Visiting Queens New York expanded my admittedly provincial view of the city. It was a hell of a good time, too. Explore Queens, and have wheels, too, that’s my advice. Queens is a driving borough, unlike say, Manhattan, where you can walk and subway more easily. And having a guide who knows their shit doesn’t hurt either. Queens is huge. Queens is sprawling. Queens has about 4,000 different neighborhoods and 7 million bars (maybe I’m exaggerating here, but so it seems). You might want a sherpa to bring you to the places you want to see. We did. Al. Al of Queens — photographer, bar manager, former cop, and always a Marine. Thank you, Al. You did us right.
The reason for this excursion to the wilds of Queens was research. Research for my upcoming book, Great Good Places of New York to be published by Rizzoli in 2018. I’ve been checking out favorite neighborhood bars, taverns and saloons, picking 50 that I’ll profile in the book. I’m both drawing pictures of each place, and writing about them. It’s a hell of a big project, but an enjoyable one. And with help from people like Al (and usually Wifey, too), I’m getting it done.
Visiting Queens New York: Five Bars in One Day
Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden
Colleen and I arrived at the venerable beer garden around lunchtime on a beautiful Sunday. The timing was perfect. After the usual MTA weekend scheisse-show (no 4 train running, no 5 train running, the 2 rolling local, blah blah blah), we were plenty hungry when we got there, and ready for some chow. Good thing, too. The food — eastern European fare, of course — was worth the trip alone. Pierogies stuffed with potatoes served with a garlicky spinach sauce. Klobasa (Czech sausage) hot off the grill. A tangy, zangy sauerkraut that made my saliva glands erupt like garden sprinklers. These guys know how to serve it up.
We sat outside in the beer garden under a canopy of trees, a dozen of which had to be around 100 years old. It was almost like a picnic in the woods, right there in Queens. Well, a picnic in the woods with maybe 50 other people, a bandstand, and nice people who bring you fresh mugs of cold Czech beer. Good food, beer, music and service under the trees on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon? What more could you ask for? Nothing. Friends had told us about Bohemian Hall for years, we finally we made it, and we’ll be going back.
But we had to move on. Research needed to be attended to. Besides, the crowd was building. Later in the day and into the evening, this family-friendly beer garden turns into a post-college beer bash. That’s cool, too. Keeps the place lively. But we left there to meet Al at the next place.
The Irish Rover
We hoofed it almost a mile to one of Queens’ seemingly hundreds of Irish pubs, in the mid-afternoon heat. By the time we arrived, I wanted to marry a Guinness. I was in the right place. Our luminous angel of a bartender served me a damn fine pint, and we cooled off with Al, who would be our guide for the rest of the day. A fine and beloved place, the Rover: clean, friendly, and (thank JayzusMaryan’Joseph) perfectly air conditioned. But New York is loaded with Irish pubs like this. They serve their neighborhoods well. However, I’m on a quest for 50 bars unique enough to merit profiling. Doesn’t mean a solid pub like The Irish Rover isn’t a great good place to its regulars, but we had to move on. We hopped into Al’s sleek ride (again, perfect AC) and headed to Woodhaven.
Now, this place was special, and not just because the oddly worded, makeshift historical marker told us so. It was special because it was a throwback, and one of the oldest if not the oldest bar in all of New York, dating back to 1829. The building is wooden, and so pre-civil war that Abe Lincoln was still a gangly Indiana boy when it was built. It looks like a small-town corner tavern, and that’s what it was. Queens grew up around Neir’s, as did Mae West, who as a teen performed on Neir’s stage. The bartenders were talkative and friendly, and so were the regulars at the bar. Drinks were inexpensive, including the Piña Colada pulled from a slushy machine. And the fabulous “take it back” post-Lufthansa heist Christmas party scene from Goodfellas was filmed here. What more do you need? Neir’s is the real deal. I’m going back.
The Historical Marker at Neir’s Tavern!
In Search of Great Good Places: Visiting Queens New York will be continued. More to come! Mike’s Pub! Forest Hills! Tune in next time for more from enchanting Queens!