Located at 508 9th Avenue, Scallywag’s picks up where Albert Hall Tavern left off (though this address has turned over numerous times in recent years – before Albert Hall was 508 Sports Lounge, preceded by The Door). Eighteen tap beers and numerous flatscreen TVs for sports viewing. Beyond the front bar area is a small dining area up a few steps in the back. Unfortunately, the Guinness here is not nearly as good as the Guinness at Dolan’s across the street and up a block.
Located at 533 9th Avenue, Dolan’s is a small Irish Pub located in the shadow of the Port Authority building (just about directly across the street from the NYC classic dive, Holland Bar). Dolan’s features only one tap serving beer and that beer is? Guinness. We can’t remember the last Irish pub we visited that had exactly one tap. Anyway, the Guinness pour is fantastic, probably one of the better pours in all of Manhattan. The food menu features a mix of bar food and Irish classics (or, at least, Irish classics that you find in the U.S.). If there were a Ninth Avenue Irish NYC pub crawl, this would be a great addition.
Over the past several days, we’ve read of several new NYC bars that have recently opened or are about to open. There’s Dead Rabbit in Manhattan’s Financial District at 30 Water Street. This place has several different themes including whiskey and craftbeer; apparently, there’s also a small store attached to it. About to open in Kips Bay, Vanguard Wine Bar (530 Second Avenue) will be a welcomed addition to that section of town. Even though there are a few wine bars a block or two west, there’s nothing along that stretch of Second Avenue (we may now have the makings of a Murray Hill Wine Bar Crawl). Then there’s The Royal, a sports bar of sorts, at 127 Fourth Avenue (between 12th and 13th Streets). If that address sounds familiar, it’s because that address was home to The Forum and, and going further back, Pop Wine Bar. And, we still need to visit Cash Bar on East 34th Street. As always, we’ll keep you informed on our progress with these and other spots.
If you have any ideas on new spots we need to visit, please drop us a note!
From our last update in mid-December, not too much has changed. Most places remain closed and we gather that Nelson Blue will be moving to Midtown. We will close this post on a happy note: Fresh Salt has re-opened. Passing by there on a recent weeknight, we saw lights on, the sidewalk sandwich board out front and patrons inside. Slowly, the bars and the other small businesses in the neighborhood are returning. We can all take some joy in that.
Located at 206 West 41st street, Bar Catalonia takes over in the spot formerly known as Bar 41. Much more laid back than its predecessor, Bar Catalonia is the hostel bar for the Equity Point Hostel, just as Bar 41 was the hotel bar for Hotel 41. Long, somewhat narrow space with a small bar, much of the place is taken up by low lying seating and cartoon and caricature art along the wall opposite the bar. There are eight tap beers and a limited hard liquor and wine selection. We had a happy hour Bronx Brewery Pale Ale for just $5. Very good happy hour price for this part of town. Overall, it’s worth a visit if you’re in the nabe.
Basically a redux of Bill’s Gay Nineties, which in early 2012. Bill’s Food & Drink, located at 57 East 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, picks up where its predecessor left off. We were not regulars at the original Bill’s, but not much looks different. Honestly, if we had not known that the original had closed in early 2012 and walked in today, we would not have known there was a discontinuity in service and change in ownership. The only thing that changed in appearance is the name (and that only slightly). After speaking with the bartender, we learned that the food menu became more upscale. Still, a good spot for lunch or an afterwork drink.
Located at 153 Essex Street, Two Bit’s Retro Arcade brings Barcade-like fun to Manhattan. Unfortunately, Two Bit’s falls a bit short of Barcade bliss. Two Bit’s space is long and somewhat narrow. Arcade games line both sides of the space until the back half of the room, where the bar is on the right and a few tables at the rear. Nearly a dozen tap beers, as well as some wines and sake. Bar snacks also available. Two Bit’s gets crowded fairly quickly, so, if you want the run of the place, it’s probably a good idea to visit during the afternoon or early evening.
Wishing you a safe and prosperous 2013. Our New Year’s Resolution: More NYC pub crawls in 2013!
Best wishes for 2014. Our New Year’s Resolution: More NYC bar crawls this year!
So, here we are on the last day of the year 2012. Looking back, it was quite a year for us in terms of number of bars visited. We visited nearly 80 newly opened bars in Manhattan, nearly 40 newly-opened spots in Brooklyn and over a dozen of that type in Queens. And, of course, we returned to many of our favorites and not-so-favorites over that same time period. Perhaps our favorite new bar opening of 2012 was New York Beer Company. We’ve written about that spot a few times already in this space. If you’re a craft-beer fan and you haven’t been there yet, then start 2013 off right and go to New York Beer Company.