pub review NYC

11East 36^th Street New y11East 36^th Street New York

The Short and Sweet Version:

Crowd: 3.5 crow's feet out of five: At 4pm on Saturday it was mostly regulars (older gentlemen), couples on a date, 34 years+; dress included classic casual, bizter-chic, and outright professional gear.

Hassle-factor: 1 wink out of 5: pretty much as low as it gets i.e. a woman would have to strut in naked to get a little action- and even then it would only be to throw her out.

Selection: 5 lipstick reapplications out of 5: With over 50 draft beers on tap it doesn't get much better. There are also loads of microbrews in the bottle

Service: 5 of 5 bar wenches: Our waitress was a total doll; she was knowledgeable about the drafts, attentive, but left us to our own devices for most of our entire 2-3 hour session.

Prices: 3 paychecks out of 5: As is typical of any eastern city, the price of a full pint ranged from $6-$9.5 for drafts and higher for some of the larger bottles. For my money $10 flights that let you sample any 4 beers are a great bargain

The Tall and Dry Version:

Background:

Me and two of my closest friends blew into the Ginger Man after a grueling 13 block-schlep on a 30 degree afternoon. Weary and wind-chapped from our journey, I was instantly soothed by the environment of the Ginger Man. The warmth of the place, from the actual temperature to the dark wood it was drenched in, enveloped my psyche like a tight bear hug of a close relative.

We felt like regular old sea dogs descending into the belly of an ancient ship after a long day swabbing the deck. Of course, the only manual labor I had performed that day was to tame the wild beast I call my hair [blessed be a lazy Saturday in NYC]. The first thing I noticed upon entering was the W.C. Fields quote scribbled on the chalk board hanging in the foyer: "A woman drove me to drink I never had the decency to thank her,” indeed. I wonder if he was talking about his mother?

The Scene:

My diligent primping and multiple costume changes seemed lost on the 4pm crowd at Ginger’s; a piebald crew of yuppies-on-vacation and real old-timey new yorkers; you know the real new york men who built the city a hundred years ago with their bare hands and think the only way off the island of Manhattan is by swimming. Those fellows barely lifted a shaggy gray brow at my bare legs. They probably had wives at home who had been putting a hot meal on the table nightly for upwards of 50 years (how can young, albeit, very attractive legs tempt such a king?) Needless to say, this isn’t exactly the type of place where young men go on the prowl or women go to get free drinks. All of the younger blokes in the joint were either with their partners or, from what I could tell, their close buddies.

The Beers:

One of my favorite things about Ginger's apart from the ambiance was the ability to get a sample of four beers on draft for $10. Not only is this a great feature for the adventurous drinker (made possible only by Ginger Man’s extensive draft selection) it makes economic sense. I won’t lie; the most expensive draft beers had a little more gravity during my decision making process. We snuggled up in the sofas by the front of the bar and chose the colors for our palette:

Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ (CA):
Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co. Style: Barley Wine | ABV: 9.9%

Dark amber in color with light quickly dissipating head leaving fairly little lace. Low carbonation and nice sweet aroma. While the aroma was sweet like the shugga in its title, drinking this brew was like having someone shove a grapefruit in my mouth and pull it out of my nose [not the biggest fan of hops] Hops presence was like a 400 lb wrestler in the room-- clear from the tip of the tongue and down the back of the palate . The citrus flavors were tempered by hints of caramel covered raisins.

Vanilla Bean Brown Ale (NY):
Brewery: Flying Bison Brewing Co| Style: Brown Ale | ABV: 4.8%
Dark with only hints of amber at the edge, this black beauty at first whiff was actually quite a turn-off- the overwhelming scent of vanilla made me suspect someone in the brewery had an accident with a vat of vanilla extract. The taste, however, was pleasantly balanced; predominately sweet in flavor with a hint of toasted nuts and slight vanilla aftertaste. If the vanilla wasn't so present I might consider it refreshing.

Bourbon County Stout (IL):
Brewery: Goose Island| Style: Imperial Stout | ABV:11%
Greg Hall and the other brewmasters on Goose Island were not kidding around when they wandered into my dreams and stole the recipe for the Bourbon County Stout.
Pouring out like liquefied onyx, even when held up to the nearby window no light made it out (I imagine that, once inside, the rays of light found the brew to be so pleasant that they had no reason to leave). "Blimey!" I found myself shouting as the hearty aroma of oak and caramelized cherries rattled my olfactory. Biting into this masterfully crafted brew I immediately set it aside for the end, realizing that if I kept drinking I’d be done for the evening—the alcohol was clearly present but not unpleasantly so. The flavor was so pleasantly balanced with the clear winner being the malt but a definite and perfectly pitched hops background. I was reminded of the pleasant flavor of slightly overdone sugar cookies. This was by far my favorite beer of the evening. If I hadn’t been so thoroughly soused after a sample I would have ordered a full pint; hell, I will probably order a case of this stuff so, keep your eye out for another review of this one. Bravo Goose Island. Bravo.

That night I also had Stoudt Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout (PA)
Brewery: Stoudts Brewing Co. | Style: Oatmeal Stout | ABV:9%
Drier than I expected while still retaining malty-sweetness as the predominant flavor. Some chocolate and bitterness, but honestly, my taste buds were shot by the Bourbon County Stout. I will have to try Stoudts lineup another day.

Overall, the Ginger Man made me a very happy girl. I could easily see this pub turning into a home away from home if I lived in the city.

Skål!