After spending a few fun-filled days out in New Jersey celebrating Thanksgiving with the Mysterious Chinese Woman's family, I returned to Brooklyn on Saturday to hook up with an old friend of mine, Allen. He and a few of his pals had taken a bus from somewhere in Pennsylvania to do a bit of a bar trek along Atlantic Avenue. Of course I was only too happy to join them and act as a bit of a guide.
The plan was to stop at Montero at one end of Atlantic Avenue and then work our way up to Hank's, about a mile away. Much to everyone's surprise, Monetero wasn't open at their usual time, noon. So there was a change in plans and we made our first stop at Waterfront Ale House.
First Stop
Luckily, my favorite bartender, the always cheerful Gaid, was on hand to give the crowd a true taste of Brooklyn hospitality. He was a bit camera shy though so I didn't manage to get a shot of him. Here is the crew:
D.J., Allen, Leslie, and Brett
Allen had imposed a strict 45 minute maximum per bar that was immediately violated. I am not sure what everyone else had, but I managed to down a couple Brooklyn Brewery East India Pale Ales before we headed out.
On The Road Again
Montero's sign was still unlit so we stopped in at Floyd for our next libaton
Floyd
Here we were well served by Paden, the bartender.
Hey, Paden, Where's The Dog?
I didn't bring along a pad and pencil, stupidly, so I didn't remember the names of most of the bartenders. I remembered Paden's name though because I had just watched Silverado for about the fifth time the other day. Paden, as you may remember, was the name of the character who spent time in jail because as the rest of his gang rode away from a posse he stayed behind to tend to a wounded dog.
Floyd is a good hanging out and drinking bar with a bit of a bordello look to it.
See Anything You Like?
The also have a bocce ball court giving this place a unique ambiance.
A Bit Other-Worldly
After a couple of beers I peaked out of the door and saw that Montero had lit their light.
Finally
Not too surprisingly, Montero worked its usual magic and we slid into the decadence of beers and shots.
It Just Seemed Right
Montero was a big hit because of all the memorabilia on the walls and my friend Allan was there to give a bit of a guided tour. The other Allen, the one who came down from Pennsylvania, was a bit disappointed because Pilar wasn't there. He wanted to meet her because he had read so much about her in my blogs. Pilar is more of a Sunday person, though.
For some reason, after we toddled out of Montero Allen decided to stop and buy a bouquet for Leslie.
What A Romantic
Our next stop was another favorite of mine:
Brazen Head
As you would expect, we were having a good old time.
Frolicking At The Bar
The bartender, whose name, of course, I don't remember, took refuge behind the spigot handles.
Is It Safe?
The afternoon was drawing to a close and there was still one last stop that we had to make.
Hank's
Of course my attention span was starting to fade right about now. I did manage to get a picture of the bartender and, of course, forgot her name.
The Tolerant Bartender At Hanks
By this time I was a bit shot, and was also being shot.
Shooting The Shooter
I am not sure I want to see how Leslie's picture turned out.
We had a rousingly good time and as we said our good-byes we agreed that we would get together in the spring and hit a few of the bars in Coney Island while they are still there. Ruby's, Cha Cha's and Freak Bar would be good candidates. Needless to say I will be sure to post about this get-together when it happens.
