Louisiana joined the Union on April 30, 1812. For a Louisiana-focused NYC bar crawl, we suggest including Ninth Ward at 180 Second Avenue in Manhattan’s East Village, Delta Grill at 700 Ninth Avenue and Bourbon Street Bar & Grill at 346 W. 46th Street; both in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen.
Monthly Archives: April 2016
A review of Givers & Takers in Gowanus, Brooklyn
Located at 286 Third Avenue in Brooklyn, Givers & Takers is a solid neighborhood hangout for Gowanus. Twelve taps of quality US craft beers, friendly staff and a small outdoor area make this a great spot for your next pub crawl along Third Avenue in Brooklyn!
A review of Garfunkel's in Manhattan's Lower East Side
Located at 67 Clinton Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Garfunkel’s picks up where Second Floor on Clinton left off, basically another speakeasy-style cocktail bar. A doorman greets you at the entrance on street level. Prior to your visit, it’s a good idea to make a reservation at Garfunkel’s. After the doorman confirms your reservation, you ascend one flight of stairs to a second floor space. It’s all lounge-style seating with no standing room at the small service bar. Groups of two to six can be seated at Garfunkel’s. Staff is friendly and the cocktails tasty!
A review of Suffolk Arms in Manhattan's Lower East Side
Located at 269 East Houston Street (at Suffolk Street) in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Suffolk Arms is a cocktail bar in a spot that has been several bars over the years (Local 269, Vasmay Lounge and Meow Mix were all previous tenants at this address). The décor has changed significantly since its previous incarnation. It has somewhat of a pub feel to it, even though the main liquid draw here is artisanal cocktails. It’s worth a visit, but we found the seating policy to be a little difficult. Based on our visit, there is no standing room allowed, so you probably don’t want to visit here in large groups. Also, we found the service to be rather slow.
Recently-opened Manhattan bars on our radar
A few new Manhattan bars have popped up on our radar and we hope to include these in upcoming NYC bar crawls. Over in Alphabet City, Mockingbird at 25 Avenue B (below the Tex-Mex eatery Avenida) picks up where Idle Hands left off. We gather that Mockingbird is more Speakeasy than beer bar. A few miles north in Midtown East, Sutton Bar Room at 1074 First Avenue has opened in the same space as Sin Bin (the space was State of Grace prior to Sin Bin). And, by Penn Station, Rock & Reilly (a Los Angeles import) has just opened in a rooftop location at the Marriott Hotel at 218 West 35th Street. After we’ve had a chance to pub crawl to these spots, we will have a review of each in this space. Stay tuned.
A review of Bierleichen in Ridgewood, Queens
Located at 582 Seneca Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, Bierleichen is another bar for this section of Queens that has a distinct Brooklyn feel to it. With the skylights and craft beer focus, Bierleichen reminded us vaguely of Park Slope’s Mission Dolores. Some write-ups we’ve seen of Bierleichen call it a Beer Hall and while there are a few communal tables, we found Bierleichen to be less Beer hall and more craft-beer bar. The ten draught beers are split between US craft beers and imports of the Central European variety, along with another 15 bottled beer imports. The space is lit naturally by a few skylights and has foosball, a pool table and a full movie theater-size projection screen in the back wall. Bierleichen is an overall solid spot and we look forward to returning on our next NYC pub crawl along Seneca Avenue.
The repeal of U.S. Prohibition began on this date in 1933
On April 7, 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act became law, allowing the manufacture and sale of beer that was up to 4% alcohol-by-volume. It wasn’t until December 5, 1933 that the full repeal of Prohibition was complete.
Happy Tartan Day 2016!
For a Scottish NYC bar crawl, we recommend the following Manhattan pubs: Caledonia, at 1609 Second Avenue; St. Andrew’s, at 140 W. 46th Street; Shoolbred’s, at 197 Second Avenue. In Brooklyn, visit The Craic at 488 Driggs Ave and Duke of Montrose at 47 5th Ave.
A review of Ridgewood Ale House in Queens
Located at 57-38 Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood Queens, Ridgewood Ale House is a recently-opened neighborhood sports bar for this section of town. On a strip of Myrtle Avenue known for retail shops, Ridgewood Ale House offers a solid, bi-level spacious spot to take a break from shopping and wet your whistle and eat pub grub. Ridgewood Ale House offers 12 tap beers, a mix of local microbrews and imports; along with another 30 or so bottled beer. Eight TVs are tuned to sports. Staff is friendly and helpful. Food is a mix of sandwiches & burgers, pizza/pasta and a slew of bar apps. An all-around great spot and something that, to our knowledge, this section of Ridgewood did not have previously.
Happy April!
April 1 has arrived and that means that the enjoyable, warmer NYC pub crawling weather is just around the corner! (Let’s hope so, anyway).