An old school, mafia-tinged throwback

For an old school, mafia-tinged throwback, Bamonte’s is the way to go.

The walls are covered in black and white family photos, as well as pictures of famous diners that have eaten here over the years—and many years these pictures represent, as Bamonte’s has been kicking it since 1900, making it one of New York’s oldest surviving restaurants. Plaques commemorate Bamonte’s 50th, 75th and 100th anniversary and are signed “From the Boys,” adding to its gangster appeal.

Once conventional and elegant, Bamonte’s now seems almost gimmicky, with its ancient, tuxedo-clad waiters, some who have worked here for 50 years, its chandeliers, wood telephone booths, white tablecloths and table-side buzzers, allowing customers to request the nearest silver-haired server.

Coming here is an old-fashioned experience, a time-travel of sorts. Upon entering, all you want to do is go home and get dressed up only to return, order a Manhattan and chain-smoke cigarettes, Mad Men style.

On an empty street, between the BQE and overgrown, empty lots, Bamonte’s is not much to look at; a typical two-story house on a mostly deserted block. However, customers are fiercely loyal, explaining Bamonte’s long life. It is a destination for milestones—weddings, graduations and birthdays are celebrated here daily. Sometimes all three are celebrated here by the same person, as one woman wrote on Yelp, substantiating Bamonte’s hold on its clientele.

The classic Italian menu is traditional and completely homemade, even the pasta. Chefs cook behind a glass window, their every movement visible to the customers. Beware of over-ordering, as the adequately priced portions are enormous, allowing you to have the same meal three or four times in the coming days.

The customers are a wild mix—groups that look like they have attended Bamonte’s opening, couples that seem like they’re about to get engaged, hipsters celebrating birthdays, family’s having their traditional Sunday dinner.

The places oozes a friendly camaraderie, a conviviality expressed by waiters and bartenders yelling hello at anyone entering, and making small talk with those at the bar as if they have known each other for years.

For anyone wanting to kick it old school, this is the place.

Bamonte’s
32 Withers St. btwn I-278 and Lorimer St., Willamsburg, Brooklyn.
718-384-8831
No website, it’s that old school.



Photo from nymag

You won’t mind getting shipwrecked here--The Surf Bar

Once you’ve shaken out the pesky sand that got all up in your shoes you’ll start squinting. Soon, you’ll have a minor headache; you’ll be unsure whether it was caused by one of the many strong, more-bang-for-your-buck Mai Tais or Zombies you’ve been downing, or because your eyes have been unable to rest for even a second, darting from one trinket to the next.

The Surf Bar is a veritable shrine to surfing culture—Hawaii puked all over this place, but in a great way.

The bar is so kitschy it hurts, but it is precisely this over-the top, all the way or not at all attitude that makes this place a favorite among locals. Dozens of surfboards cover the ceiling, hundreds of stickers, shells, postcards and framed images of old school surfers and waves are plastered on the walls, leis squeezed into the remaining space. Even the bar is wearing a grass skirt and is covered in surfer-themed Barbies and Kens.

The seafood-heavy menu is decent, especially their infamous clam chowder and lobster roll, though the Italian red-checkered tablecloths throw you off a bit. The crowd is an eclectic mix of nervous first dates, typical Williamsburg hipsters, birthday parties and tourists exploring the ‘burg.

The music is good, a chilled mix of beachy music, and the drinks, served in tiki mugs, are strong, so it’s a great place to come and hang loose brah, and practice a bit of escapism.

Don’t forget to check out the outdoor patio in the summer where, only a few drinks in, you can almost hear the waves crashing nearby.


139 N 6th St, btwn Bedford Ave. and Berry St.
(718) 302-4441
www.brooklynsurfbar.com

Hours:

Monday-Thursday, noon-11 p.m.
Friday, noon-12.30 a.m.
Saturday, 11 a.m.- 12.30 a.m.
Sunday 11 a.m.-12 a.m.
Brunch, Sat & Sun, 11 a.m.-4p.m.

Larry Lawrence, hidden gem slash deficient puppet show

Everybody loves a secret bar. As mentioned in my post Speakeasy your way through the East Village it’s about the thrill of the chase, the sheer effort of finding the bar and getting in. But mainly, in a city where you are constantly competing with others about who is hipper or more of an insider, it’s about making your friends feel like tourists.

Most importantly, it’s all about having a haven in a city overrun by bars and people. And a haven Larry Lawrence is. Isn’t that what Brooklyn is about, having more space than those silly Manhattanites?

Larry Lawrence awes with its vast open space—a giant, cave-like loft. Once you’ve found the clandestine wooden door that blatantly but inconspicuously says “bar,” and have walked through the concrete hallway, you’ll immediately relax, breathe a little easier. The bar is one large, high-ceilinged room. A fun addition is that part of the small, 2nd floor outdoor area is visible from the inside through a big plate of glass, like a deficient, smoking puppet show, where only the legs and torsos are visible.

Your next thought will be “wow, this place will go up in flames instantly at the drop of a match,” because the bar consists of wood—from the polished wood bar, the wooden tables, wood walls, parquet floor, exposed wood beams and plywood booths, the place is basically a remodeled forest with a mountain-hut feel.

With only seven booths and fifteen seats at the bar, it’s a great place for a date as Larry Lawrence is dark and flatteringly lit by candles, the music playing comfortably in the background rather than overpowering any attempt at conversation.

The beer and wine selection is carefully curated, and with a less hipster than usual crowd, minimalist aesthetic and speakeasy vibe, it’s a great place to spend a relaxing evening.

Larry Lawrence
295 Grand St (between Havemeyer St & Roebling St)
(718) 218-7866
www.larrylawrencebar.com
Hours: 6 p.m. - 4 a.m., daily.

The Best Brunch in New York

New Yorkers live for brunch.


New Yorkers are no strangers to instant gratification or wanting everything right this second—it is, after all, the city where you can order anything to your doorstep at any time, get a slice of pizza or dumplings at 5 am, the city that never sleeps… You catch my drift—but when it comes to brunch, New York takes the (pan)cake.


Whether they have just come home from a night of heavy drinking and debauchery and need a hair-of-the-dog Bloody Mary without ever removing their shades, or have just finished their morning run and can’t wait to break the yolk of their guilty pleasure Eggs Benedict, few New Yorkers forgo the pleasure of all day breakfast on weekends.
In a city that is not only deeply dedicated to the art of brunch, but also bursting with as many restaurants and cafés as New York City, it is hard to pinpoint a favorite place, or even which one qualifies as “the best,” but I think that after almost two years in the city I have narrowed my personal faves down to three.

Esperanto:

A breath of fresh, Brazilian-tinged, possibly even salty ocean air.

If you ask me, awesome ambiance aside, Esperanto has one of the best deals in the city—$9.99 gets you bottomless coffee, a Bloody Mary or Mimosa, as well as a main course. The food is delicious—a Latin take on all of your brunch staples, such as Eggs Benedict with chorizo and spicy Hollandaise or tropical French Toast.

Awash in beachy turquoise and green walls, sea-blue checkered tiles, colorful flowered tablemats, multicolored lights and old-school Spanish Bacardi posters give the place a wholly tropical vibe. Brazilian music blasts from the speakers, a breeze floats in from the open windows, making Esperanto feel like a funky, bamboo-lined Caribbean shack. Only a few Bloody Marys in you’ll be wondering which way it is to get to the beach. Until you notice full beards and flannel, and remember that you’re in the middle of Alphabet City, home of the hipsters, most of which are munching away around you, making the most of this vibrant neighborhood gem.

Good to know: Live music every night and half-price bottles of wine on Mondays.


Esperanto
145 Avenue C, corner of 9th Street, East Village/Alphabet City
212-505-6559
www.esperantony.com/

Brunch
Sat.—Sun., 11 a.m.—4 p.m.


Le Barricou:


This place is so authentically French, so snobbily Parisian, that you will get the sudden, powerful urge to smoke a pack of cigarettes and talk about Rimbaud in a French accent. From the wooden tables and chairs, complementary croissants, yellowed wallpaper made of French newspaper and wine bottle lined walls, you feel instantly teleported to St. Germain.

The brunch menu dazzles in quality and length—everything from pancakes and French toast, to every omelette or egg dish under the sun, as well as French staple Croque Madame—but it is the reasonable pricing that convinces even the toughest gourmand. I have eaten my way through most of the menu and have yet to find an item that I didn’t devour down to the last crumb.

So the mason glasses and living room-like area in the back complete with fireplace are pretty hipster, as well as the, again, flannel and beard-clad crowd, but what do you expect from a place in Williamsburg. It’s the French with a hipster twist that makes this restaurant one of a kind and we love it all the more for it.

Good to know: Le Barricou is open ‘til 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays for those drunk munchies and has a long list of Absinthe if you’re feeling adventurous.

Le Barricou
533 Grand Street at Union Street, Williamsburg
718-782-737
www.lebarricouny.com/

Brunch: Sat.—Sun., 11 a.m.—4 p.m.

Lodge:


If Brazilian and French isn’t your thing, Lodge, with its down-home American grub, is the place for you.

Slightly off the beaten path and fashioned after a cozy cabin in the Adirondacks, claiming to be “urban rustic,” Lodge is light and airy despite the weathered wood covering every surface—from the bar to the walls and floor. A country vibe emanates from the tree-trunk tables and stools and the smattering of antlers made into light fixtures and adorning the walls.

The food is apple pie all the way, (and by that I mean American), but most of it has a high-end twist. An egg sandwich here is not just an egg sandwich, but a fresh roll covered in delightful cashew pesto; a fried chicken sandwich is made classy by being doused in cilantro aioli. Don’t let menu items such as fried chicken and waffles or Carolina pulled pork and cheese grits fool you though, as all of the ingredients used at Lodge are organic and locally produced.

Brunching at Lodge is one trek you won’t regret.

Lodge:
318 Grand Street at at Havemeyer Street, Williamsburg
718-486-9400
www.lodgenyc.com/

Brunch: Sat.—Sun., 11 a.m.—4.30 p.m

Real Balls of Fury- SPiN

Balls were flying.

Susan Sarandon was non-plussed.

Ping-pong-ping-pong-ping and point. Dora wins the game.

Next up, Kazmanian Devil, wearing thigh-high white and black striped socks to go with his black polo shirt and black shorts versus Kevin, his “China” emblazoned shirt tucked into his too short, too tight shorts, which distractingly keep riding up.

The movie Balls of Fury must have gotten their plotline from attending SPiN’s weekly Dirty Dozen ping-pong tournament, which usually runs from 7 pm until 2 am, as the speed of the balls and skill of the competitors are entertainingly awe-inspiring.

Where do they practice? How do they get so good?

A ball narrowly misses Sarandon’s face. She barely flinches.

Every Friday Night SPiN, a ping-pong bar co-founded by Susan Sarandon in 2009, challenges a dozen of the nations best players to compete for a cash prize of $500.

Table Tennis is making a comeback, with outspoken fans such as Owen Wilson, Salman Rushdie, 50 Cent, the Beastie Boys, and Jimmy Buffett, and a recently released book called called “Everything You Know Is Pong,” by Roger Bennett. Author Henry Miller once said in an interview that the secret to his longevity was “the purity of my soul, playing Ping-Pong and, above all, love!”

Viewers of the Dirty Dozen can grab a seat on the metal bleachers, beer or cocktail in hand, munching on a grilled cheese and other snacks, while contestants play rapid-fire rounds of table tennis to the death, all the while listening to the DJ spinning incredibly loud club tunes.

The crowd is random—ranging from Sarandon and her young hot hipster friends, to suit-clad after-work yuppies, old Asians potentially recruiting, high-heeled and scantily clad women, and sheepish looking kids that are most definitely underage.

SPiN looks like a luxury rec room; an enormous, 13,000 square foot basement designed by Todd Oldham, with 15 Olympic table tennis tables, pop-art images of ping-pong players covering the walls, and a giant bullet-proof window separating the DJ booth from the 23rd Street subway station.
 Dozens of black lights make the whole place look like a surreal 70s hippie hangout, especially the psychedelic white-turned-neon-blue paper lanterns hanging from the ceilings.

Other fun features include locker rooms with overnight paddle storage, private ping-pong lessons, and a VIP Fred Perry Room with a table made of mirrors.

The concept is simple: alcohol + table tennis = lots of fun. Further fun-themed: the menu, as patrons can select from various, sliders, ice cream sandwiches and alcoholic ice-pops, to name a few of their array of food and drink options.

SPiN New York
48 E 23rd St (between 5th Ave & East 23rd St)
(212) 982-8802
www.spinnyc.com

Tiki Temple Painkiller Brings The Pain

Recently, we have weathered snowpocalypses, snowrricanes and tsnowtamis, so what better way to lift winter blues than tropical drinks?

Enter Painkiller, Manhattan’s newest tiki bar following the success of Lani Kai and Hurricanes. This subterranean, windowless tiki oasis kills the pain alright; first successfully anesthetizing it, then knocking you out completely, to finally bring it tenfold the next morning.

Painkiller’s mood is constantly changing as its lights switch faster than those in a brothel in Amsterdam, from aquarium blue to jungle green and lipstick red, yet the divey vintage rock-feel remains constant. Painkiller’s is a great place for a private party as the bar is small and intimate, but as the night progresses it becomes increasingly loud and raucous.

Though not secret per se, Painkiller is well hidden on a slightly sketchy LES block. Its doors have TIKI enormously graffitied onto them, but you will most likely still walk by a few times, confused by the neighboring pickle store with the same building number.

Inside, a tiki temple awaits, with all the glorious kitsch we love about the genre—leopard-printed booths, bamboo walls, palm tree curtains, tribal masks, leis, colorful lamps.

The drink menu boasts over 108 cocktails, one more potent than the next. Have no fear, a knowledgeable waitress is at your rescue to recommend drinks when you tell her what you like. (Favorite base alcohol, sweet, tart, sour, preferred fruits, etc.) Around 10 drinks, $16 each, are so strong that only one per person is permitted. The Zombie for instance has at least five different shots in it, one of those being absinthe. Of course, punch bowls are also an option here, decked out with dozens of neon straws to drink straight from the bowl with your friends.

The juices are freshly squeezed and the syrups and coconut creams homemade. Further, Painkiller’s steps it up from traditional paper umbrellas to some outrageously decorated drinks—I think mine had a fuzzy flamingo in it.

Warning: Painkiller is not for the weak of heart or low of tolerance, massive hangover will ensue.

Painkiller
www.painkillernyc.com
49 Essex Street, LES
(212) 777-TIKI.

Ahoy, Matey—Walk the Plank to The Drink, Brooklyn.

Half boat half rustic farmhouse, whalers and farmers alike would feel right at home at The Drink, a nautical punch mecca that is steadily becoming the new hipster hangout in Williamsburg.

Following the recent trend of “the cooler the bar, the harder it is to find,” The Drink can easily be missed, as nothing but a red light indicates its existence. Once discovered, pass the green stained glass window front, fogged-up and dripping from the crowds, and inhale the deeply aromatic scent of the varying punches that are this bar’s staple.

The Drink charms with its old-school nautical theme—the ceiling is papered with vintage nautical maps, the walls decked out with old captain’s wheels, anchors and framed drawings of ships, the floor made of wooden planks, with random piles of rope and other sea gear lying around. Simultaneously, the bar is also reminiscent of a cozy barn or a ski hut living room, with its dimmed lighting, handmade wooden bar and shelves, and mismatched wooden stools and tables.

Punch is the name of the game here, as bartenders mix two different hot and cold options every night for only $5 a cup, although different punches with nautical names such as “The Perfect Storm” and “The Crusade” can also be ordered by the ten-cup large bowl (around $40). Low-key and down to earth the bar is high-class and craft-oriented when it comes to their spirits, as everything is made only with fresh ingredients and high-quality liquor. Beer lovers will also rejoice over the carefully curated selection of beer, as one of the owners of The Drink is also behind celebrated beer-bar Spuyten Duyvil. Apparently, the bar also serves some sailor’s fare of smoked fish, hard cheeses and jerky, though I didn’t see that.

The perfect, warm and cozy, rum and cider infused bar to warm up in the winter, its outdoor patio will be the place to be in the summer.

Some punches:

• The Old Gunwhale: Old Weller Bourbon,
Fresh Grapefruit Juice,
Chamomile Tea Syrup,
 Spiced Cranberry Bitters 


• The Wassail: 
Rhum Barbancourt,
Apple Cider,
Cherry Juice,
Mango Juice
Allspice, Cinnamon, Pink Peppercorn, Clove and Cardamom Syrup


• The Perfect Storm:
 Coruba Jamaican Black Strap Rum,
Fresh Lime Juice, Housemade Ginger Syrup,
Green Tea Syrup,
Angostura Bitters.


• Charter: 
Espolon Blanco Tequila, 
Fresh Lime Juice,
Ginger Syrup,
Salt Tincture,
Soda
Float of Cassis syrup.


• The Narwhal: 
Rosemary-infused Damrak Gin,
Honey Syrup, Lemon,
Peychaud's Bitters.
• The Crusdade: 
Old Monk Indian Rum,
Rooibos Earl Grey Roasted Tea Syrup,
Orange Peel, Clove, Peppercorn, Allspice Peppermint syrup,
Lemon.

(found in Time Out New York)

The Drink
http://thedrinkbrooklyn.com/
228 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn
(718) 782-8463