The Mark Bar
1025 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint

Tommy’s Tavern
1041 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint

Achilles Heel
180 West Street, Greenpoint

All week—all week!—I’d been on time for everything. This might sound unremarkable to most people, but it was something that I—and everyone I was meeting—couldn’t help but remark upon: “You’re on time!”

“I’m on time!”

This was not a usual thing. I felt reborn; I felt good. I should have known it couldn’t last. Well, I did know it wouldn’t last, but I didn’t think much about how it would end.

All day long people had been asking me, “What’s the last bar review going to be again?”

“The Mark Bar,” I said. “It opened in 2003, just like The L. Do you know how hard it is to find a bar that opened in 2003? Hard.” (more…)

Oleanders
160 N. 12th Street, Williamsburg

“It was pretty average,” I said to my companions as we exited Oleanders, the newest inhabitant of the subterranean level of the McCarren Hotel. “At least, the food was. But I generally don’t like to be too harsh in these reviews, because I don’t want anyone to feel too bad. But, yeah. It was mediocre. Like, aggressively mediocre.”

“Aggressively mediocre is just a nice way of saying shitty,” came one reply. “It was dark and oppressive. Everything about the decor was terrible; from those giant plastic Tiffany lamps that were not really Tiffany lamps to the fake digital fireplace to the ridiculous framed photographs of animals in hunting suits to figuring out how to get to the bathroom, which was practically a mile away from the actual bar and felt like it was at the end of a literal maze—it was all awful. And even my lemonade! Even my lemonade was way too sweet—but fake-sweet, like Crystal Light.” (more…)

Leyenda
221 Smith Street, Cobble Hill

From its terracotta tile awning and adobe facade to the cathedral pew-booths and fireplace filled with glass prayer candles, Leyenda, a new “cocteleria” in Cobble Hill, takes its design and menu inspiration from Central and South America—specifically, from cocktail queen Ivy Mix’s time spent bartending in Antigua, Guatemala. Mix co-owns the spot with her mentor, Julie Reiner, the celebrated craft mixologist behind Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club, and Clover Club. With turquoise bar cabinets, a breezy patio, and a salsa soundtrack, the bar brings a subtle south of the border vibe to Cobble Hill. (more…)

Livingston Manor
42 Hoyt Street, Downtown Brooklyn

When our office first relocated to Downtown Brooklyn from DUMBO last spring, one of the main concerns was this: Where would we go to drink? In DUMBO, there weren’t exactly an abundance of options, but what choices we had were pretty solid. There was Superfine, spacious—cavernous, even—with its small but solid list of draft beers, and excellent french fries to soak up all that alcohol. And there was 68 Jay, with $5 well drinks at happy hour, and free bowls of Goldfish crackers to snack on. Between those two spots (with occasional detours to Pedro’s and the now-defunct reBar), we spent many a booze-soaked evening. But suddenly, newly housed in DoBro, we found ourselves in that most dreaded of places: a bar desert. (more…)

Chilo’s
323 Franklin Avenue, Bed-stuy

I’m not usually one for sweet drinks; I actually like my cocktails supremely bitter and boozy. Even so, strangely enough, I hold a special place in my heart for frozen drinks. But since last summer’s Phrosties are now a distant memory, getting a frozen Pink Baby at Baby’s All Right involves swimming through throngs of people who think being health goth entails actual exercise, and Glady’s—even with its fantastic frozen cocktails—is less a bar and more a place to gorge on delicious Carribbean grub, the time was right for Chilo’s to come along, with its perfectly crafted frozen drinks.

A brand new Mexican-themed bar in Bed-Stuy owned by the people behind Mayfield in Crown Heights, Chilo’s has been a hit since the day it opened. Maybe it’s because people are finally feeling optimistic that summer isn’t too far off and Chilo’s is the perfect place to ring in the new season, with its backyard full of ample picnic table seating and a taco truck (which, yes, takes cards). Even the indoors retains an outdoor vibe: The big corner door was wide open on a warm evening and I imagine the large, nearly floor-to-ceiling windows will be open when it’s hot out, to let in the breeze. (more…)

King Tai Bar
1095 Bergen Street, Crown Heights

In the weeks that stretch between winter’s last gasps and the first real days of spring, it’s sometimes hard to know where you want to drink. Those dark, wood-paneled fireplace bars seem a little too bunker-like now that the signs of thaw are upon us, and it will still be a month before sitting on a roof or in a backyard with a frosty beer will be anything but an act of defiance against the elements. In March, I want to drink somewhere that’s open and bright, but still indoors, a place that gestures at the seasonal change but isn’t wholly invested in it. (more…)

June Wine Bar
231 Court Street, Cobble Hill

I walked down Court Street in the kind of frigid weather that feels like a personal attack, invasive in its ability to wend its way into every cell of your body; it wasn’t until this winter that I realized that even my hair could feel cold if the temperature dropped enough. Which is not to say that I don’t like the cold, or what it does to my hair. I love the cold, and what it does to my hair, which is makes it silky and heavy so that it holds a braid well.
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