This bar was opened in 1939 and originally named Park Gate (it does face Tyron Park). Barbara, the current owner, bought the bar 28 years ago and later renamed it the Irish Brigade (after an infantry brigade, consisting of mostly Irish immigrants, that served in the Union Army in the Civil War.) She explained that it was in honor of the Irish hunger strike of 1981, in which ten paramilitary prisoners had starved themselves to death. There is a lot of history in this bar with nicknacks everywhere: one of them being a piece of the USS enterprise, which rests over the door. This bar is a true classic and Barbara is an amazing lady, one of the few bartenders with who you can sit back and talk to like an old friend, after just meeting her for the first time.
Hours: daily 12 pm to 4 am
4716 Broadway, nr. Arden St, NY 10040
This 138-year-old Boerum Hill tavern has a impressive hand-carved wooden bar that was transplanted piece by piece from Germany in the 1870s. The crowd is almost as eclectic as the jukebox (expect anything from hip hop to obscure folk). There is a pool table in the back room. If you want some food, you can order from their thick stack of takeout menus and wash it down with a wide array of fancy brews. Those who have read Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn, will probably find this bar strangely familiar, after all he does live down the block.
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Opened in 1928, it used to be called J & D’s. Amazingly, more than one owner has died on the premises. It was reopened in 2006. Tolerant retirees, who still call the bar by its former name, make neighborly conversation with snotty implants. The bar’s owner, Harold David Kramer (still alive), is himself a slice of NYC history, since he’s the grandson of the owners of the Thunderbolt, the beloved Coney Island rollercoaster that was torn down in 2000. 12 beers on draft and a patio outback, complete with $5 all-you-can-eat beef, turkey and veggie dog barbecue every Friday though Monday at 9 pm and Saturdays starting at 5 pm.
i heart nyc bars 