the jolly monk

Manhattan Digest’s 2nd Fundraiser Another Big Success!

Manhattan Digest held its 2nd fundraiser this past Friday night at Gym Sportsbar down in Chelsea. With the fear of Hurricane Joaquin (Phoenix) settling into New York that night, I was worried that a lot of people wouldn’t show up due to how bad the weather was going to be. Regardless, a ton of friends, family and friendly customers stopped by to donate, have some delicious cupcakes and submit their tickets in hopes to win some fantastic prizes.

Overall we raised hundreds of dollars for cancer research with even more donations coming in over the next day or so. That makes me extremely happy to know that doing something as simply as a fundraiser can hopefully save at least one life with the money that we raised.

I would love to thank everyone that showed up, as well as Serge Sterbois, Jerry Reilly and the Gym Sportsbar staff for their amazing job before, during and after the fundraiser. I would also love to give a shoutout to Tim de Iturriaga at Adonis Lounge for finding a host for the event (the handsome and wonderful Jason) who went out of his way to talk to every person who came down into the basement area about the charity. Finally, thank you to Huascar Aquino from H Bake Shop who generously donated a ton of cupcakes for everyone to devour and enjoy. Got so many amazing reviews from the cupcakes so let’s hope it drives in some new customers for him!

Finally, a big thanks to all the companies that donated generously for this event. This includes Krave & Kulture, Crunch Gym, Haru Sushi, Jacob’s Pickles, Best Barber in Hell’s Kitchen, The New York Beer Company, The Jolly Monk, Hotel Belleclaire, Otto’s Tacos, H Bake Shop, BKB Restaurant, Cantina Rooftop, Morton’s Grille and Bear Skn. My gratitude is endless and I really appreciate what each of you did, so thank you again!

Will hopefully have another one in early 2016. In the meantime, thanks to everyone again who participated and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Manhattan Digest Fundraiser October 2nd at Gym Sportsbar

by Ryan Shea

After having an absolutely amazing first fundraiser back in March, we at Manhattan Digest have decided to do a second one in hopes that this will be even more successful than the first. Manhattan Digest is throwing its 2nd annual fundraiser this coming Friday on October 2nd, taking place at my favorite gay bar in the world Gym Sportsbar from 7-9 PM. Similar to last time, it will be held in the basement area of the bar, where you can come and donate money to support breast cancer research in my late mother Lisa’s memory and bid on some incredible prizes that you yourself can actually win!

We are echoing the same format we did back in March, in the form of a silent auction (raffle style) where you can take your raffle tickets and put them in the containers of the prizes that you want to win. $5 gets you 2 tickets, $10 gets you 5 tickets and $20 gets you 10 tickets. You are more than willing to donate more if you would like. A very handsome gentleman from The Adonis Lounge will be at the door to give you your tickets so there is a bonus incentive there as well!

So what are the fabulous and amazing prizes that you are able to potentially win? Take a look at what we have in store!

Hotel Belleclaire, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Hotel Belleclaire

One free night at The Hotel Belleclaire

Amazon, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Yahoo Finance

$100 Amazon Gift Card

Manhattan, Manhattan Digest, Jacob's Pickles — Credit to: Jacob’s Pickles

$250 Gift Card to Jacob’s Pickles

Dinner for two at BKB Restaurant ($100 Value)

Cantina Rooftop, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Cantina Rooftop

Dinner for two at Cantina Rooftop ($100 Value)

Haircut and Shave from Best Barber in Hell’s Kitchen ($80 Value)

Krave & Kulture, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Krave & Kulture

Gift card from Krave & Kulture

Manhattan Digest, H Bake Shop, Huascar Aquino — Credit to: Rebecca Woodman Taylor Photography

Custom Cake for up to 5 people from H Bake Shop ($150 Value)

Otto's Tacos, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Otto’s Tacos

$25 gift card from Otto’s Tacos

The Jolly Monk, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: The Jolly Monk

$50 gift card to The Jolly Monk

Haru Sushi, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Haru Sushi

$50 gift card to Haru Sushi

New York Beer Company, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: New York Beer Company

$50 gift card to New York Beer Company

Morton's Grille, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Landry’s Inc

$50 gift card to Morton’s Grille

Crunch Fitness, Manhattan Digest — Credit to: Crunch Fitness

3 Month membership to Crunch Gym ($240 Value)

If you are unable to attend, there are other ways of donating where you can still win one of the amazing prizes. Simply send an email to [email protected] with how you want to donate. We accept Venmo, Paypal and other types of payments. Please also include how you want to allocate the tickets. Other than, that I look forward to seeing everyone at Gym Sportsbar this coming Friday night!

Manhattan Digest’s First Fundraiser A Big Success at Gymbar!

by Ryan Shea

This past Saturday night, Manhattan Digest held its first fundraiser at the best gay bar in New York City- Gym Sportsbar in Chelsea. The event itself was held from 7-9 PM in the basement part of Gymbar, and included great giveaways like T-Shirts, Dog Tags and Trial Memberships from Scruff App. The room was packed throughout with not only friends of mine and fans of the website but a ton of great people who came down and got in on the bidding action & donating for a great cause. A month of hard work, promotion, donations and all of that paid off and the event was a huge success not only for the website but for raising money for cancer research and patient care.

Manhattan Digest Fundraiser — Credit to: Steve Alb

A big thank you to the following people and organizations as they helped tremendously to make the night a big success. Rick Schmutzler, co-owner of Gym Sportsbar, for letting us have the event at your fabulous establishment and Serge Sturbois for being a fantastic and amicable bartender throughout the night and helping all of our participants out with a smile. Thank you to my best friend in the world Nixon Saget who stepped it up ten fold and worked the front desk, encouraged people to donate and helped collect the donations throughout the two hours. You are an amazing guy and friend and I really do appreciate what you did. Thirdly, my buddy (and amazing photographer) Steve Alb for his amazing photography he took throughout the night. Definitely give him a shout for your next event you are having, worth it!

I would also love to thank the following companies and organizations who generously donated an item(s) for people to bid on. We raised hundreds of dollars for this event with more coming in the next couple of days, and the general response from the people who showed up for the event was gleeful & excitement when they saw what they could bid on for a good cause-

Best Barber in Hell’s Kitchen

Blue & Black Apothecary in Carroll Gardens

Hustlaball New York

Haru Sushi

Ugg/Deckers Outdoor Corporation

Out Professionals

The Jolly Monk

New York Beer Company

House Of Brews

Coopers Craft & Kitchen

The Guerlain Spa

Upstairs at The Kimberly Hotel

Top Shelf Premium

Kenta Long Island

Buffboyz

Hard Rock Cafe: Times Square

We will be doing another fundraiser hopefully in the next month or two, with more fab prizes you can bid on for another great cause… to be determined! Thanks again to everyone who came and participated!!

Frites, Waffles & Beer- Why You Should Visit The Jolly Monk

by Ryan Shea

New York City has always been known for its trendy everything. Trendy fashion, trendy clubs, trendy outfits for your pets (eww), but something you never really put together is trendy Belgian cuisine. I discovered that is actually factual when me and a friend visited a brand new restaurant located in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen called The Jolly Monk. Only being open for a month or so, The Jolly Monk is nestled right on 9th Avenue and 48th Street, an area that is growing in its popularity for its food selection, gay and straight bars, and overall town appeal. So naturally I was excited to check out the new digs and see what this place had to offer.

When you walk into The Jolly Monk it feels like your atypical bar, but the brand new sense of it really kicks in with how spacious the actual location is set up matched with how beautiful the wood furnishings are throughout the place. I will preface this with saying that I am not much of a drinker myself, which begs the question why did I review a place that is becoming known for its choice of Belgian beers? Its simple- they had a yummy menu. Duh. As much as I am not a drinker, I do have to say that the selection that was presented to us was tasty in their own ways. Some of the beers were easier to go down, especially paired with the food that we had (more of that to come later), and some had an actual sweet texture to them that really was enjoyable. The Jolly Monk actually boasts quite a beer list that you can order from, including imported, American Brewed, Craft Bottles & Cans and other staples such as wine by the glass and cocktails to strike whatever your fancy is.

The food itself was quite delectable. This is like an elevated bar experience in terms of you get a lot of quality out of the food that is presented to you and not just something that was hastefully put together. Two appetizers that I would recommend getting are the mussels served in a delicious and warm sauce that really pair well together (see photo above) and their delicious frites which come with not one, not two, not three but 6 DIFFERENT SAUCES! From Garlic Mayo to Sriracha Ketchup, each of them have a very unique flavor that compliments the frites very well.

When one thinks dessert and waffles, the other word that needs to be wedged in their is Belgian. So naturally after having some delicious starters we were happy to make a beeline all the way to their dessert and try the epic deliciousness that is their waffle. You can choose it in either classic Belgian style or Sweet Liege style. As they said in one of my favorite 90’s shows, “Legends Of The Hidden Temple”- “The Choice Is Yours and Yours Alone”. Corny but whatever. The waffles come with the following, do your best to not salivate as you read- Belgian Chocolate Sauce, Vanilla Honey, Scoop of Gelato, Whipped Cream, Fresh Berries, and COOKIE BUTTER. You heard that right folks, COOKIE FREAKING BUTTER. I was enamored at the richness of the waffle paired with so many different toppings that it really was a great way to end the meal.

Bottom line, this is a good place to go to and hang with friends in a casual setting. Right now The Jolly Monk is offering some great Happy Hour specials as well as their own Brunch menu should you choose to go at an earlier hour. I would definitely recommend stopping by The Jolly Monk as it is a guaranteed good time to have with you and your friends. Check out the official website for more info.

The Jolly Monk

701 9th Avenue (Between 48th and 49th Street)

646-657-0080

the jolly monk

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