Columbia Street Crawl

Well this turned out to be a much more productive day than I had envisioned. I wanted to check out this one bar not far from where I live on Columbia Street, across from the waterfront area. I thought there was only one bar on this street, and that would have been one more than was here a few yars ago, the last time I visited. The place has changed and I managed to hit 5 bars on this relatively short stretch.

408) Bluestone

This is the one that I was looking for and it was the first one I came to on 117 Columbia Street. A narrow rectangular bar with one long side up against the wall. Tiered wooden shelves hold the liquor and they have a nice selection of tequilas. The front of the bar is a combination of greenback-lit glass blocks and wood panels. There is a comfortable back room with a pool table and a just opened outdoor beer garden. A Webber grill and a serious looking smoker hold promise for future cook-outs. There is a dartboard by the front window. Their is also a fireplace. The lights over the bar are made out of inverted, patterned, hollow-stem wine glasses.

I had a draft Sam Adam's White Beer.

409) Alma's

On the corner of Columbia Street and Degraw is this nice old place (at least the building is old) with only 9 draft beers, but an interesting selection: Bellhaven Scottish Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Franzishaner Weissbier, Smutty Nose Brown Ale. The top of the bar is like a log plank, polished but with big cracks in it. The bar front is plain wood panels. Just simple shelving for liquor on the brick wall behind the bar. Two windows flank the shelving. An interesting collection of candles on a shelf, each candle having a wax figure stuck to it. The walls are painted a dark rose. There is wood paneling with a narrow ledge on top for drinks. A couple of large mirrors on the walls. Nice copper-shaded lights hang above the bar.

I had a Bellhaven Scottish Ale.

410) Lido

A former social club that is now open to the public located on Columbia Street between Degraw and Sackett. A decent sized dark wood-topped bar with a black front and a ledge for your foot topped with the rubber stuff like you see on stairs sometimes. Black bar-chairs with red badded seats and backs. A red felt-covered pool table in the back room that also had a DJ set-up. Copper-colored mirrors behind the bar. Old pictures of the neighborhood from the 1950's (I think) were on the dark rose walls. Also some interesting, if somewhat primative, paintings of heads were hanging on the wall and these were for sale.

I had a draft Haffeweizen courtesy of the Widmer Brothers.

411) Kotobuki Bistro

This Japenese restaurant is located on the corner of Columbia Street and Sackett. A cherry-wood topped bar with a similarly colored paneled front and a silver foot rail. The bar chairs have multi-colored fabric covered padded seats. The floor is a grey, stone-like tile. Pale green walls with stone backed niches hold decorative bottles, vases, and knick-knacks. Modernistic wavy metal track spot-liting hangs from the ceiling as does a weird fan that looks like a cross between a boat-motor and a malted-milk machine. There is a separate sushi bar and a nice looking outdoor eating area.

I had a bottle of Hakushika Junmai Ginjo (sake).

412) Pit Stop

Well, you might be forgive for thinking this place, on 127 Columbia Street, would be some kind of a barbecue place, but it isn't. It is a very nice French bistro with a Grand Prix racing theme. There is just a small bar with a narrow silver foot rail. The top of the bar is kind of a knotty pine and the front is made up of small, louvered cabinet doors or something. Three black and white shaded industrial type lights hang above the bar. One wall is patterned tin and there are pictures of Grand Prix race car drivers above a small flag of the country they drive for, or something. Two child-sized race cars are mounted on the wall above the pictures. A tan painted tin ceiling and an old wooden floor. Small booths and tables with chairs add to the bistro feel of the place, as does the fact that most of the people working here, and a fair number of the customers, are French.

Out doors in the back, where my wife and I went to eat after having a drink at the bar, were four pentanque courts (similar to boce ball). There was a lively game going on with the losers of each game relegated to practice on an adjacent court until it was their turn again.

I had a glass of Muscadet.

A very pleasant stroll up and down Columbia Street. I am glad to see a lot of new places have opened and they all seemed to be very pleasant. Instead of just the one bar I hit five for a yearly total of 412 now and 588 left to go.