Greenpoint is blowin’ up, and we all know it. Case in point: Alameda (195 Franklin St,) opened by design gurus the Haslegrave brothers, is their first brick-and-mortar space. Evan and Oliver’s design company Home is responsible for the interiors of The Manhattan Inn and Paulie Gee’s, so we certainly expected the old-school charm of rustic wood accents and loads of exposed brick in this new space.
Upon first glance, Alameda pops in a way that other Greenpoint examples of the Haslegraves’ work doesn’t. Clean white walls adorned with glossy white tile open the space up infinitely, and are accompanied by nautical detailing in both the light fixtures and molding. In fact, a gentleman seated next to me at the bar remarked that the space felt like it should be on Tatooine. It felt like drinking in the below-deck bar of ship from the future that I was absolutely going to sail upon one day. I felt home.
The cocktail list at Alameda is perfectly curated, with several standouts utilizing different liquors in their most elevated incarnations. My personal favorite was the Roberto Burns, a smoky mezcal delight with a generous orange rind strip served over a single ice cube. This drink is like sex below deck.
A friend enjoyed the Pita Amour, a lovely tequila concoction served up with a lime wedge. Petite, clean, and delicious.
The Phil Collins, a gin and Lillet stunner, could’ve nearly been called a salad; it had so many fresh accoutrements, including mint, lemon, and lime. An ideal summertime cocktail, folks, and I trust you won’t forget the name.
The edibles menu pleased us very much, as did the prices. Though a $17 foie gras breakfast sandwich is on offer, most items are more moderately priced around $10. A standout item on the current menu is a roasted fruit and goat cheese sandwich on baguette, the perfect combination of tang, crunch, and tender fruit without the syrupy sweetness of most jams. Along with the $9 cheeseburger (which feels like a grown-up version of In-N-Out,) their killer cocktails, and the spacious bar area and actually comfortable booths we have a winner here. Or, as I have been describing it to all my girlfriends, “our new GPT go-to.”
Last night (out of nowhere!) I dreamt about the final scene in Slumdog Millionaire, when the entire cast breaks out into an amazing dance routine – and the best part – I was dancing with them. (I really dreamt this. I have no idea why.)
This morning I saw a new event on our Greenpointers calendar…
Himanshu Suri, of the late Das Racist, is spinning ’60s and ’70s Bollywood vinyl at Beloved (674 Manhattan Ave) tonight, Tuesday April 23, 2013 from 7-11pm!
Join us Sunday, April 7th - 7pm at The Exley (1 Jackson St) for Classic Cocktails mixed by Young Nathan (the man in the middle), inspired music by Darryl St. Christopher Specht, and the 2 Hour Season Premiere of Mad Men Season 6.
You’ve been asking and now we’re telling! A new Korean menu, inspired by owner Jessica Wertz’s mother’s homestyle cooking is debuting today at No Name Bar (597 Manhattan Ave). No we are not messing with you. Plus, there is additional seating downstairs which includes a nice big booth.
Jessica tried to convince her mother to come from Korea and cook in the restaurant’s basement kitchen with no success. Instead she found another Korean chef who passed the test.
“Now I can eat food I love, the food I grew up eating, food that is good for me – everyday!” she said with a big smile on her face when we attended a preview tasting this past weekend. Continue reading →
Thanks to our twitter buddy @boredvegetarian for taking this shot on the door of Coco66 that says they are reopening this Friday 3/22. She also wonders, “How long before they get shut down again?” Good question.
Until I wrote yesterday’s post on Best Bars To Watch The Super Bowl in Greenpoint, I honestly had no idea what teams are in the Superbowl and more pathetically who is performing at the halftime show.
It’s not because I am too cool for the Super Bowl – it’s that if it doesn’t happen in Greenpoint then it’s not on my radar. I’m a neighborhood agoraphobe.
While Puppy Bowl and hedgehog cheerleaders are very intriguing, unless I’m going to a house party to focus on the guacamole and nachos, I don’t really give a shit.
While working on the antithesis to this post, I did just read they are calling it the “Bro Bowl,” because the coaches of the opposing teams are brothers and are battling “head to head.” This makes me even more happy I unknowingly scheduled Sunday Supper #2 that day and there is no TV at the Luncheonette.
Ladies, these are great places to meet men who will be free Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings from early Fall through the Winter.
The Best Bars to NOT to Watch the Super Bowl in Greenpoint:
Noname Bar (597 Manhattan Ave) Because Drunk Man Noodle is tastier than annoying drunk men. (Note: the kitchen is temporarily closed while they expand the eating area downstairs – so no food for you for a week and a half more! But I needed to make that joke and that bar rules.)
Manhattan Inn (632 Manhattan Ave)
A damn good cocktail and live piano sound better than cheap beer and Beyonce. Forever.
Adelina’s (159 Greenpoint Ave)
Want to play with balls? How about rice balls smothered in red sauce?
Milk n’ Roses (1110 Manhattan Ave)
Nothing is more anti-american than pasta and wine on Superbowl Sunday. What is American is that it’s board game night! Bring in your own board game, plus Happy Hour all night (5pm until close!)
Oak & Iron (147 Franklin St)
Enjoy a great whisky cocktail with no TV in sight.
So its January 2nd, the official day to be sick of hearing people say happy new year, and I’m walking back to my apartment. It’s almost midnight, and I’m making the decision that the hoodie/peacoat layered combo is not working out, and I’m freezing my tits off. I have a wool overcoat at home that is my final defense against the cold in the wintertime, and it is about to be deployed. Earlier tonight, I was remarking to a friend at the People’s Improv Theater, at how I’d gamble his wool trench coat locks out the winter real well. Layering is cold weather wears for poor people, since we can’t always dial out the cold with our warmest outerlayer, nor afford parkas. I had just recently upgraded from the old denim jacket I had wrapped around my hoodie, and it was losing the weather battle. This was while heading home from a bar I work at on the Greenpoint/Williamsburg border called Spritzenhaus. Today, the bar was particularly quiet, and since I’ve been working every day since the weekend, I’ve been unable to fully shake this Chicago cold my girlfriend got me this Christmas. The only big group we had was my buddy Jen’s writers group that was meeting to expand their contributor base, which definitely helped my cause. Still this felt like the longest shift possible, and I got out early on account of the light bar traffic. I grabbed myself a Jever Pilsner, which I love, and found myself over by Jen’s Greenpointers party. Before I knew it I was offering to contribute some words as a local bartending greenpoint resident. As well as gushing over my awesome roommate Nithya, they loved this idea, and said I could use the blog as a sounding board for all the events I’m a part of, like my bands (No Way, The Golden Age of Radio), my improv groups (Milhaus, Backfat, People’s Improv Theater), or my live karaoke band (Infinity Spaceship @ St. Vitus). So I think I’m gonna do it. I hope you like reading it. My name is Brian Lucrezia.
A few years ago, a beer store quietly nestled into the space between the old Coco 66/68 and the corner delis. Ever since, Brouwerij Lane has managed to bring to the neighborhood access to and love for those beers that even the best-stocked specialty stores have trouble finding.
This month, on December 12, they participated in a sale that put even their exceptional tap list to shame: the one-time-only release of what many consider to be the world’s best beer, the Trappist abbey Westvleteren’s XII.
Long story short, this stuff is usually only available by making the trek to the abbey in Belgium. The monks needed a new roof for the abbey, and financed it with a one-time international sale of their already world-renowned beer.
Naturally, even before the beer was actually sold it was the subject of many a column-filling news piece. I was lucky enough to run into Erik Olsen, of Brouwerij Lane, at the Greenpointers Holiday Market this year and place an advance order for a gift set.
He told me what the process was like to distribute one of the world’s rarest beers.
Erik was contacted by one of his distributors a few weeks prior to the December 12th sale date and offered the chance to distribute the beer. Most interesting were the restrictions placed on the sale: although the beer could definitely have retailed for much more, distributors were prohibited from selling individual bottles and encouraged to only sell a single six-bottle gift set to each customer for $85.
While this might seem pricey, stores like Brouwerij Lane aren’t making a profit off this – they paid $82.50 for each box and were limited to between 16 and 80 gift sets. Of the 20 they ended up buying, they had pre-orders for every one of those before they released them on the 12th. That hasn’t stopped beer hunters from calling them non-stop about it – three calls just in the time it took to answer my questions. This has also fostered a thriving resale market in flagrant violation of the monks’ wishes for the sale. Sadly, none of the beer scalpers responded to my emails so I can’t say if people actually pay this much, but the asking price seems to be at least $400 for the set and as much as $1,000.
Even if you didn’t manage to get your paws on a Westy, Brouwerij Lane is a great spot to pick up bottles for your co-workers and a fresh pint for yourself. Many consider the Westvleteren to be highly regarded more for its rarity than flavor, so there’s plenty of other Trappist beers on their shelves if you’d like to see what all the fuss was about.
Greenpointers is excited to announce a monthly dining event for 2013. Every first Sunday we will host a casual Sunday Supper at a different Greenpoint location with a new chef each month.
Think of it as a unique homemade meal in your favorite bar (or other unexpected location.)
The meal will include an appetizer, main, dessert and special cocktail for $35.
Our first dining event will take place on Little Christmas, Sunday, January 6th, 2013 from 7-9pm at Beloved (674 Manhattan Ave) with a TBA chef.
Little Christmas is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany, when the wise men visited the baby Jesus and presented him with gifts. In my family on Little Christmas we do what we do on all holidays, stuff our faces with food.
As such we are making a call for local chefs, home cooks and food makers of all kinds. (No culinary school required.) This is a great chance to show off your cooking talent, share family traditions, make people happy and promote your own supper club, food blog, product or future restaurant. You will be paid and given a food budget. Email greenpointers (at) gmail.com and tell us a little about yourself.
If you are a venue interested in hosting, please email greenpointers (at) gmail.com.
I made a Sicilian Rice Ball Supper for a similar weekly dining series that took place at Veronica People’s Club. It was a great night and I am hoping to recreate the same fun and delicious vibe.
