Sunday, August 1st, 2010—Bar 203

Day 203—Saturday, July 31st, 2010
Jamie-Lynn’s Kitchen
I don’t get to Brooklyn area bars much due to the fact that I live and work in Manhattan. But James Mollo, a friend of mine has just moved back to New York from California and wanted to meet at one of his favorite Brooklyn dining spots, Jamie-Lynn’s Kitchen, so I agreed to make the trip. Are you ready? No sleep till Brooklyn!

We'll be taking the D train to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

The track is thataway.

The waiting is the hardest part.

Here it comes!

The D train in all its glory.

And the car's air conditioning is working. Okay, I've got about a 45 minute trip.

But lucky you make the trip in seconds. Here we are at the 18th Avenue stop in Brooklyn.

Out the exit and...

Hello Brooklyn!

Here's Jamie-Lynn's Kitchen.

And there's the Mollo man enjoying a beer at the bar inside.

James the friendly bartender quickly brings me an ice-cold Budweiser so I can catch up.

Attention Katy Borden: Here's the beers you bought with your generous donation a while back! Cheers and thank you from James and I!

Tables line the wall opposite the bar.

Some of the drink and food specials of the day on the wall.

Here's Anthony a neighborhood regular who was enjoying an afternoon drink at the bar.

Proof that James picked a winner: a tin ceiling!

Alex brought out chicken salad crostini and told us they were on the house. And they were delicious. This place rules!

And here's the spacious back dining area.

The outside beer garden/patio is really nice and relaxing. Let's see who these three people are.

It's Alex, Tricia and Joe enjoying the wonderful day outside at the beer garden. Note the words above Alex: "Laugh and Love," wonderful sentiments!

Okay, time to get back to the bar.

The top of the bar has hundreds of coins encased on top of it. A first on the bar crawl!

It's Saturday and that can only mean one thing: Cheeseburger!

I got the Blue Cheese Burger which comes with blue cheese, carmelized onions and a pile of bacon.

It's one delicious burger!

Check it out, the bun is bakery fresh and the burger is one of the best I've had.

After the burger and a few more beers, James offered up 30 bucks as a donation for the Bar Crawl. James has made several generous donations in the past and I appreciate it. Thanks, James, you're a true pal!

The bathroom here was an unexpected treat, there's albums glued all over the walls.

And this can only lead to...

The obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Jamie-Lynn’s Kitchen is an open, airy, casual and friendly place to wine and dine. The coin-encrusted bar is located at the front of the restaurant and you can enjoy drinks and dinner there. There’s also comfortable seating at tables opposite the bar and in the back dining room area. The backyard features one of Brooklyn’s best beer gardens and they show movies back there every Thursday. The atmosphere is friendly and there’s a large variety of home-cooked comfort styled food and drink on the menu.

The bar is a full bar with a good selection of bottled and draft beer. Sangria is a specialty here and on Tuesdays you can enjoy a half-priced bottle of wine with your dinner. The menu is unique and has a large Tapas selection including: Chicken & Black Bean Wontons, Fried Calamari, Chicken Salad Crostini and a Chorizo Platter which includes chorizo, blue cheese & onion marmalade. They have a good selection of salads, burgers and paninis and some of the entrees offered on the menu are: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Gyro Platter, Rustic Hanger Steak and a Mexican Duo which is two enchiladas (chicken and shrimp,) served with brown rice, black beans and pico de gallo topped with red sauce and sour cream.

The drinks are plentiful, the food’s delicious and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. Jamie-Lynn’s Kitchen has been in operation for three years now and looks to become a welcome Brooklyn neighborhood tradition.

Jamie-Lynn’s Kitchen
1504 86th St. (Between 15th Ave & Bay 10th St)
Bensonhurst/Bath Beach, Brooklyn
718-232-3327

Monday, April 12th, 2010—Bar 92

Day 92—Sunday, April 11th
The Habitat
One of my Twitter friends (yeah, I’ve got Twitter friends, shut up!) Danielle who runs the super-cool website, Living Free NYC, invited me to meet her in Greepoint, Brooklyn to have Sunday dinner at one of her favorite bars, The Habitat. I’ve been meaning to venture out of Manhattan more and sample some of Brooklyn’s bars, so this was the push I needed. So let’s hit the subway and head off to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Don’t forget your Metro Cards!

Okay, we're taking the F train and then transferring to the G, it's simple as ABC!

And now the waiting begins. Come on train!

Reason number 12,408 to cancel cable.

Alright, here's the train!

Here's our car. After I took this, the woman seated next to me asked if this was my first time in New York, assuming I was a tourist because I was taking photos. I told her no, and then she asked where I was from. I told her 16th street and she truly seemed puzzled.

And through the magic of the internet we're here! In reality it was an hour ride with the G train stalling out for about twenty minutes in the station, one of the reasons I don't leave Manhattan that often.

And here we are at the Habitat. It looks nice and airy, perfect for this nice spring evening.

Some of the specials for the evening. Time to find Danielle.

And here she is, already a drink ahead of me, time to catch up!

And John the bartender is more than happy to help me out, thanks John!

There's a large selection of draft to be sampled here, along with specialty cocktails.

Here's Nicole, one of the owners and a gracious and nice hostess.

Briana and Carlos were seated next to us and wished me well on my 365 day bar crawl.

There's lots of tables and benches in the bar, giving it a bit of a comfortable woodsy lounge feel.

Elyse and Nick are from Australia and were impressed that I was interviewed on the Morning Show there.

Danielle introduced me to two friends of hers at the bar, Soriya and Vichet, cheers guys!

Here's Michelle, May and Rina enjoying their Sunday dinner. Hey, speaking of Sunday dinner I'm starvin' like Marvin over here!

And here it is, delicious mac and cheese and an order of buffalo wings.

Danielle and I point at the food. Seconds later we devoured it. it was a delicious Sunday dinner.

John at work at the bar.

Paul took a seat next to us at the bar. He's just been here for six months and is a sales rep for Great Brewers. Check out their website: Greatbrewers.com.

We ended the evening with shots of Patron Tequila. Cheers!

I didn't feel like taking the subway home and luckily one block away is the Java Car Service. And an ATM world, I think Joey D. lives there.

Wilson is at the wheel and made it back to Manhattan in record time!

Wilson has the last word, "Goodnight everybody!"

Review

The Habitat has the feeling of a rustic cabin meets an open air front porch. It’s a cozy place and if the bar is filled, there’s plenty of tables and seats within the airy bar. It’s definitely a neighborhood scene here, but first-timers like myself are greeted warmly by the bartenders and patrons alike. The antique cuckoo clock and the giant wooden bathroom are just a couple of the talking points here.

If you’re a draft beer enthusiast, this is your place. Just some of the many drafts on tap include: Greeen Flash Imperial IPA, North Coast Red Seal, Nebraska EOS Hefeweizen and Boulder Obovoid. There’s also a flight menu to sample where you can try your choice of any four 8 ounce drafts for 13 bucks. The Habitat also has a decent wine list and specialty cocktails such as: Nicole’s Famous Sangria, Triple Rum Punch and Bourbon Mint Lemonade.

There’s also a full menu of delicious home cooked food. There’s three styles of empanadas to be had, a build your own burger served on an English muffin, goat cheese gnocchi and a crispy chicken sandwich garnished with cheddar cheese, bacon, garlic butter pressed on polish country rye. And the mac and cheese is truly inspired with cabot white cheddar asiago cheese topped with a generous pile of butter bread crumbs. And it’s only five bucks during Happy Hour which runs from 4 pm to 7 pm. Stop by the Habitat and get happy!

The Habitat
938 Manhattan Ave. (Greenpoint, Brooklyn)
718-383-5615