Continental

Rude Bouncer

by NicoleGenesee

The bouncer was completely rude to me and my group of friends. It was around 8pm and the bar was empty except for one lonesome soul. It all started off when we didn't get our i.d.'s out quick enough and by that I mean have them out a block away before we entered. He berated us for not having them in sight the mere second we walked to the front door. Demanding, "C'mon C'mon C'mon!" My friend with her tongue-in-cheek said, "I know we're sorry for holding up your line", in full knowing that there was no one behind or inside the bar besides some destitute bar fly. To that he reprimanded loudly with a chauvinistic manner (my company being all females) for us to be quicker in the exchange. My friend trying to be level with him lightly said I know how you feel I used to be a bouncer too. He replied, " well you sure don't look like a bouncer". Implying that you need to be big and strong like him, or at least that was my guess. At this point I was totally turned off by his mannerism that I didn't care to enter anymore but decided to because my friends we're already heading inside. I was so caught up in the moment that supposedly I grabbed it rudely, according to his account, that he hounded me inside stating angrily, "why you being so rude". When I didn't answer him he started to follow me and persist obsessively with the same question. Finally I gave him a straight answer, explaining that I didn't like how he mistreated my company. His reply to me was, "you're out"! I just have to laugh at this one. For the moment we stepped up to the door this guy was edging to start something. This was a bar I enjoyed to visit when I was in town and now I'm sad to say that I will no longer be a customer there... Just in case your wondering who it was, he bounces on Monday nights.

Racist

by RCCola85

All the reviews claiming racism at the door are absolutely true. I tried to get into this place with a few of my friends as a prelude to celebrating my friend's birthday, and a few of us were refused at the door for having "baggy clothes." That's a complete load of crap though, since it was just "coincidence" that those of us that weren't let in were all minorities. I was wearing jeans with shoes and a collared button-up shirt: standard attire for 90% of the clubs in the NYC area, let alone dive bars, and none of it was baggy. Meanwhile, as we're trying to figure out what else to do (since we couldn't get in) caucasian kids were being let in wearing flip flops, shorts and t-shirts complete with trucker hats.

That says it all, but beyond that a bouncer actually came up to me because I refused to leave (since some of my friends were still inside and I was waiting for them) and said (I'm paraphrasing here) "I understand that you're upset and honestly I'd love to let you and your friends in here, but the boss won't let me. It's not up to me who I let in, so please just move on because he's not going to let you in" and pointed out some dude in a Raiden hat as "the boss." You know what, I at least respected the bouncer for coming up to me, but the establishment as a whole is trash.

caucasians and asians only

by rny2112

i think the headline said it all,if you have the slightest skin color don't waste your time.

• Pros: cheap drinks if you have the right skin color
• Cons: raceist

Trigger Happy Hour

by ApollosBullets

the gringo with the misappropriated paddy hat run one of the worst bars in the entire north eastern region of the U.S. he himself is extremely unkempt, greasy and smells like the apocalypse died in a smallpox hospital during some long forgotten year of plague. despite his poor hygiene and appearance (he kind of reminds me of the Scarecrow villain from Batman), he imposes a White Supremacist and Patriarchal standard in screening at the door. you could spend a load of time just tallying up the folks of color who are told, "they're not regulars" or "you're too...casual". mind you the difficulty with becoming a regular when you keep people of color from never being able to enter. also, the term "casual" is a loosely veiled moniker for, "colored". seeing that the white folks inside are dressed in vintage laundry that hasn't been washed, with moth holes both intentional and accident - it's bitter that POCs (people of color) are called out for being baggy when the Jonas Brothers inside are painting on their torn jeans.

in summary,

the continental embodies a lot of why downtown manhattan, despite its lip service to being "alternative" or "sub-corporate", will continue to decay in its own fantasy world, and continue to draw in the hipsters who believe themselves to be "liberated-chic" because of their indie-movie choices and that one token friend.

i would say avoid, but its actually informative to check it out from the curb and people watch; take notes; observe; and remember that the Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York.

• Pros: makes anything else look great
• Cons: its whole existence

BIGOT BAR

by tygaheat

It was my 21st birthday last night, and after sharing a pleasant meal, we decided to check into this diver to grab a couple of cheap shots. Upon our arrival, my friend, who identifies as black, is asked for "a better-looking ID." She asks "What?" The bouncer just laughs it off and shoos her in. This is questionable, but doesn't phase us. I see a white man wearing a cone-shaped hat typically worn by Chinese rice farmers who is making humorous gesticulations at two female customers.

As 4/5 of our group were Asian-American, we took a quiet offense to his allegedly comical attire, however, tried to ignore it by assuming a table in the back of the bar. On our way to the back, we tried to squeeze by the man in the cone-shaped hat, who is blocking the walkway, politely requesting him to move.

We were about to order our drinks when the man in the hat comes to our table, and while there is definitely no human traffic in the walking area (besides him of course), he points a finger at my friend and tells him to "set his chair straight." This is obviously an arbitrary comment as he proceeds to point to me and says, "You, you little creep who said excuse me, this is MY bar, are you asking to get kicked out?" He calls me a "little creep" one more time, and we pick up our things and leave.

THE STORY IS NOT OVER.

As we are leaving, another group predominantly comprised of people of color, are about to walk into the bar. The two girls had their hair done, and were dressed in nice-looking blouses, and one a dress. The man had a sharp buttoned-down shirt and nice jeans. They asked us why we were so angry as we left, and we told them.

Two minutes later, as we were standing outside another bar, the group came walking our way, and told us they had been rejected for looking too "casual." It was then that I recalled a tubby white man we were sitting next to had an attitude shirt that read: "You better like animals, because I'm a BEAST."

It became very clear to us that we, nor other people of color were welcome in the bar. Call it what you will, say we're paranoid, but the feeling that we were unwelcome was visceral.

HORRIBLE BAR. PLEASE DO NOT SUBSIDIZE THIS ESTABLISHMENT.

• Pros: NOPE
• Cons: BIGOTED OWNER AND BOUNCER