Germany’s Paulaner brewery opens its first brewpub in the United States.  Located at 265 Bowery (just south of Houston Street), Paulaner Brauhaus is half restaurant/half bar.  Four house beers plus wine and cocktails are offered.  Food is a mix of German-American fare and bistro offerings.   The spot is definitely worth a visit (and it’s a new addition to the brewpub NYC pub crawl) and we look forward to returning on our next bar crawl through this area of New York City.  We just hope the posted hours of operation (5pm – 11pm) get extended significantly at some point.

Our first review of 2014 goes to Maggie Reilly’s located in northern Chelsea at 340 9^th Avenue (near 30^th Street), located in the former Blarney Stone location.  Alas, with this particular Blarney Stone passing on, the Manhattan True-Dive NYC bar crawl continues to shrink.  Anyway, Maggie’s is a decent place for affordable drinks and decent pub grub.  The layout is practically identical to Blarney Stone’s layout, except the pool table in the back has been replaced by a dining area.  Maggie’s offers ten draft beers with some good local representation.  A solid spot for any West Side pub crawl in NYC, Maggie’s is also a good place to stop in at and get out of the cold January weather!

Several weeks ago, we shared a photo of a cheeseplate from Brooklyn’s Olympia Wine Bar.  The photo below is from the recently-opened Vitis La Vineria, located at 284 Third Avenue in Manhattan’s Gramery nabe.  Vitis is a great addition to any East Side NYC wine bar crawl.

Underneath the stairway that leads into the New York Palace Hotel (at 455 Madison Avenue), Trouble’s Trust is a cozy, dark, evening drinking spot.  A long bar area surrounded by two- and four-person table seating.  Not much standing room available, so plan on waiting for a seat if it’s crowded.

Located at 713 8^th Avenue (at 45^th Street), Iron Bar is the latest addition to the Hell’s Kitchen craft-beer NYC bar crawl.  Offering 45 tap beers and a fairly standard bar food menu plus pizza, Iron Bar is rather spacious.  The bar area has hightop and regular seating. Beyond a flight of stairs that seemingly leads nowhere, a back lounge-y area where a projection screen TV awaits.