Saturday, July 10th, 2010—Bar 181

Day 181—Friday, July 9th, 2010
Puck Fair
Okay, a couple months ago I was met on the bar crawl by Mike and Kathy Bono and we had a great time at the Peculiar Pub. Mike and Kathy own a bar in Philadelphia, so it was cool to hang out with a couple who’s really in the business of bars. Their bar is called, Chap’s Taproom & Sports Grill and here’s a picture of it:
It turns out that Kathy’s birthday is this weekend and they’re in town to celebrate it. They wanted to join me on the crawl tonight, but their time is tight. They’re going to a party at The Bowery Hotel, so I decided to go to Puck Fair, a bar I’ve been meaning to stop in at and it’s handily located near the Bowery. Will Mike and Kathy show up? Fuck if I know, we’ve got to forge on and see.

Here we are, Puck Fair, I can hear the noise inside already, I hate Friday nights!

Wow, it's packed and a DJ is blaring music. But it does look like a cool bar, so instead of any meet and greet photos, I'll just take you on a photographic tour of the bar tonight.

Well, since the bartender is so cute and friendly, I'll make an exception on the meet and greet photos for her. Meet Rebecca, everybody!

And now for a beer or three before we begin the tour. Cheers!

The bar is huge in here, this is just one third of it.

Some of the beers on tap, note the fancy tap presentation.

Some of the beer and food specials for the evening.

This photographic mural stretches out along the entire back wall of the bar.

Lots of bottled beers to choose from at Puck Fair.

The large wooden booths and brick walls add to the Irish feel of the place.

And there's an upstairs area as well. Let's check it out.

There's candle-lit tables and stools and it's not as hectic up here.

Here's a bird's-eye view of the Friday evening at Puck Fair.

And here's the DJ, sequestered off in a lonely upstairs corner. Poor little lonely DJ!

And now the obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight everybody!

Review
Puck Fair lives up to its name. It’s an Irish carnival of a bar, with three levels of festivities, food and drink. The ground level has a long bar with cubicles built in the middle for private parties at the bar. There’s large wooden booths along the side walls and a high wooden beamed ceiling with skylights adds a nice ambience to the Irish flavored bar. The walls are brick and there’s tables upstairs and a DJ on weekends. In the basement you’ll find more tables and a smaller, yet full bar.

The bar has an impressive beer selection with 50 bottled beers and 20 rotating draft beers and ciders to choose from. The draft beers are kept at perfect serving temperatures via their state-of-the-art tap system. In addition to the generous beer selection, there’s a large menu of Irish influenced food to sample. Some of the lighter fare includes: chicken, shrimp and beef skewers, Irish smoked salmon, rustic pate and brie plate and sausage rolls. The heartier fare offered up includes: Irish bangers and mash, Guinness battered fish and chips, steak and fries and a full Irish breakfast.

Mike and Kathy never did show up, but I knew their schedule was tight and I appreciate them checking in with me. I'm sure our paths will cross again on the old crawl, in the meantime, Happy Birthday, Kathy!

Puck Fair
298 Lafayette St. (near Houston St.)
212-431-1200