Located at 145 East 39th Street (just east of Lexington Avenue), the Pod 39 Hotel recently opened a rooftop bar.  17 stories above east 39th street, this rooftop spot offers good views east, south and west (alas, most of the Chrysler building just to the north, except for the spire, is blocked).  The bar offers specialty cocktails, along with five tap beers and six bottled/canned beers.  The physical bar is located in the center of the space, with small tables along the establishment’s perimeter.  During our visit, the bartenders seemed extremely overwhelmed as numerous patrons waited several minutes at the bar for their drinks.  Perhaps the bar was understaffed, but the place was not supercrowded either.  If this waiting time for drinks is not a usual occurrence, then we recommend Pod 39 as a place to stop by for a drink; perhaps even as an addition to the Midtown East rooftop bar crawl.

After a solid Italian meal at Zero Otto Nove, Pub Crawl NYC visited two drinking establishments nearby.

Mugz’s (pronounced Mugzees), located at 2476 Arthur Avenue, is a college dive bar for nearby Fordham University students.  For those well past their college days, if you want to feel old, you can go here.  Seriously, aside from us and the bartender, there was no patron here over the age of 22.

How at the Moon Bar & grill had a slight Carribbean theme going on.  A neighborhood/sports bar.  Still attracted the college crowd, but the clientele here is more diverse in age than at Mugz’s.

What are your thoughts on these two places?  We want to hear from you!

After our time in Sunnyside was completed, we continued southwest along west Greenpoint Avenue, across the Newtown Creek into Brooklyn and hit three spots in Greenpoint and East Williamsburg.

Pencil Factory, located at 142 Franklin Street.  Solid spot, part of the gentrification of the northern section of Greenpoint.  12 mostly-quality tap beers offered.  Worth a visit the next time you’re nearby.

After Greenpoint, we moved over the East Williamsburg to visit two recently opened establishments, The Tradesman and Post No Bills, both located within steps of the Montrose Avenue L-train stop.

The Tradesman, a fairly-recently opened spot located at 222 Bushwick Avenue.  Chill vibe and 12 quality tap beers.  Sizeable outdoor space in the back.

Post No Bills, located at 253 Bushwick Avenue.  This bar was not on our radar at all.  We happened to notice it when we first cam out of the L-train enroute to The Tradesman.  Post No Bills is long and narrow, with a small seating area in back.  Only two tap beers here, so we enjoyed part of the 18 bottled/canned beer selection.

What do you think of these spots?  Please share your thoughts.

Pub Crawl NYC enjoys hanging out in Sunnyside.  It had been a while, so on a recent weekday afternoon, we ventured over there to hit some spots along Queens Blvd and Greenpoint Avenue.  Below are the highlights:

Molly Blooms at 43-13 Queens Blvd, this location is the old Flynn’s Inn.  Molly Blooms has a Victorian theme going.  Small outdoor area in the back. 12 tap beers and 18 bottled beers offered.  Fairly simple bar food menu.

McGuiness’s at 44-23 Queens Blvd.  A comfortable neighborhood corner bar.  Six tap beers.  As the name suggests, it’s an Irish bar.

Bliss Street Station at 47-02 Greenpoint Avenue.  Another Irish pub offering six tap beers and decent pub grub.  Fairly sizeable dining area also.

Greenpoint Lounge at 43-22 Greenpoint Avenue.  Probably the diviest of the five pubs we visited this day.  Long bar area followed by a pool table toward the back and a small outdoor area in the back.

Bantry Bay Public House at 3301 Greenpoint Avenue.  From the looks of the outside, it looks dive-y, but rather pleasant on the inside with both a sizeable bar and dining areas.  I’m unsure if this section of Queens is still Sunnyside or Long Island City.  Perhaps it’s on the border.  If you have any thoughts on this debate, please share!

Good times await in Sunnyside’s bars, definitely worth a trip if you are looking for something slightly different.  Please share your thoughts on this excursion.

The folks from Murray’s Cheese recently opened a wine and cheese spot three doors west of the cheese shop location.  Taking over from the short-lived Bin on Bleecker (and Bar’rique before that) at 264 Bleecker Street in Manhattan’s West Village, Murray’s Cheese Bar is a must-visit for those who like wine and cheese.  Dozens of wines out-of-the-bottle available, with another 18-20 out of the glass (and 6 quality tap beers).  Open daily from 5pm – 1am, Murray’s Cheese Bar is a long and fairly narrow space.  A long bar is on the left-hand side and seating for parties of two to six opposite the bar.  A kitchen resides in the back.  The food, to state the obvious, centers around cheese.  In addition to cheese plates and chacuterie, Murray’s Cheese Bar offers their take on classic cheese-centered dishes such as grilled cheese and fondue.  We recommend the classic grilled cheese (don’t forget the tomato soup — very tasty!).  This spot is a great addition to the West Village wine bar crawl!

What are your thoughts on Murray’s Cheese Bar?