Archive | Bars RSS feed for this section

ON NOTICE! Brewery Edition

3 Jan

Hello and welcome to the inaugural edition of ON NOTICE!  The idea here is a really bastardized and far more serious version of what Stephen Colbert does on his television program.  We’ll look at people, places, things, organizations, or whatever needs to be documented to let you know who’s peddling bullshit.  This week, we’ll look at a few breweries that need to get their act together and quit skating by.  All too often people fall into traps with some blind devotion to a brewery that really just wants to get as much of your money as possible.  I’ve mentioned a few of these companies before, and not in a particularly flattering light.  While this isn’t intended necessarily to accomplish anything, perhaps I can help you make more informed choices for your beer purchasing dollar.  We’ll get right down to it and work our way from five to the number one.

5.  Fort Collins Brewery – Fort Collins, CO: 

The beer scene in the state of Colorado is one that I’m pretty jealous of.  While their distribution can vary, (No Lagunitas!) a few good friends live out that way and Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The City Beer Hall

22 Nov

42 Howard Street

Albany, NY 12207

I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to write about The City Beer Hall.  A review is long overdue.  I figured with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I might as well give thanks for one of the things in my life that I take for granted.

Since opening earlier this year, The City Beer Hall has been my most visited bar.  One week over the summer, I was there eight times in five days.  There are valid reasons…at least I hope.

I heard some months back that a bar was opening up in the old Ballinger’s building.  Bars have had trouble staying open in that spot historically, but I’m rooting for The City Beer Hall.  Why?  Because, unlike the prior establishments, it doesn’t suck.  Oh, and it’s about an eight-minute walk from my apartment.

If you haven’t been to The City Beer Hall yet, you’ll hear two things: “free pizza” and “mechanical bull.”

Not unlike the Crocodile Lounge in the East Village, CBH gives you tickets with every beer for mini pizzas in their adjoined kitchen.  Sure, the beers are a little pricier on account of the pizzas, but I always seem to get my money’s worth.

The pizzas are actually extremely tasty!  The crust is thin and crispy.  It is my recommendation to get no less than two at a time and then sandwich them together: cheese to cheese (after a liberal parming).  It’s like a pizza quesadilla!  As an added bonus, you are usually afforded a colorful anecdote or a joke in the least by the pizza boys (who will remain nameless…you know who you are).  Make sure to tip!

The mechanical bull.  I rarely visit the upstairs anymore, but there absolutely is a mechanical bull up there.  Have I ridden it?  Yes.  What’s the price?  It’s free.  Rather, the price is your dignity.  I’ve been on the bull three times, in two separate nights, for a total of about four seconds.  I think it took me longer to sign the waiver…

The City Beer Hall has numerous other perks (not aforementioned) that keep me coming back.

1) The Staff:  I now know the majority of the bartenders on a first name basis.  At least at the downstairs bar.  And despite my antics, they are always friendly.  The best  bartenders even remember what I normally drink!  It’s like my Cheers.  “…sometimes you wanna go where [the majority of the staff] knows your name, and they’re always [glad/indifferent] you came!”  They’re kind, welcoming and don’t laugh at me when I tell them I think I left my credit card there and I find it in my refrigerator the next day.

2) The Drafts:  CBH has a wealth of beers on tap and they are constantly switching up their selection.  I love trying new things so it’s nice that I’m kept on my beer-swilling toes, though I do still miss my summer session beer, Sly Fox Pils.  Next summer…next summer.

3) The Patio:  Speaking of summer, unfortunately the Beer Hall will lose one of its biggest assets with the declining weather.  It’s massive, and if you’re with a group of people, it’s ideal.  Occupy a picnic table and look at the lights of the Times Union Center across the way.

4) The Menu:  This is admittedly a new development for me, but everything I’ve had at the CBH has been enjoyable.  It’s certainly a step up from bar food.  That is probably due to the fact that the chef from the defunct Wine N’ Diner is in charge.  The man has a good handle on what I call “white boy soul food.”

I recently cleaned my computer desk and lifted a piece of mail to find a Beer Hall pizza ticket depository.  I decided that tonight was going to be arts & crafts night.  I fashioned a CBH turkey out of some unused tickets.  And I cleaned up two weeks ago…Jesus.

Notice the attention to detail and cheap invisible tape.

The City Beer Hall is offering free pizza on Thanksgiving Eve for “Beergiving.”  I encourage you all to attend!  I’ll be there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: , , ,

Hill Street Cafe

7 Nov

I’ve collapsed right here—————————————–^

That being said, I consider myself lucky to live as close to this place as I do.  Good beer selection, great food, and friendly service.  I love that they have Southern Tier 2X IPA on tap.  I love that the pool table isn’t terrible and has an even roll.  I love their pizza (seriously, it’s the best non-pizzeria pizza I’ve had in a long time).  I love that they don’t throw me out when I’m shwasted.  I love that I can watch any NFL game on Sunday there.  Except for last Sunday when the Bills jobbed.

It is also probably the best bookend bar that I’ve ever been to.  What is a bookend bar?  A bar that you can start and finish your nights at.  It’s only about two blocks from my apartment.  I’ll start at Hill St. at 8pm on a Saturday night and end up back there at 3:30 for a couple of rounds.  I just wish the walk home wasn’t uphill.

The clientele is largely locals.  Don’t be surprised if you see two or three familiar faces every time you pop in.  Overall, it’s a good crowd. Nobody’s looking for a fight…unless somebody hijacks the jukebox and plays something other than mid-late 90’s alternative rock.

Buy me a beer and I’ll buy us a round of electronic cricket.

Tags: ,

The Black-out Beast

2 Oct

Some months ago, my friend Snacky and I moved into a new apartment downtown in Albany’s Mansion District.  Immediately, we discovered that it was only a 4-minute walk to Hill St. Cafe.  It is my favorite bookend bar: beginning and ending nights.  This post concerns ending nights…

With very few exceptions, like private parties or sporting events, the clientele is largely locals and you’ll see the same faces over and over again.  There is one face…one blimpy, pock-marked face that turns up after 3am.  And watch out, because she prays on guys who have had too much to drink!

The Black-out Beast.

Snacky and I have decided to refer to her in mixed company as “BoB.”

She’s about 5’6″, 220 lbs. and absolutely poured into her unflattering dresses, most of which look like you could have a family picnic on.  She’s the type of girl that no amount of alcohol could make her bangable.  This creature will drag men who cannot talk, let alone walk, back to her slampig cave and, oh god, I just swallowed bile.  Some of the men I never see again and so it’s possible that she has devoured some of her victims.

I’ve found that the best defense tactic is to drink in the buddy system.  I’m also pretty sure that she can’t see if you’re not moving.

Tags: ,