222 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York

Time/Date visited: 11/11/2009 (Wednesday) @ 4:00 PM

Quick Peek Inside: Quaint, traditional pub feel with a well-stocked bar, solid beers on tap and in bottles, with free nibbles available along with the best Happy Hour in Brooklyn.

Angry Wade’s is the kind of bar/pub that should be in everyone’s neighborhood – a spot where anyone can stop in, grab a refreshing beverage and engage in some casual conversation with the bartender or other fellow imbibers. Any time is a good time to stop on in and put down a frothy pint or three: before a night on the town, after a hard day of work, during a football or soccer game, or just if you want to sit back, relax and write.

In fact, this review is being written smack dab in the middle of a Wednesday happy hour, with the idle chatter of the other bar-goers mingled with alternative rock tunes floating in the background. There are only a few folks here – mostly men – but they keep the pool table and dart board busy, while the bartendress alternates between fetching pints and killing off idle time. The fireplace roars from behind, warming an otherwise chilly, overcast November evening in Brooklyn. The firelight is accented by the flicker of tea candles strategically placed all about the bar. The music, as always, is just a tad bit too loud, but not annoyingly so. My frosted pint glass is filled with the goodness that is Harpoon IPA, this humble beer-drinker’s beverage of choice at our cozy pit-stop. As people slowly pile in, patrons are greeted by both the resident boozehounds and the bartendress alike. Speaking of hounds, one gentleman just walked in with a pooch in tow!

Now make no mistakes – this place is your traditional Brooklyn neighborhood pub, nothing fancy (besides the 5 HD TVs) and nothing ritzy. But what is lost on novelty value is gained back ten-fold by friendliness and variety. The beer selection is strong and more than sufficient, and the spirits shelf is well above average. While the pool table area is a bit cramped and is shared with the dart board (not to mention a perilous staircase just a few feet behind), Angry Wade’s takes advantage of every square foot of space to offer its patrons with as many amenities as possible. There is even a hunting video game set up next to the front door.

It is suffice to say that Angry Wade’s value is greater than the sum of its parts. The low light, the antiquated cash registers, the pub-sized pool table, the friendly bartenders, the jovial crowd – all of these things would be different at any other location. But here in the heart of Brooklyn, Angry Wade’s star shines brightly. Boasting the best Happy Hour this side of the East River, it would be imprudent not to swing through if you’re in the neighborhood. Plus, you can accumulate your laundry change whilst drinking $2.50 pints! This is a place where people from all five boroughs trickle in to visit, and you should too.

131 Chrystie Street, New York City

Time/Date visited: 10/23/2009 (Friday) @ 7:50 PM

Quick Peek Inside: Decent beer selection, average service, good music if a bit loud, hipster living room vibe if Norman Bates was a hipster.

My wife and I discovered Home Sweet Home on a rainy Friday night while heading to a birthday party on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. We had some time to kill before the party started and a sandwich board caught our eyes advertising a happy hour featuring $3 drafts, well drinks and mixed drinks. We were immediately sold.

Heading down the stairs into the bowels of this bar, Nine Inch Nails greeted us echoing through the hallway. We then entered the barroom, which was quite spacious: wide and deep enough for a long bar with stools, couches on the wall opposite the bar, and couches scattered around the wall in the space past the bar. A small DJ booth completed the scene.

The décor was like something out of the Addams Family meets Psycho. The room was adorned with taxidermy and illuminated by electric chandeliers overhead. The animals mounted in perpetuity around us included a lion’s head on the wall and a large hawk that hung above us as we sat at the bar.

The clientele was mostly hipster, with the odd partygirl group frontloading before going elsewhere on the Lower East Side.

After situating ourselves at the bar, I was pleased to see Old Speckled Hen available on draft.  I ordered one and my wife ordered a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  The other beers on tap included Stella Artois, Blue Point Toasted Lager, Guinness and Magic Hat #9.

Service was initially good, but an attempt to order a second round proved futile.  The lone bartender seemed to be engrossed in conversation at the other end of the bar by other customers.  I noticed that we weren’t the only people at our end of the bar with empty glasses who looked frustrated.

After 10 minutes of trying to get her attention, we left.  Hard to say if this was a one-off occurrence with the service, as it was our first time at the place, but as the place was fairly busy, I really think the bartender should have been paying more attention to all of her customers instead of just the ones she was chatting with.

On the upside, there was a rep from a tequila company present who was buying rounds of shots for everyone in the bar.  I didn’t get the name of the tequila, but who am I to turn down a free shot?

Would I go back?  As they have Old Speckled Hen on tap, I wouldn’t say no.  But the service needs to be more attentive in order to keep me as a repeat customer.