Fancy bars and restaurants with all sorts of sexy food and drink (Tørst, Beloved, Nights and Weekends) are all over Greenpoint these days, but let’s face it – sometimes you just want get hammered on a budget, pay homage to the neighborhood’s longtime establishments, or just check out something different and new (or old). Greenpoint definitely has no shortage of dive bars, but where to begin?
This weekend I hung out in some of these dives (a.k.a. “old man” bars) in the neighborhood and got to know them and their clientele a little better. I scoped out the drink specials, watched Jeopardy with the regulars, and relaxed in some sweet backyards. And now I present to you, along with my little rating system, some of the neighborhood’s best kept secrets:
Irene’s Pub (623 Manhattan Ave)
Irene's Pub
Despite being so centrally located, Irene’s is somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps most Greenpointers are unfamiliar with the bar’s philosophy:”it’s happy hour all the time,” which I verified as TRUTH. Irene’s prices are actually equivalent to happy hour deals, all the time – we’re talking $2 drafts and dirt-cheap mixed drinks. I repeat: all day and night long. Continue reading →
Inside the dark, wooden, stained-glass lit bar many hipsters call “The Heavy Metal Bar” on the edge of McGolrick Park in Greenpoint lies a small, narrow kitchen where Anna Wolf crafts small batch artisan beer mustard. You would never know or never guess the smells that take over this pub in the early morning hours. But, in fact, the bar takes on a new life as the home to My Friend’s Mustard from 5-11am, a whole grain, spicy, and full-of-texture mustard inspired by good food and locally brewed Brooklyn beer from Sixpoint.
Come watch an inside peek into the production process, meet Anna Wolf, the founder and owner of My Friend’s Mustard, and see for yourself the birth of a small food business inside the Palace Cafe.
To buy a jar for your condiment collection, you can visit the semi-new local beer & cheese shop: Eastern District. 1053 Manhattan Avenue (Eagle/Freeman)
I went out Saturday night with an old friend who I grew up with and others. We hit up a couple of places first starting at Goodman’s, then heading onto the new place Red Star and finishing the night at Jack O’Neill’s. All in all a good drunken night.
I was really excited about Red Star. At first when I heard it was a dancing joint, I thought it was going to just be a club but it’s so much better than that. Everything in the joint was top notch. Flat screens everywhere, an upstairs and downstairs bar and an owner from the hood. Local peeps doing good makes me happy.
I’m psyched that there is a sports bar in the area now. It’s the sort of place where I can take my Dad and we can have some beers, burgers and bullshit. The sort of place that’s new but completely local friendly. It’s not a hipster haven. It’s got all the amenities without the pretentious bullshit. It’s perfect. Go hangout there now!
Red Star 37 Greenpoint Ave (between Franklin St & West St) Brooklyn, NY 11222 (718) 349-0149
