Somehow, we ended up at 5th and Bergen (we made a pit stop at a mall in the neighbourhood so I could snag some rain boots) and went into the first bar we came across which was the Black Sheep Pub. Happy Hour was just beginning and we aimed to take advantage of it. The pub was dark, and would more appropriately been named a tavern what with the brick walls, black painted floors and dark oak stained furniture. It was almost uninhabited save for a few people seated in a booth. And without any notion of what was next, we drank our $3pints and enjoyed each other’s company. The background music was just as enjoyable- a selection of Canadian artists begged me to question aloud, where was the Canadian in the bar? Metric, Tegan and Sara and lastly Feist a la My Moon, My Man Remix re-energized my newly excited patriotism and ultimate pride to be a Canadian in America.
After the first pint, we moved on a few blocks over to 4th Ave and at random went into Cherry Tree. A little brighter, much bigger and populated by more than the last place, we settled in for $4 Bud Lights and Jenga. Beside us was Dave, a guy resembling a true New York “papes” boy who was interested in a friendly wager and joined our game. And in true bar spirit, each block had a dare written on top - which resulted in a lot of inappropriate touching (all in the name of the game) and many dances a top the bar- mostly by Dave.
All the while, we had been expecting to meet up with people that we knew and this self-made bar crawl was supposed to be in effort of biding time. And so, with Dave in tow, we kept at it and moved on to the next place.
Our walk around the neighbourhood before we came to our destination finally looked and felt like Brooklyn should; the brownstones, tall and lean with their steep steps and stoops epitomized my ideas of this borough. And it left us wondering, was this where The Cosby's lived?
Our final stop in Brooklyn led us to The Wing Bar on Smith Street. Happy hour was in full swing and the bar was full of chicken wing eating beer drinkers. We jumped right in and joined the rest of them. They served up super tasty wings and probably the best homemade deep fried onion rings I’ve ever had. Their service and wait staff was awesome and so was the company around us, all willing to get introduced, saucy hot fingers aside. The beer was pretty great too.
So, not exactly the original plan but when you’re in exploration mode, its best just to go where the day leads you. I’d recommend it to anyone and, because of it I am so ready to tackle the rest of New York City.
p.s. the nice and extremely patient bartender Jake at Cherry Tree Bar writes for
Gelf Magazine- check it out at www.gelfmagazine.com
