Last weekend we had some friends from Washington DC come visit us. Saturday turned out to be quite the adventure (and as a result I was hungover all day Sunday), but we had a really great time! Here's what we did:
We started the day at the
Brooklyn Brewery. This brewery, located a few blocks from the Bedford Ave stop on the L train, is basically one large room with some round tables and plastic tablecloths...nothing fancy, but it was really fun! Our friends had heard that you need to get there by 11am to get a table, so that's what we did, and it got crowded very quickly after that. For the next 5 hours we drank beer, ate pizza from the Italian food cart set up right outside the door of the brewery, and played card games...a great way to hang out and catch up in a laid back environment.
Also, right next door to the Brooklyn Brewery is a whiskey bar called
The Whiskey Brooklyn that has shuffleboard! We didn't play this time, but you can bet I added this to my list of things to do. I mean shuffleboard! Who doesn't love shuffleboard!!!!
Around 4pm we headed to the West Village/Greenwich Village area with the intent of walking around and finding some dinner. On our walk we came across an artist creating a large sand art mural in Washington Square Park (more after the jump).
I have to admit that this was my first time in the West Village, and it is a very charming neighborhood. It reminded me a little of Cambridge, MA but with more tattoo and sex shops, which makes for great people watching. We stopped in at a psychic because one member of the group wanted to get a palm reading, and then eventually ended up at
Burrito Loco for dinner. Burrito Loco is a Mexican restaurant that none of us had every heard of before, but appealed to our group because of their extensive margarita options. I got mango, and other people at the table got original, strawberry and blueberry. They were served in huge bowl glasses and were really good! Unfortunately the food was not on par with the drinks, and gets a C- in my book. Our table ordered nachos as an appetizer, and there were 6 nachos on the plate...I am not kidding...6 individual chips... Also, the burritos were filled mainly with rice, and the rest of the food was soggy. I don't recommend this place for dinner, but if you are ever in that neighborhood and looking for some good margaritas, this is the place to go!
Up next on the agenda was dessert. We continued our walk around the West Village and stumbled upon
Cafe Angelique. We were actually trying to find
Milk & Cookies Bakery, but kept getting lost. Cafe Angelique ended up being quite the find. I highly recommend this cafe. The inside has a very quaint, European feel without being too pretentious, and the desserts were fabulous. They have macaroons, cupcakes, chocolate soufflé, tiramisu, creme brûlée and apple gallete (amongst other items). They also have an amazing coffee menu, with espressos, americanos, cinamuccinos, mochaccinos, cappuccinos...etc. We ordered the fudge bomb brownie, served warm with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream...amazing! Sorry there are no photos, the desserts didn't stay on the plates long enough for me to take photos...
After desert we still had about an hour to kill before meeting other friends for a birthday party at 10pm, so we went to two bars near the cafe called
Kettle of Fish and the
Duplex...both very fun, two very different vibes. Kettle of Fish is known in New York as the go-to bar for Green Bay Packers fans to watch football games. It reminded me of every local college bar that I have ever been to...a little gross inside but cheap beer and a fun mix of "locals" and people in their twenties. Duplex, right next door to Kettle of Fish, is a piano bar and cabaret. We didn't stay long because it was very crowded, but it had a slightly older crowd than Kettle of Fish, and was darker and more modern inside. I've heard that they frequently have great piano players on the first floor (the bar is two stories, hence the name).
And finally, after those two bars, we headed to our last destination of the evening,
The Anchor Bar, located in SoHo, for a friend's birthday party. A few blocks back from most of the bars, The Anchor Bar feels a little out of the way and has no obvious sign, just an anchor above the door. On their website they claim to be "a celebrity lounge" (?) and have photos of Kanye, John Mayer, Sam Ronson, Eve, the Osbournes and Paz de la Huerta partying in the bar. We arrived around 10pm and it was completely empty, but filled up very quickly. My opinion: It was a great bar for dancing, and seemed to have a crowd that was cool but verging on trying too hard. The drinks were overpriced and the owner was extremely unfriendly. Plus, as we left the bar, I noticed that there was a large neon orange sign in the window that said "girls"...which I thought was really weird...I would go to this bar again, but I wouldn't describe it as anything special.
So that was our Saturday...tons of fun but very exhausting!
