bar for the night.