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Eatery 'Rockography' Pays Tribute to Beatles, Other Rock Greats

By DNAinfo Staff on March 24, 2011 7:43pm  | Updated on March 25, 2011 6:03am

By Elizabeth Ladzinski

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Hard Rock Café revisited?

The bar top at new eatery Rockography, located at 504 Sixth Ave., is made from the zinc metal of Marshall electric guitar amplifiers and its walls are coated with concert photography from some of the most respected music photojournalists in the business. 

The restaurant has garnered lots of attention as a Hard Rock Cafe clone, but loyal customer Louis Acevedo, 27, of Crown Heights, who works near the restaurant, disagrees.

"I've been to the Hard Rock Cafe, and it's decent, but the prices are expensive and the drinks watered down," Acevedo said. "It doesn't compare to this place."

He said Thursday was his second visit to the restaurant in two days — an impressive feat, considering the place only opened Monday.

"I think it's awesome, I'm a big fan of classic rock, everything from Elvis to the Beatles to Rod Stewart," said Acevedo.

The menu is stocked with a lot of comfort food and kid-friendly choices, featuring everything from Deep Fried PB&J, served with a pint of milk ($9); to Maple Syrup Glazed Bacon ($7); to the 16-oz. "F.U. Burger," served with lettuce, tomato, onion rings, maple bacon, pickles, fried egg and Velveeta sauce ($18).

"I never had fried PB&J [until yesterday], but this is f--king awesome," Acevedo said, before digging into his sugary sandwich.

The restaurant manager's, Rich Todd, described Rockography as "a high-energy restaurant and bar serving American comfort food with a tuned-up twist."

A KISS-themed pinball machine sits in one corner of the restaurant, while in the back, a selection of concert photographs from photojournalists Chris Walter and Jason Laure are displayed. Three large-screen TV's above the bar play a constant rotation of classic rock music videos.

The kitchen is open late — until 2 a.m. on weekdays, and 4 a.m. on the weekends — making it a good stop for an after-concert snack. Fans of the game "quarters" are in luck: you can sit at the bar and try your hand at bouncing a quarter into a cup, and if you make it on your first try, your entire order is free.

During the warmer months, the restaurant also plans to offer spiked milkshakes, and on weekends, guests can partake in a "Beatles Brunch" as the restaurant plays old music videos and songs from the fab four.

Joey Angelo, of the Upper East Side, cited the cocktails as the reason he planned to become a regular at the rock n' roll restaurant. The creative concoctions — with names like "No Sympathy for the Devil," (Finlandia infused with sundried tomatoes, spicy V8, lemon juice, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcestershire, bleu cheese stuffed olive) and "Stairway to Heaven" (Grey Goose espresso, cafe de creme, Nutella) —  were his favorite attraction.

"The cocktails were out of this world," said Angelo, who tried two. "The room, the vibe is right. I'm definitely coming back."