Monthly Archives: December 2012

Saying farewell to one NYC bar and hello to a new one

Last week, we got word that The Hairy Monk had closed, following a dispute with its landlord (aren’t these disputes happening an awful lot of late?  We digress — full DNAinfo story here).  The Hairy Monk was a solid spot for Third Avenue NYC sports bar crawl (and, if you’re a Boston fan, one of the few spots for the Boston-friendly NYC pub crawl).  We had been to Hairy Monk several times over the years.  Good bar food and a decent tap beer selection.  The bar will be missed.

When one bar closes, there’s another one that opens.  In this particular instance, we are talking about a new spot on the Lower East Side called Two Bit’s Retro Arcade, now open at 153 Essex Street (read the full story DNA info here).  The spot is supposed to have 1980s video games for a quarter play, along with craft beer and wine.  If this formula sounds familiar, it’s because you’re likely a big fan of Barcade in Brooklyn.  We love Barcade and if Two Bit’s can replicate what Barcade has done, then we will be very happy.  In addition, Two Bit’s has the potential to replace the one of the two spots on the LES craft beer NYC pub crawl that closed approximately a year ago.

What are your thoughts on the closing of Hairy Monk and the opening of Two Bit’s.  Please leave us a comment!

Happy December 5th!

Today marks the 79th anniversary of the end of Prohibition.  On this date in 1933, Utah became the 36th U.S. state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution (achieving the required 75% of states to approve the amendment).  This ratification overturned the 18th Amendment, which outlawed alcohol in the United States.  So, how will you be marking the anniversary today?  Leave us a comment to let us know!

The status of some South Street Seaport bars five weeks after Sandy

A few weeks go, we reported that most of the South Street Seaport bars were still closed for business in the Sandy aftermath.  We took another visit there recently and are unhappy to report that not much has improved.  Of the bars closed three weeks ago, Heartland Brewery, Fresh Salt, Stella, Keg 229, Bin 220, Nelson Blue and the Paris Cafe, all remain closed and most entrances to those bars indicate “Restricted Use Only”.  A couple of photos below.

This is Fresh Salt, now completed boarded up.
This was the main bar area of Hearltand Brewery. You can see the outline in the floor toward the rear of the room where the physical bar was.

If you know a more detailed status of any of the bars listed above, please drop us a note.