Attend Pen Pal Night at The Cortland in Bay Shore

Tyler Stiene of Manorville is hanging at The Cortland in Bay Shore on a Monday night, sitting by the pub's mailbox, hoping for word from actors Aubrey Plaza and Ryan Gosling.

It's not that the two Hollywood stars necessarily know him, but "I wrote them both letters," says Stiene, 22. "And it would be great to hear back."

All around the narrow bar, patrons aren't busily texting, emailing or tweeting -- instead, these folks are reaching out using perhaps the oldest form of social media: letter writing. While most watering holes rely on football for drawing power on this night, The Cortland uses pen and paper as a promotion.

HOW IT WORKS

The bar supplies stationery (courtesy of the neighboring business, Suffolk Printing), plus postcards, envelopes, stamps, calligraphy pens, dictionaries and thesauri. There's also a staff-compiled book of addresses ranging from celebrities to corporations, small businesses, other bars, hospital patients and the incarcerated.

Patrons can write to whomever they want -- buying a drink covers postage for two letters -- but everything sent must list The Cortland as the return address.

"It gives you a reason to go out on a Monday," says Chander Malhotra, 25, a teacher from Central Islip who has become a regular at Pen Pal Night. "I've written to Amanda Bynes, Hugh Hefner and Barack Obama so far."

The result? "I got a response from an inmate," says Malhotra, grinning.

The pub does all the mailing. Responses end up in a black mailbox -- the sort one might hang on a house -- that sits in the bar, ready for patrons to check for replies.

"We've had weeks where we received as many as 20 responses," says Cortland owner Bobby Guilinello. "We'll sometimes try online to let regulars know in advance if they've gotten a letter back, but the idea is to come in on Mondays, check the mailbox for mail and then send more."

WRITING BY HAND

Come Mondays, patrons sprinkled around the bar are just as likely to be crafting a handwritten letter as uploading a picture of their beer to Instagram.

Danielle Moody, an art teacher from West Islip, uses Pen Pal Night for something a bit more personal. "My boyfriend lives in Florida, so I write him here," says Moody, 24. "I also draw and send him comics."

Nick Levine, 25, a Central Islip native and National Guard helicopter mechanic, enjoys the concept. "I've written to a bar from the list," he says. "It's cool to think I might make a connection somewhere ... and who knows? Maybe one day I'll meet someone I've written to."

Pen Pal Night

WHEN|WHERE 7-10 p.m. Mondays at The Cortland, 27 W. Main St., Bay Shore

INFO 631-206-2220, thecortland.com