Summer Weekend Guide: Bushwick
Bars
Possibly the neighborhood’s greatest strength. Or at least, it can feel that way sometimes—a new one opens up at least once a month. Tandem is the longtime stand-by (and a great spot for brunch if you’re around earlier in the day), and only recently rivaled as the go-to “place to dance around in lasers and get a little weird” by the opening of Bossa Nova Civic Club this winter. Bossa Nova’s music leans very heavily toward electronic; Tandem tends to vary from night to night.
The Narrows gets a lot of deserved cred for having the best-crafted cocktails in the neighborhood and is absolutely worth a pilgrimage, but as far as a good spot to just sit with your friends and have a laid back drink, the best place in the neighborhood is still Pearl’s Social & Billy Club, just off the Jefferson stop. It’s rivaled pretty closely by Alaska, though, which tends to be less crowded and has the benefit of a massive whiskey collection. Another neighborhood stalwart (and a good place two doors down to duck into if things at Goodbye Blue Monday get out of hand) is Lone Wolf, which is dark, cheap, and a good place to catch an unexpected, surprisingly good burlesque show or a DJ that unapologetically breaks out every major top 40 hit of the past 20 years. Whatever they have going on, everything here is as it should be.
Tandem, 236 Troutman Ave.
Bossa Nova Civic Club 1271 Myrtle Ave.
Pearl’s Social & Billy Club, 40 St. Nicholas Ave.
The Narrows, 1037 Flushing Ave.
Alaska, 35 Ingraham St.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.