WBAS St. Patrick's Day Pub Crawl - New York City - March 17, 2007
Doug, Bill, Bob and Scott made the journey for the first NYC pub crawl of the year. We utilized GotoBus.com to make travel arrangements from Dc to NYC and return. The cost was $41 roundtrip, as we utilized two different carriers to optimize arrival and departure times. Travel time from DC to NYC was just over 4.5 hours including a rather lenghty stop in Baltimore to pick up additional passengers. The driver let us off within 6 blocks of McSorely's.
When we arrived at McSorely's at 1130, the line was already 20-30 people long to get inside. I began to wonder whether we had made a mistake in trying to drink in NYC on St. Patrick's Day. We were forced to abandon a WBAS tradition and bypass McSorely's in search of more readily available beer.
We moved on to Dempsey's Pub (61 2nd Ave, 212.388.0662) and had to wait 15 minutes for them to open - at least there were no lines. We sampled the McSorely's Ale and Dempsey's Irish Ale and took in some of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade on the TV.
Needing some nourishment for the long day ahead we stopped by Katz's Deli and had humongous pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. Next we stopped by one of our favorite bars, d.b.a (49 1st Ave 212.475.5097). We sampled Fuller' s ESB, Sixpoint Brownstone Ale (cask conditioned), and Anderson Valley Hop Ottin Ale. We were happy to find the rear courtyard was enclosed with heat making it a great place to sit and enjoy a few beers.
Next we stopped at Essex Ale House (179 Essex St., 212.505.6027). This was our first visit to this bar. This place is the proverbial hole in the wall -about the size of my living room, but had a fantastic menu of draught and bottled beers. There was seating for about 20. We enjoyed Avery Ellies Brown Ale, St. Bernadus Ale and Captain Lawrence Double IPA. We also had a good conversation with Tom Briggs, the bartender, about the history of the bar.
Our next stop was the Stanton Public (17 Stanton St, 212.677.5555). Again we were first time visitors here. The Stanton has recently undergone some renovations and has a very cozy atmosphere. We tried the Butternuts Snapperhead IPA (cask conditioned), Yuengling Lager, Delerium Tremens, and Arcadia Hopmouth Double IPA.
Our final stop was Heartland Brewery (35 Union Square W, 212.645.3400). Heartland was packed by the time we arrived, so we found a little space at the end of the bar and had an Indiana Pale Ale.
Overall, it was a pretty good trip. We had planned to visit Hop Devil Grill (129 St. Marks Place, 212.533.4467) but ran out of time. We will certainly add this spot to our next adventure.