Day 232—Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
Because of my schedule, I don’t get out of the city a lot, but today is one of the days I’m traveling to an outer borough. Mark Smimmo is a follower of the 365 site and he invited me to join him and some of his friends at the legendary Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens. It’s a little bright to be traveling to an outside venue, but hopefully they’ll be shade there. Let’s head out to that faraway land known as Queens.
And we're off, headed down this familiar path known as 16th Street.
Here we are in Union Square Park headed for the subway. Yikes, it's bright out here!
And here's the subway.
We'll be taking the Queens-bound N train.
And now we wait for the train. It's hotter than fuck down here and smells vaguely of piss. Lovely!
Hot damn, here's the train!
Motherfucker, it's the R train, we're waiting for the N.
Back to the waiting game.
Alright, here we go, the N train.
Goddamn, the car is packed and there's a screaming baby on board. This is why I don't leave the city a lot.
And now, though the magic of the internet, you're spared a 45 minute train ride with smelly people and a screaming baby.
And here we are in Queens, goddamn it is bright out here!
And we're off in search of the Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden.
I swear I'm not stalking this woman. Okay, maybe I am a little, I need something to occupy my time with till I get there.
And here we are, there's a huge brick wall that encases the place.
I tried getting in through these massive wooden doors but they were locked. At first I wondered if this was some sort of secret society and if Mark was fucking around with me.
But then I looked down the road and saw the entrance is here.
There's a nice bar inside.
And Jenae, the lovely bartender on duty serves up a beer.
There's massive wooden booths opposite the bar.
As you would imagine, there's a huge selection of beer to be had here, these are just some of the draft offerings.
David was enjoying a well-deserved mug of beer after a twelve hour tour of duty in his taxi. Cheers!
Let's see what's downstairs.
There's tables down here...
And a bar with the cute Aida behind it. Nobody was down here and I call this shot, "The Lonliest Bartender in Town." I kept her company for a few minutes, but then I had to find Mark and his friends.
Time to venture out into the (gulp) sunshine.
Wow, there's a ton of people out here. How am I ever going to find Mark and his friends?
He said he was a big guy and he'd be wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat.
No sign of him up here on the band stage.
Still no sign of him. I've got his cell phone number, but that would ruin the fun of the hunt.
And bingo, I find them. Here's Mark and his friends, from left, Mike a.k.a. "Pigpen", Mark and Garry (with two R's.) They're good guys and we had nice conversation and beers at the table in the garden.
Alex came by our table with shots of something I'm not sure what it was. But hey, when a pretty girl offers booze, I'm not refusing!
And then there were three. Garry had to leave, but we continued to drink as a trio.
After another hour, Mark and Mike had to hit the road, leaving me the last man standing in the beer garden from our party. I decided to have Sunday dinner to soak up some of the suds from the day.
Here they are grilling up the dinner.
And here's the dinner, a bratwurst on fresh rye bread, onion rings and of course, another beer.
Double Down was the swing band playing on the bill. It reminded me of bar number three from the crawl. Memories!
The band got the joint to jump!
And on that note, I hail a cab outside...
And head back to Manhattan. Thanks to Mark, Mike and Garry for joining me on the bar crawl and suggesting a fabulous place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon and evening. Goodnight, everybody!
Review
The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden is a huge bar and beer garden in Queens, New York. This year, the former Czech and Slovak social club has turned 100-years-old making it the oldest beer garden in New York. But as far as I know it, it’s the only, official beer garden in New York City. The bar (or beer hall) itself is large, with a wooden bar and large wooden booths opposite. Downstairs there’s a nother bar and wooden tables set up in a dining area. But the real draw here is outside in the massive beer garden. Picnic tables seat hundreds with umbrellas shading the massive number of beer drinkers. There’s friendly waitresses on hand to deliver your beer and food orders and the crowd is mainly locals from nearby neighborhoods with a smattering of beer afficionados from beyond checking out this legendary beer hall and garden.
There’s a full bar here, but everyone comes for the beer. There’s an international selection of beer to be had here including brews from Germany, Belgiium, USA craft beers and selections from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The food is tradional Czech and some of the entrees include: Pan Roasted Duck, Chicken Schnitzel, Classic Beef Stroganoff and a Sheppard’s Plate which is potato and mushroom perogies, klobasa, spaetzle with traditional Slovak cheese made from sheep milk and sauerkraut.
Tuesday’s is Ladies Night with an bar for the ladies from 5pm-6pm and free buffet from 7pm to 8pm. There’s also live music featuring Blues and Brews Monday nights, a Sunday Swing Series and jazz on Thursdays. And who knows, maybe someday the Schmenge Brothers may show up for a guest gig.
Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden
29-19 24th Ave. (Near 29th St. Queens, NY)
718-274-4925
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BONUS PHOTOS!
Mike is the proud father of an 8-month-old son. Check out his shirt below:
And when he says, "Like Father, Like Son," he's not kidding...
Check out this photo Mike sent me.
And this one Mike sent could win a prize! Heavy metal baby! Hilarious!
And here's a final shot of the three of us that Mark took with his camera. Cheers and beers, everybody!