Pub Crawl NYC must leave town this weekend, so there won’t be any bar explorations around the five boroughs. It’s a short trip, so we’ll be back at it early next week. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
Category Archives: Pub Crawl NYC Random Thoughts
Should children, properly supervised, be allowed into certain bars during daytime hours?
Greenwood Park, the new beergarden at the southern edge of Brooklyn’s Park Slope, has been the subject of a minor controversy around its policy of allowing children into the bar with their parents. A recent New York Times article details the issue. In short, some parents from the nabe like to bring their youngsters to the establishment, while other patrons don’t care for the children’s presence. This issue has happened before at other bars in the immediate area and in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn; Greenwood Park just being the latest such example.
On a recent Sunday afternoon visit, Pub Crawl NYC did not see a single child at the establishment. Perhaps this had to do with the weather, it was very hot and humid and probably not good for children being out in the sun for extended periods of time. We look forward to a return visit as Greenwood Park is a great spot and one of the few spacious outdoor drinking areas in Park Slope. But, if some patrons are particularly annoyed at the sight of children, they can go somewhere else. There are at least 60 other bars in Park Slope (and Pub Crawl NYC has visited almost all of them!).
Within reason, should children, properly supervised, be allowed into certain bars during daytime hours? Please share your thoughts with us.
The most recent weekend in NYC pub crawling
Pub Crawl NYC visited a few spots in Astoria and a few spots in Park Slope this weekend. Not much notable to report as far as new spots are concerned in Astoria. Though we found Max Bratwurst, located at 47-02 30th Avenue, to be more of a restaurant than a bar. Good food there. In Park Slope, Greenwood Park, at the southern edge of Park Slope (or is it South Slope there?) was the most notable place we visited in that section of town. Greenwood Park, a beergarden that has been the subject of a (somewhat contrived) controversy, is located at 555 7th Avenue (at 19th Street). More on Greenwood Park in a post later this week.
Where to pub crawl in NYC this weekend?
A few spots that we have been considering for the upcoming weekend include Astoria and some of Manhattan’s best beer bars. It’s been a while since Pub Crawl NYC was last in Astoria. Of course, an old friend of Pub Crawl NYC will be passing through town this weekend and this friend loves craft beer bars. So, perhaps a Manhattan craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl will also be in order this weekend. Which beer bars or section of town to you suggest that Pub Crawl NYC visits this weekend? Please share your thoughts with us.
Summary of pub crawling in NYC this past weekend
It wasn’t Manhattan’s Financial District, it ended up being the Village in Manhattan and the North Side of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Saturday started with The Wren and continued with Jimmy’s No. 43, The Central Bar, Kettle of Fish and Barrow Street Ale House. All great spots, especially Jimmy’s and Barrow Street, both candidates for a craft-beer focused NYC pub crawl. Sunday, Pub Crawl NYC crossed the East River to explore a few recently-opened joints including The Bellwhether (in the former Royal Oak spot), Kent Ale House and The Ides Bar. A few words on the Ides Bar: If you like rooftop bars, then you must, repeat MUST visit this spot. The Ides Bar, located at 80 Wythe Avenue (at North 11th Street) offers 360 degree views of Brooklyn, Queens AND Manhattan. The bar is located only on the 6th floor, but because Williamsburg does not have many buildings above that height (not yet, anyway), you can see for miles in every direction at this place. Pub Crawl NYC can’t wait to visit again.
What are your thoughts on these spots? We want to hear from you!
Where to pub crawl in NYC this weekend?
Pub Crawl NYC is considering hitting a few outdoor spots this weekend in Manhattan’s Financial District. That means a visit to Stone Street is almost definitely on the itinerary. And maybe the outdoor spot in Battery Park. This weekend’s weather looks mostly promising, so we expect to be able to hit our goals this time.
A brief visit to two new spots in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen
Due to other commitments, Pub Crawl NYC wasn’t as enterprising when it came to bar hopping this weekend as we had hoped. This weekend, we visited two recently-opened spots in Hell’s Kitchen: Fast Eddies and Mickey Spillane’s. Fast Eddies is located at 47th Street & 10th Avenue (southwest corner) and Mickey Spillane’s is located at 49th street and 9th Avenue (southeast corner). A more detailed review will be forthcoming. Suffice to say, both have a sort-of neighborhood bar feel to them (maybe Fast Eddies more than Mickey Spillane’s). Each has a good craft beer selection on tap.
Where to pub crawl in NYC this weekend?
Pub Crawl NYC is pondering in which neighborhood to bar hop this weekend. Last weekend, we hit a few spots in the South Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and the Upper West Side in Manhattan. We haven’t visited Park Slope in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side in Manhattan in a while, so maybe those will be our top candidates. If you have any suggestions, please share your thoughts with us!
Pub Crawl NYC's brief thoughts on mixed drink prices in Midtown Manhattan
Pub Crawl NYC realizes it’s not news that mixed drinks at upscale Manhattan spots can now cost well over $10. Still though, on a recent night out at Rooftop Lounge at Renaissance Hotel in Midtown, Pub Crawl NYC learned that a Grey Goose vodka and soda drink cost $14 (see picture of bill below). Grey Goose is not a high end vodka, probably middle range. Considering how much ice was in the glass (see second photo below, which was taken after the drink was finished), Pub Crawl NYC thinks that this borders on the ridiculous. Yes, there are numerous cocktail bars that charge $14 or more for artisanal cocktails. But this vodka-soda was definitely not one of those well-crafted cocktails. And Pub Crawl NYC is not uniformly calling out Rooftop Lounge at Renaissance Hotel on their drink prices because there are numerous other Manhattan rooftop bars that charge similar prices. But where does it stop? It probably doesn’t. As long as we, the consumers, are willing to patronize these places and pay these prices, the establishments will continue to charge what they can.
What are your thoughts on this? Pub Crawl NYC wants to hear from you!
Why did Shecky's omit Bohemian Hall from its recent list of NYC's Beer Gardens?
That’s what we’ve been wondering recently. Check out Shecky’s description of ten Beer Gardens in the city. Pub Crawl NYC regularly uses Shecky’s for its new bar listings and has no problems with any of the places Shecky’s mentioned as all ten are solid spots. But, how can you omit Bohemian Hall in Astoria from such a list? Bohemian Hall is the last of the original Beer Gardens in the city. We’ve written about Bohemian Hall before it remains one of our favorite outdoor spots. The only reason we can think of for the omission was that Shecky’s list was a Brooklyn-Manhattan only list. Otherwise, there’s no explanation. What are your thoughts? Share them here.