983) Salty Dog
It’s not every day that you walk into a bar wit an old fire truck inside, but then not too many bars are inside an old firehouse, or at least what looks like an old firehouse. The bright red truck is decked out for Christmas with a Christmas tree and Santa.
Salty Dog is on that great strip of bars on 3rd Avenue in Bar Ridge, at 7509. The bar has a heavy wood top, a well worn wood front, and a brass rail. There are three beer stations and one of them is buil into an old fire hydrants. I am not sure if that one is functional though.
Julie Pretending To Pull A Beer
The lights over the bar are old looking metal spotlights in metal holders. They are decorated with large candy canes and in-between them are large gold bulbs.
Old shelves, some wood and some glass, hold a large selection of liquor and a lot of fire department themed memorabilia ranging from an old autographed fireman’s helmet to models of old fire trucks, some of them horse drawn. There are statues of firemen carrying flags and an old call box too. Large mirrors are behind four sections of shelves and exposed brick wall behind the others. Old looking wooden cabinets with wooden doors and wooden drawers above sit below the shelves. The middle section down below is open wooden shelving with more liquor.
There are about ten decent sized televisions lining the walls of this good-sized place. There is a dining area in the back that was brightly lit up by small white lights entwined in garlands of pine boughs and a large wreath. There are two sky-lights and a Santa Clause is making his way down one of them. This place is kind of like a little museum and the more you look around the more fireman related things you can spot, photos, uniforms, patches, you name it and it is there. The people were very friendly and I had to pry myself away even though I would have loved to stay a bit longer.
I had a pint of Guinness.
984) Mooney’s
Moving down Third a bit to 7710 3rd Avenue is this old neighborhood Irish bar with a couple of neighborhood old-timers hanging out at the end of the bar loudly talking about everyone else in the neighborhood. The large light wood bar is well polished and nicely grained. A wooden foot rest runs around the bar and the bar chairs are of two styles, some are plain wood and the others have black metal legs with well worn dark maroon plastic seats.
This is pretty much of a no frills kind of place but there is a nice old wooden bar back with arches on each end and a square section in the middle with a set of heavy brass shelves for glasses. The liquor sits on tiered shelves under the arches at each end. There are mirrors behind the shelves and they are draped with little blue lights. A small Christmas tree sits on a table in the back. There is a ledge in front of the window next to the door with a few chairs sitting in front. A couple of poinsettias sit on the ledge on each side of a small neon shamrock with the name of the bar in the center.
There are lots of framed collages of photos of regulars along with posters of famous Irish poets and Irish Americans hanging on the wall opposite the bar. A narrow ledge with chairs in front line that wall and wrap around to the back. A doorway in the back leads out to a little patio with a couple of snow-covered tables with drooping umbrellas. It might be nice to sit out there in the summer. There is a dartboard in the back as well. Stop in here for some authentic old Bay Ridge ambience.
I had a pint of Guinness.
985) Greenhouse Café
Across the street from Mooney’s is this charming place that the Mysterious Chinese Woman will probably want to visit once she reads this. Although it is right across the street from Mooney’s, the ambience is a mile away. It is really cozy with a narrow bar area and a cute dining area next to it but separated by a wall. There is a piano at one end of the dining area so maybe they have live music at night.
As I sit at the very short end of the bar next to the front window, only room for one bar chair, I can look out through the windows in the back into the enclosed greenhouse area where people are enjoying summer in the middle of, well, Fall. It is cold enough today though so it might as well be Winter. The bar is nice old wood with a brass arm rest in front and a matching one for your feet. The bar was well attended by friendly locals who, when I expressed interest in seeing a menu, went out of their way to tell me how good the food was and what a great deal the appetizers that you can get at the bar are. Small orange lights hang over the bar and little spotlights with rose colored shades light the walls.
The brick wall behind the bar is dominated by three large mirrors in an ornate set of carved wooden frames. It is brightly decorated for Christmas in here with pine garlands, red ribbons, and little white lights. The wall opposite the bar has a narrow ledge and a couple of nice pictures of flowers. This is a very pleasant place with a friendly crowd. For some reason the discussion got around to burial plots, how in some places you can bury more than one person in a single plot, the merits of burial versus cremation and then my suggestion that being made into sausage would be a good idea. I think I am still welcome back.
I had a Dewar’s and soda.
986) Griswold’s Pub
I was heading back to the subway when I spotted this place and realized that it was one of the only ones on this stretch 3rd Avenue that I hadn’t hit yet. What was I to do but drop in. It was a good call too. This place was the most ornately decorated one yet, and not just Christmas decorations, of which there were plenty. The bar itself was plenty nice, old wood with a brass rail arm rail in front and a wooden foot rest. Nice cone shaped rippled orange glass lights hung over the bar and the bar chairs had tan vinyl seats.
The wall behind the bar was brick and alternated mirrors with stained glass windows lit from behind. The mirrors were well decorated with wreaths and sparkly garlands with multi-colored lights. The front windows with very, and I mean very, large Christmas tree lights hanging in them have arched stained glass at the top. The ceiling over the bar are is nicely patterned tin.
Opposite the bar is a dining area separated by a wood partition with curtains hanging from a brass rail on top. Multi colored lights below ceiling fans and more garlands and lights gave it a very festive look. Back lit stained glass windows on the far wall added to the classy look. There were lots of wine racks in here and although the place was pretty empty in mid-afternoon it smelled of good food. The bartender was enjoying his lunch. I bet this would be another good place to stop into for dinner.
I had a Dewar’s and soda.
987) American Legion Post 157
Well I really was heading back to the subway now, walking down 78th Street, but then I passed what looked like a closed American Legion Post. I crossed the street to get a closer look and heard voices so I headed in. This place was the busiest place I had been into all day, and with fifty-cent beers and $2.00 shots I can see why. Don’t try to get in unless you are a member though, they do check your card. Luckily Bar Man comes prepared. This really was a great place with a great old crowd, and I do mean old. Bar Man is no spring chicken, but I was probably one of the youngest guys in here. People were very friendly in here. Somehow I mentioned that I liked cooking so they had to show me the great stove they had in the kitchen and how I would be more than welcome to come in and help out some day. They have barbecues in the summer so that would be right up my alley.
The bar was quite large with a wood-grained vinyl top and a wooden armrest. The mirrored bar back was decked out in multi-colored Christmas lights and there are a couple of televisions. There is a pool table in here that was getting some pretty good actin. The paneled walls are covered with military memorabilia and pictures of members. The top of the walls are lined with license plates from American Legion Posts from around the nation. Bay Ridge is the kind of neighborhood where people grow up and stay so you have people in their 70s in here who have known each other their entire lives. But they still make you feel welcome so, as I said, I will be back. In fact I think I am going to transfer my membership to this post.
I had a glass of beer or two of beer and a shot or three of Yukon Jack.
Well, it was another might fine day. Great bars and great people. I was on a roll so I hit 5 for the day making 987 for the year leaving but a lucky 13 to go. I will be taking tomorrow off, but then heading to Queens with my buddy Bernie on Thursday.
Be sure to check below for information about the 1000 Bar celebration.
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