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Just in time for Halloween! We had started this one around this time last year. We thought we would have it out by Halloween 2010, but as you can see from the date above, we kind of missed that deadline. I take the responsibility, as I was pretty busy doing other things and not working hard enough on the T&J series. However, that being said, this one became one of my favorite ones. There are a lot of great characters in it, and it looks like a great Halloween night, what with Otto the Orange in attendance and all. Halloween at the Cafe Loup is a crazy night, always. You see, we are located on the corner of 6th Ave. and 13th St. The annual Halloween Parade goes right past us, traveling north on 6th Avenue. Because of this, a lot of our regulars who live west of 6th are blocked from getting to us. Usually, the restaurant is slow but the bar and bathroom are packed. The parade used to be a really great thing, the old timers say. They say it was magical and intimate and all that crap. Now, about a million people attend the parade every year, and there are floats sponsored by SoBe and all that nonsense. I think it's a great night. The air is electric and people are generally in a good mood; that is, until they try to meet up with their friends down on Tenth St. They soon find out that traveling down 6th Ave is impossible and they just give up and come into the Loup for some booze. I always think it's hilarious to see people get wasted in costume. Face paint smears, costumes break, and it's great to see people's real drunk selves emerge from these surreal costumes. Maybe I just love Halloween and what it represents; namely hell on earth and the dead walking the streets. How exciting! So, the Loup gets a lot of tourists on All Hallows Day and the bar is packed with regulars and tourists alike, all hiding from the parade insanity just outside the door. We always have candy for the kids and last year, we even had a couple people set up and have a full street performance outside our door. Drums, dancing, the whole 19 yards. It was insane. Ardes gave them refreshments and we all watched them for a while. There have been some horror stories. Jay Milite will tell you about when the Teletubbies came in a couple years ago and got shit-faced and fought in their enormous Teletubbies outfits. He tells it better than I do, so ask him next time you are at the bar. I was on the bar last year, wearing a Soda Jerk outfit, and one of my regulars didn't recognize me solely because I was wearing a pretty realistic looking mustache. I had a couple British guys all painted green and taking shots with another British couple who argued all night about soccer. Yes, it is one of the best nights of the year. I am always so disappointed when people are down on Halloween in New York City. It is always the most surreal night, like the whole city took mushrooms and leave their house as they really are, or really want to be. Here's a bonus picture from this party I went to last year, just to give you an idea of what Halloween in New York can look like:
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