When conjuring images of legendary bartenders, you might be reminded of Tom Cruise doing the Hippy Hippy Shake in Cocktail. While their scene is more chic and the cocktails are more artfully crafted, the bartenders at The Regal in Williamsburg are having no less fun (and are arguably no less charming) than Tom Cruise’s character in that film.
Bartender Adam Lipiec at The Regal. Photo: Will Star
We stopped by on a Sunday night a few weeks ago to meet and drink with Adam Lipiec, one of The Regal’s star bartenders. Adam’s a native of Poland and had bartended in Europe—in his home country, Ibiza, and London—before coming to New York. Aside from immediately noticing that Adam’s a genuinely friendly tall drink of water, you’ll spot him mixing drinks with incredible flair. He gracefully tosses a napkin and twirls it around to have it touch down delicately on the back of his hand as if it’s a butterfly landing on a flower petal. Drinks get shaken with a vigorous flourish, and shakers flip in the air and get thrown behind his back with the ease of a master juggler. Some of the cocktails require use of a blowtorch; if you’re in a fiery mood, get The Spitfire—sotol, pineapple, lime, jalapeño infused agave, for $10. Continue reading →
Every summer, someone I know calls for an impromptu celebration of a sunny Greenpoint day in the form of a picnic. Each time, I always show up with the same thing – Watermelon Soju, a boozy pureed watermelon punch that is dangerously (or gloriously) stronger than it tastes.
Watermelon Soju is no secret to anyone familiar with Koreatown’s best offerings but since many people have asked me what goes in it and how I make it, I decided to quench all your curious minds here on Greenpointers. Continue reading →
There are few pleasures in life greater than rounding off the working day with a well- earned beverage at your favorite bar. And when that beverage costs next to nothing, the pleasure is even greater, which is why happy hour is pretty much always the best time of day.
We’ve rounded up a list of practically every happy hour in Greenpoint for you to work through at your leisure. From $2.50 wine at Boulevard Tavern to ‘bottomless champagne’ at Le Gamin, we reckon we’ve got everyone covered!
Key to happiness:
☺ – Extra Happy Value
★ – Food Deals
♥ – Editor’s Picks
Achilles Heel 180 West Street (At Green St.) Weekdays 4pm-7pm
– $5 drafts
– $8 glass of wine
– $9 cocktail (seasonal classics)
– $12 for 6 oysters
★♥ Alameda 195 Franklin Street (at Green St.) Weekdays & Sundays 5pm-7pm
– $5 prosecco/cortada margarita/draught beer
– $7 tequila shot and 1/2 pint of beer
– $11 Boquerone & tomato toast with a vermouth & club soda
– $12 Burger and 1/2 pint of beer
★♥Adelina’s 159 Greenpoint Avenue (between Leonard St. and Manhattan Ave.) Weekdays 5pm-7pm
– $5 craft beer pints
– $8 quartinos of organic sangiovese, pinot grigio & prosecco
– Glass of organic sangiovese, pinot grigio or prosecco with olive bowl: $9
– Glass of organic sangiovese, pinot grigio or prosecco with cheese plate: $17
– Craft beer pint & “The Original” pizza fritta: $15
Beloved 674 Manhattan Avenue (between Norman Ave. and Nassau Ave.) Daily 5pm-8pm
– $8 house cocktails (+ daily cocktail special is $8 all night) Continue reading →
Recently it was announced that Eat (124 Meserole Avenue) would no longer be functioning as a full time restaurant but instead will be shifting its focus onto the idea of ‘a handmade lifestyle through cultivation’. Owner Jordan Colon has decided that the space, made internationally famous for its monthly silent meals, will now be mostly dedicated to pottery: selling ceramics and hosting workshops.
There will still be a Silent Meal on the first Sunday of each month (see fb for details), but if the silent treatment isn’t up your street there will be one last chance to experience a full-volume mealtime at Eat during a collaborative brunch event hosted by social dining collective ‘In the Mood For‘. Continue reading →
Skyline View that will have Punters Coming in Droves
Its official: Judging by a weekend of gleaming porcelain limbs sunning themselves in McCarren Park, our long-lost love Springtime has finally returned! Which means it’s now time to start thinking about where we can make the most of these warmer days and nights.
When I popped into Aussie newcomer Northern Territory (12 Franklin Street) on Saturday evening I was happy to learn that their rooftop bar is now fully operational. Continue reading →
Last Sunday, the weather was so gorgeous, and for the first time in months I wasn’t daunted by the thought of leaving a roughly one-block radius. Jen G and I were both up for trying something new, and decided on brunch at Lucky Luna, by McGolrick Park. Continue reading →
If you have any relationship with The Richardson—albeit it a one-nighter, Grand Ferry (229 Kent Ave) will feel strangely, wonderfully, familiar. And that’s because co-founders Jon Derosa and Joel Lee Kulp—as well as the staff, are transplants from Greenpoint’s popular speakeasy. Located on Kent Ave in Williamsburg, this waterfront tavern is inspired by a ferry that docked nearby until 1918.
Dig old stuff? If you are an antique nut like me, you will appreciate that the mirrors, prints, and resident mermaid (who exists as a sculpture and is printed on Grand Ferry’s matchbox) all hail from Kulp’s treks to the Mecca of antique fairs—Brimfield. Lining the walls are early 20th century prints of the East River—including one of the East River bridge, now known as the Williamsburg Bridge. Continue reading →
I’ll admit that I walked into Beloved a little ready to hate on it. When I passed by the newly opened space a few nights earlier, I peered in through the gray doors painted with the name of this new place that inhabits the recessed cave that used to belong to the denizens of Stones Tavern thinking that this was just a bar hurriedly wedged into an odd middle space in Greenpoint. A bar like a street-fair goldfish: short-lived. Best not to get too attached.
Entering, I passed a sign out front promising ‘gangster times’ to be had within. If the times of a gangster include:
Donuts,
Amazingly delicious original cocktails,
Friendly, laid back times, and
staying 2+ drinks longer than you meant to just because,
Get the "Thats My Word" Cocktail (Left)
then yes, Beloved delivered on the promise of ‘Gangster Times.’ While I can’t say there will always be donuts waiting there for you, talking to René, designer of the cocktail list, and Vivek, one of the owners, suggested that what you will reliably find is a bar that honestly cares about what they’re serving you. They believe that they’re not settling by focusing on just being a solid place to drink, and while there were certainly hints about parties in the future – a DJ booth may one day soon occupy a back corner, and the yard has serious potential – Vivek suggested that Beloved has no intention of becoming an ‘event space.’ The focus is on a killer cocktail list, a well-designed interior sporting luxe wallpaper and custom lighting, and bartenders who actually seem to want you to enjoy your time there. I love being wrong sometimes.
If you picked up apple cider at the Greenmarket today, I have a good recipe to take it to the next level.
And like all good things, its simple: Apple Cider, Rye Whisky & Fresh Lemon. Thats it! Its my favorite bird nerding cocktail.
Greenpointers will be coming out with a spiral bound community recipe book in the spring (the kind you used to get from church when you were a kid) and we need your recipes!
