All posts by deronc

A visit to Alfie's in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen

Pub Crawl NYC Reviews

Walking north along 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, we were happily surprised to learn of Alfie’s, a new craft-beer focused gastropub, located on the northeast corner of 53rd Street and 9th Avenue.  We had not learned of Alfie’s prior to walking past it (we were, of course, on our way to a different bar when we passed Alfie’s).  The spot offers 20 tap beers, whose rotation varies from three to six weeks and includes a focus on seasonal beers.  A good number of brews hailed from New York State or other Northeastern locales.  The place was fairly spacious: bar on left and tables for dining on right, along with some high-top tables near the entrance.  We did not sample the food menu, so we look forward to doing that on a return trip.  Alfie’s is definitely a nice addition to the HK craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.

A visit to Brinkley's Station on Manhattan's Upper East Side

Pub Crawl NYC Reviews

Taking over from the old Desmond’s location, the Martignetti brothers open up their second location of their classic Brinkley’s.  Located at 131 East 60th (across the street from Bloomingdale’s), Brinkley’s Station offers a similar local food and drink menu as their original Soho location.  On our visit, all the beer and nearly all of the wine was from New York State.  The place is spacious (a three-story tall room with skylights), the staff is friendly and we look forward to returning to try more of the food.  Brinkley’s Station is definitely a spot for the UES craft-beer NYC bar crawl.

Where to pub crawl to this weekend?

Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts

We’ve been feeling a bit under the weather all week, so it’s unlikely there will be any significant amount of bar crawling this weekend, but maybe we’ll visit a few spots.  Nearly a dozen or so recently-opened spots in Manhattan remain unvisited by us.  For those who like amber-colored hard alcohol, there’s Flatiron Room at 37 West 26th Street.  Another spot on our radar is a cocktail spot in the Time Warner Center called Center Bar.  Then there’s Cocktail Bodega on the Lower East Side.  Frankly, we don’t know what to expect with that place.  What are your suggestions for new places to visit in the Five Boroughs?

A tribute to Mugs Ale House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts

Brew York recently published an article (http://brewyorknewyork.com/post/32751603780/brooklyn-brewery-mugs-alehouse-collaborate-to) celebrating the 20th anniversary of Mugs Ale House (125 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY).  We at Pub Crawl NYC were not aware that Mugs had been around that long!  We have been including Mugs on various NYC beer bar crawls since early 2000.  We remember going there when it did not open on Saturdays until 2pm (kitchen wasn’t open until 5pm).  Now, with Williamsburg having become such a popular place to live and hang out, Mugs is open by noon on Saturdays with the kitchen opening around the same time.  With approximately 30 frequently-rotating taps, the beer selection is superb.  A nice mix of local brews (the Brooklyn Brewery is just around the corner), other U.S. craft-beers and some imports is offered.  If you’ve never been or haven’t visited in a while, do yourself a favor and get to Mugs Ale House!

The growth in number of breweries in NY City and State

Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts

We came across this article from AM NY on New York  City/State breweries: http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/independent-brewery-industry-sees-huge-growth-in-new-york-1.4058122  While this article isn’t directly related to pub crawls in NYC or bars, it’s still a subject that’s near and dear to our heart!  We find it encouraging to learn and experience the growth of NY City and State breweries.  We hope that this can lead to more of our favorite beer bars increasing their offerings of local beers.  The end of the article discusses the five breweries in NYC.  A brewery NYC pub crawl anyone?  Actually, we have visited all of the spots on at least one occasion.  Here’s the lowdown on visiting hours and tours:

The Brooklyn Brewery (79 N. 11th Street, Brooklyn, NY) is open from noon to 8pm on Saturdays and noon to 6pm on Sundays, offering tours every hour.  Beers are available for sale only (yes, sadly, no free samples available anymore).  The Brewery is also open Monday through Thursday weeknights by reservation only; Friday from 6 to 11pm

Greenpoint Beer Works (not actually located in Greenpoint, but in Clinton Hill at 529 Waverly Avenue, Brooklyn, NY) – This is where Kelso and Heartland Brewery beers are made.  At last check, they no longer give tours to the general public.  Tours are available only to those in the Beverage industry (bar owners, workers, etc).  That’s unfortunate because we were able to visit them prior to this new policy and we had a great time.

Six Point Craft Ales (40 Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn, NY) – Like Greenpoint Beer Works, Six Point, unfortunately, no longer has a regular tour schedule.  Occasionally, they will announce a date when the brewery is open for tours to the general public, but we haven’t seen those announcements in quite some time.

Chelsea Brewery (Pier 59, New York, NY) – Unlike Heartland Brewery, Chelsea Brewery is a brewpub that actually brews on the premises (Heartland used to brew on site when their located was only one spot in Union Square, but after their growth, the brewing went across the river to Brooklyn).  We’re not sure if they offer regular tours, but it’s best just to go there, belly-up to the bar, drink their tasty beers and try some of their good food.

Omitted from article: 508 NYC (508 Greenwich Street, New York, NY) – This is more of a restaurant, that has a small brewing operation in its basement.  No tours offered here, as far as we know.  We visited twice shortly after it opened.  We love the food and the beer and look forward to a return visit.

The article mentions two more breweries opening in the five boroughs in the coming year.  We can’t wait to visit those!

A visit to Ainsworth Park in Manhattan and a brief thought on upscale sports bars

Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts, Pub Crawl NYC Reviews

The folks from Ainsworth and 121 Fulton have opened up a third location.  This one at 111 East 18th Street, just north of Union Square.  Larger than the first two locations, Ainsworth Park offer a long dining area with dozens of TV screens lining both sides of the room for your sports watching pleasure.  There’s a small bar area just past the entrance and a small lounge area just to the right of the entrance.  Ainsworth Park’s food menu is similar to the other two locations.  The beer selection is decent, but this spot won’t be placed on any craft-beer focused pub crawls.

But what really stood out for us was the velvet rope (and the bathroom attendants).  As one Pub Crawl NYC participant noted, “no sports bar should have a velvet rope”.  We agree.  The velvet ropes were out and it was only 4pm.  It was broad daylight!  And even if it were night time, the place is A SPORTS BAR!  No, we didn’t have a problem getting in and neither did other patrons dressed more casually than we were.  Still, it’s the principle.  In general, is this upscale sports bar theme only in Manhattan?  When did it start?  Was it with Jay-Z’s 40/40 club in 2003?  Please share your thoughts.

Bar hopping in Kew Gardens, Queens

Pub Crawl NYC Reviews

On a recent weekday afternoon, Pub Crawl NYC ventured to Kew Gardens to see what watering holes that section of Queens offered.  Below are two we enjoyed.

The Kew Club, located at the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Lefferts Blvd.  A combo of a neighborhood and sports bar.

Austin’s Ale House located on Austin Street next to the Kew Gardens LIRR station.  Also a combo neighborhood and sports bar.  Austin’s offers wider selection of tap beers than The Kew Club.

One of two dining areas at Austin’s

Where to bar crawl in NYC this weekend?

Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts

That’s what we are considering as we enter the last weekend of the last single-digit month on the calendar.  Several new spots have opened up around Manhattan and Brooklyn in the past few weeks that we have NOT had a chance to visit yet.  In Manhattan, The Ainsworth has opened up a new location just off of Union Square.  There’s also the interesting-sounding Cocktail Bodega on the Lower East Side.  Perhaps a new beer bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn?  The Well and The Graham both sound appealing.  What are some new spots that you would recommend in the five boroughs?