In the past couple of months, the craft-beer focused LES NYC bar crawl has been pared down by two spots. A recent post on eater.com indicated that Stanton Public will turn into an exclusive lounge/nightclub spot called The Elsinore. Moreover, I’ve passed by White Slab Palace several times of late to see the windows covered in brown paper (usually not a good sign). A fairly recent post on grubstreet.com confirms the closure. It’s unfortunate to lose not one, but two solid craft-beer spots in that nabe. Here’s hoping some new beer bars open in the LES sooner rather than later.
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A visit to The Redhead (349 East 13th Street) in East Village
A bar/restaurant in the old Detour space at 349 East 13th Street. The space has that smallish East Village feel to it. I don’t think this spot can fit on any specific-themed NYC pub crawl. The front half is the bar area and the back half is the dining space. The food menu consists of American fare focusing on the Southeastern region of the U.S. Beer choices consist of four quality taps and another dozen or so out of the bottle/can. I didn’t have a chance to sample the food, but I hope to return one of these days. The friendly staff made my visit a pleasant one.
A visit to Booker & Dax (207 Second Avenue at 13th St) in East Village
Cocktail-focused bar attached to the Momofuku East Village location. The entrance on East 13th street leads into a smallish East Village-type space. Not really allowing standing room, Booker & Dax has a capacity for about 30; two eight-person communal tables, two two-person tables and five seats at each of the two small bars. Patrons sitting at either bar have a front row seat to watch the cocktail mixologists at work. Nearly 20 cocktails are available (at $14), plus assorted wine and beer.
Amity Hall
A Greenwich Village beer bar that has approximately 40 taps; 20 with frequent rotation and 20 that are mainstays (and an anchoring spot to any Greenwich Village NYC beer pub crawl). This place also deserves inclusion on the top 100 list. What do you think about Amity Hall, should it be included in the top 100 list? Share your thoughts here.
Little Town NYC
I wrote about Little Town NYC several months ago. I won’t repeat everything here, but I believe that this bar belongs on the top 100 list (as well as the Union Square NYC beer bar crawl). Little Town NYC has over 20 frequently-rotated taps and at least another 30 out of the bottle. It’s true that by serving only beers brewed in New York State, the bar could be missing some great beers brewed in the other 49 states (or around the world). However, by now, New York State has so many breweries brewing nearly every style imaginable (and there are rumored to be more breweries on the way), that it’s unlikely Little Town NYC would be limiting itself too much. What are your thoughts on Little Town NYC and its potential addition to the top 100 list? Share your opinion here.
America's 100 best beer bars
This is an article I came across recently featuring the top beer bars from around the United States.
http://draftmag.com/features/americas-100-best-beer-bars-2012/#northeast
Five NYC beer bars made it on the list: Beer Table, Blind Tiger, Earl’s Beer & Cheese, Rattle N Hum and Spuyten Duyvil. I’m happy to report that I have visited all five at least once (some dozens of times, I’m thinking of you Blind Tiger…). I know it’s always difficult when one compiles these “top” lists; I’m surprised that there were some NYC ones that were left off. Check back next week and I will briefly discuss a few that I would like to see added to this top 100 list.
Two8two Bar & Burger (282 Atlantic Avenue near Smith Street), Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Living up to its name as a burger joint and a bar, two8two Bar & Burger is a great spot. Located just west of the busy Atlantic Ave. & Smith St. intersection in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill, two8two serves up half-dozen different style burgers along with tasty side dishes. The eight draught beers are all high quality, mostly microbreweries from the Northeast U.S. (along with some more generic bottled beers). The bar area takes up the front two-thirds of the space and there is a small dining area in the rear (as well as an outdoor backyard for warm weather eating/drinking). Add in the friendly staff, and if you’re looking for a good burger and beer combo in Brooklyn, then you’ve found your place in two8two Bar & Burger.
NYC Mayor’s plan to limit booze sales
According to a recent article in the NY Post (located here: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/hizzoner_sauce_pan_n9AdFlKbp5yniOhUprFt0L), New York City’s Health Department proposes to slash the number of establishments in the city that sell alcohol. The Health Department, as the Post story reports, is short on specifics of how to implement such proposals.
My thoughts:
As readers of this space know, I love going to bars and doing my New York Bar Crawls. In short, I’d be disappointed to see such a proposal take hold if it were to reduce radically the number of drinking establishments across the five boroughs. But, the officials were short on specifics. Before any of us bar hoppers gets upset and starts a campaign against this proposal, let’s wait for the details. Whatever the proposals, I doubt too many bars, provided they are not breaking any laws nor being a nuisance to their neighbors, will get shutdown as a result of this proposed policy. Time will tell. Either way, stay tuned, this new proposal could have some interesting ramifications for NYC nightlife.
Burnside (506 Grand Street between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg)
After Williams & Bailey, this time, I had only to cross Grand Street for the next stop, Burnside. A cocktail bar with a bit of a Wisconsin theme, Burnside is a welcome addition to the Grand Street NYC pub crawl. It has a nice laid-back feel and a friendly staff. The space has a seating area in the front half and the bar area is in back (Burnside also has a small backyard). The drink offerings include several House cocktails that will run you only $10 (take that, pricey Manhattan cocktail bars!) including some seasonal picks and shot specials. For beer, there is a handful of tap and bottle offerings. The Wisconsin theme includes a few beer from the Lakefront brewery as well as Leinenkugel’s. Cheese curds and brats on the food menu complement the beer selection. A solid spot, I look forward to visiting Burnside again.
Williams & Bailey (507 Grand Street between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg)
After Brooklyn Stable, I continued a few blocks southeast to visit Williams & Bailey. If you are a Whiskey drinker, then this is the place for you! Williams & Bailey offers over 50 types of Whiskey (the menu lists the selections by geography). Not being a whiskey drinker myself, I opted for one of the 12 draught beers, the selection of which runs the whole spectrum of poor to high quality. The space is long and fairly narrow. A long bar greets visitors on the left, with a small seating area in the back. There are two TVs over the bar and a projection screen at the back of the seating area. If you’re doing the Grand Street NYC bar crawl, you definitely want to include Williams & Bailey on it. Check back tomorrow for my next stop on my most recent bar visit to Williamsburg.
