Profile

This tiny drinking alcove remains a favorite of both Post-reading daytime drinkers and fresh-from-auditions night people (including Gwynnie and Ben, in happier times). The kooky mix of brick, stucco, rec-room-reject wood paneling and vinyl floor covering evokes a sleepy Bar Americain in Pigalle more than a West Village tavernette. Bumper stickers adorn the tacky wood-veneer back bar as if it were a college dorm desk, and a gallery of film-truck parking permits testifies to Johnny's popularity with folk from both sides of the camera. The female bartenders harmlessly flirt with male regulars or bluster at the odd stray weirdo lured in by the cozy-looking view from outside. — Bruce Bennett