Slightly Oliver opened recently in the old Bar Luna space.  Swapping out a focus on wine for a focus on cocktails (though still offering about 20 wines by the glass as well as a few beers on tap), Slightly Oliver’s layout is almost identical to Bar Luna, with a 12-seat bar on the right and high-top tables on the left.  Up a few steps past the bar is the narrow dining area.  Slightly Oliver is a more grown-up spot from the post-college scene a few blocks south on Amsterdam.  Slightly Oliver is definitely worth a visit if you live nearby or are visiting the nabe.  If there were a cocktail bar focused UWS NYC bar crawl, Slightly Oliver would be a stop on it.

AOA Bar & Grill takes over from a former restaurant whose name I can’t recall.  A spacious set-up with two bars, one semi-circle near the entrance and another L-shaped bar just beyond the semi-circle one.  In the bar area, AOA B&G has six high-top tables, along with additional seating beyond the two bars.  About a dozen flat screen TV sets were showing college football during my visit.  AOA’s beer selection is extensive with 25 taps and 50 bottles.  In addition, there are 12 wines by the glass.  The food menu consists mainly of upscale bar / bistro fare as well as pizza.  AOA is a nice addition to the Tribeca craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.  I hope AOA can last longer than the former occupants of this space.

What are your thoughts on this place?  Please leave a comment here.

Here are some new spots I hope to visit over the next week or two.  I’ve read about two spots recently in Tribeca, AOA Bar & Grill and Tribeca Taproom.  I believe AOA, located at 35 6th Avenue, resides in the same spot as a recently shuttered restaurant.  In fact, I think that address has turned over a few times over the past several years.  I know almost nothing about AOA, but here’s hoping it will last longer than the last few businesses to occupy that spot.  The Tribeca Taproom, located just south of Greenwich & Franklin Sts, sits in the spot vacated years ago by Pig N Whistle.  If Tribeca Taproom lives up to its name, I hope it will be a welcomed addition to the Tribeca craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.

Two other spots on my to-do list include JBird and Bar Centrale in the Hell’s Kitchen/Midtown West.  From what I understand, these are both artisnal cocktail bars, but the trick to visiting these two spots is making a reservation.  Unlike most drinking establishments, you must have a reservation before showing up.  Bar Centrale will take reservations over the phone, but JBird only accepts reservations by email (reservations@jbirdny.com)!

What are your thoughts on these four spots?  Please share your comments here.

I love Croxley Ales.  I hadn’t been there in quite a while, so I decided it was time for another visit.  Some people go for the wings, others go to watch sports.  I go there for the beer selection (the message at the bottom of the menu, shown below, says it all).  Around two dozen taps, solid tap rotation and some hard-to-find brews.  If you haven’t been in a while or have not been at all, it’s time to head over to Croxley Ales, an integral part of any Alphabet City craft beer NYC pub crawl.

What are your thoughts on Croxley Ales?  Share your comments here.

Located at 115 St. Mark’s Place, The Burger Shop is another burger joint for NYC.  Although at the time of my visit (late evening on a Friday), only one patron was eating a burger.  Most patrons were focused on the solid beer selection of 16 quality taps and nearly 50 bottles.  The space is set up with a small bar on the right, opposite a few tables for parties of two and four.  The kitchen is beyond the bar.  With a friendly staff, this spot, regardless of its name, is a nice addition to the East Village craft-beer focused NYC bar crawl.

I found this clip on youtube recently:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-EESlhlKQ

My thoughts:

I must admit, I’ve been to nearly 70 bars/lounges in Astoria, but I have not yet been to Central Lounge.  I might need to add it to my next Astoria NYC bar crawl.  I think Zodiac (which, according to NY Magazine, is now closed) was more of a restaurant with some weekend nightlife “timesharing” (live music and dancing, 4am closing, etc.). I’m pretty sure I ate at Zodiac once years ago.  Food was solid.