Page 312 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City

310  TR A VELERS ’ NEEDS

Historic and to 1930, the 21 Club remains House – for serious ale
Literary Bars
one of the city’s most connoisseurs – boasts 28
If you sample only one historic atmospheric haunts, complete rotating draughts.
New York bar, it should probably with a ceiling crammed full of
be McSorley’s Old Ale House, antique toys.
an Irish saloon often dubbed Near Carnegie Hall is Gay and Lesbian Bars
“McSurly’s” because of its staff. P. J. Carney’s, a watering hole Gay bars can be found in
It claims to have opened in for musicians and artists since Greenwich Village, Chelsea, and
1854, and is one of the city’s 1927. It serves Irish ales and the East Village with a few on
oldest bars. a good shepherd’s pie. the Upper East and West Sides.
The Ear Inn dates from Lesbian bars are mostly in
1890, when the first tavern Microbreweries Greenwich Village and the East
opened on this SoHo site. Village. For current listings, check
Its cramped interior and long Since the 1990s America has the free weekly gay publication
wooden bar ooze authenticity. been undergoing a craft beer­ Next (www.nextmagazine.com).
Another SoHo favorite is brewing renaissance, with
Fanelli’s Café, a former speak­ mostly small and independant
easy that opened its doors in breweries producing small, Hotel Bars
1922 (though locals have been exclusive batches of hoppy, The Algonquin Hotel was
visiting the watering hole on tasty ales in a variety of styles. a famous literary haunt in
this site since 1847). Though New York has the 1920s and early 1930s,
Greenwich Village has some arguably been a little slow and its Lobby Lounge and
of the city’s oldest bars, such developing a truly local Blue Bar remain atmospheric
as Dylan Thomas’s favorite, the microbrew scene, the situation places for a drink.
White Horse Tavern, an 1880s is rapidly changing thanks in The minimalist Bar 44 in
landmark still crowded with part to state legislation, with the Royalton Hotel is a perfect
literary and collegiate types. small­batch brewers, and bars spot for a Martini while
It also has an outdoor café for that stock a variety of micro­ watching the theatrical crowds
warm weather. Peculier Pub brews, flourishing. drifting in and out. Also in the
is a beer­lover’s paradise, with Founded in 1987, the Theater District, the Paramount
over 360 varieties of beer. Brooklyn Brewery pioneered Bar has floor­to­ceiling windows
A good, if touristy, place for the modern move ment here, and is usually frequented by
a drink in the financial district though it only started making theater types.
is Fraunces Tavern, first built beer at its Williamsburg The Bull and Bear in the
in 1719 (see p80). headquarters in 1996. Today Waldorf­Astoria, dating back
Pete’s Tavern in the you can hang out in the to the Prohibition era, exudes
Gramercy Park area dates to brewery’s cafeteria­style beer comfort, charm, and a sense
1864. Busy until 2am, it is hall or take a tour. It’s just $5 for of history.
known for Victoriana and a beer, and offerings include The stylish King Cole Bar
the house brew called Pete’s seasonal brews that you can’t at St. Regis Hotel is named after
Ale. The typical Irish pub find in stores or restaurants. the colorful mural behind
Old Town Bar has been Up in Greenpoint, Danish the bar, by Maxfield Parrish.
serving stout since 1892, and import Tørst serves 21 draughts The Bloody Mary is reputed
is now favored largely by in an appropriately sleek, to have been invented here.
advertising types. No longer barn­wood lined bar, including The swanky Grand Bar at the
the celebrity scene it once its own label, Evil Twin Brewing. SoHo Grand is one of New York’s
was, Sardi’s still appeals to Other Brooklyn spots to seek trendier nightspots, while the
New York Times reporters, and out are Threes Brewing, the Roxy Hotel also draws a crowd
serves generous portions. Gowanus­based brewery to its Roxy Bar.
The Carnegie Club, with its with a full bar and 20 of its The Sky Terrace at the
18th­century bookcases, stone own beers on tap, and Other Hudson Hotel offers
fireplaces and plush furnishings, Half Brewing in Carroll scintillating views of the
is a real throwback. This place Gardens, which offers a vast Hudson River. The Rose Bar and
has business casual dress code, array of IPAs (India Pale Ales) Jade Bar, in Gramercy Park
offers fine malt whiskey, and and farmhouse ales. Hotel, are filled with fashion istas
even permits cigars. On the Over in Queens there’s drinking in the “eclectic­
Upper East Side, the Subway SingleCut Beersmiths, a lager Bohemian” vibe.
Inn, which moved here in specialist, and Transmitter The Upper East Side features
2015, is a classic dive bar Brewing, producer of tasty Bar Pléiades, The Surrey’s
hailing from 1937. farmhouse ales. stylish Art Deco homage
A bustling saloon with In Manhattan, d.b.a in to Chanel, and Bemelmans
Irish bartenders, P. J. Clarke’s the East Village features 14 Bar in the Carlyle, adorned
has been New York’s favorite draft beers on tap, while the with the whimsical murals
since the 1890s. Dating back West Village’s Blind Tiger Ale of Ludwig Bemelmans.

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