Best Bar in Park Slope

Has anyone actually been inside the Houlihan's in the Atlantic Terminal Mall?

Actually I have been there twice. Once for "happy hour" with co-workers. There really were no deals, the service sucked, and the bar does not really lend it self for conversation. I went a second time on a Sunday when myself and a guy friend of mine were shopping. We were dying to just have a beer, watch some football and eat some seriosly fattening grub. Although all of those things were acomplished, once again the service sucked. I did however really feel like I could have been in a mall in middle America. So if you ever crave that vibe, check it out.

caaahyoko wrote: [quote=MichaelKeys]By the way, anyone out there interested in a Music Trivia night? I'm thinking of putting one together at one of the 5th Ave bars but don't know if there is a crowd for it...

I'll ask JM. I know more than the average person, but I'm not at your's and JM's level.

Emily (one of the site admins) has a husband that'd be interested, I'm sure, if the trivia were .. interesting enough. he's a rolling stone mag/chart nerd. and he's a bestie of mine, so you'd best invite him.

my boyfriend and myself would be very interested!

i've been in the slope for almost 8 years now and can't help but chime in and give you my laundry list of opinions.

flatbush farm - i love it! if you want a good drink in a chill atmosphere and you want to talk to the bartenders, start here. it's nto cheap, but the beer and wine selection is great

cherry tree - new and on 4th avenue. they've got darts and pizza outside. they've also got a big chess set, soem weird basketball game thing and a fireplace outside. beer selection is good. thursdays they have some amateur guest bartdner thing which gets fairly rowdy depending on who that guest bartender is

sheep station - gret beer and booze selection. speak up if you want your martini made properly though - they automatically shake (you're suppossed to stir)

total wine bar - someone who said you probably really want sample may be right. but i have to admit i like the vibe in there - people are really chill

loki - i concur, it's awful at the wrong time. sunday night is ok. there are bars that everyone goes to and there are bars that people who have lived in brooklyn for a long time and are going out in the slope go to. this is a real locals bar. they do however, have a good bloody mary

patio - this place is hard to figure out. it ws first the "girls going out to talk about boys" bar. then it was the date bar. then it was a lesbian bar. then it got kinda quiet. now i think it's the bar you go to on the way home from excelsior bar - at least it was last saturday. there were like 20 people in there from 2-4 and i was the only girl. so weird. it is still good for picking someone up at the last minute of the night - that much has remained consistent about it.

union hall - great in the afternoon when you're starting early. at night it's weird mix of hipsters coming up from the show downstairs, girls decked out in their cutest dress walking back and forth smelling of desperation, groups of friends making fun of them, and young mom and young dad out for the night. beer selection and bar is decent. the stew is too sweet, but the pizza thing is pretty good. they also fature bocce (which is why i think a sunday afternoon is the ideal time to go)

bar 4 - apparently that's where you go to get coke. i totally see that about that place

buttermilk - they do in fact have games, a photobooth and other fun things. i like it when you're going in a group, but will it be my first choice? nah. it's just a big ole bar with a sprinkling of hipsters and regular folk running round. generally on the younger end

the gate - awesome in the summer because they've got a great patio. rest of the year it's ok - the beer selection is awesome though. good juke box if you're more of the black sabbath end of things and not the indie rocker end.

wine bar behind al di la - yum but more of a chill date place, not a "let's go get trashed" kinda place

o'connors - it smells like my grandmother's basement. alcohol is cheap but the serving size is teeny. lots of career drunks hanging out there. nah, i don't like it anymore

black sheep - it's teeny but it's fine. decent if you want a table and like having lots of people around you - it alwys seems to get crowded (i think cause it's teeny) the big secret is the second bathroom downstairs. also where the dart board is.

long tan - not really a proper bar but they have awesome cocktails for cheap. and you can get pad thai at the bar - how can you beat that?

great lakes - it's a standard bar with a decent juke box. people stay in their own groups - go with someone, don't necessarily expect to make your new best friend there

moes - yeah, i know it's fort greene (south portland and lafayette i think), but it's worht making the trek over there - fun vibe!

200 5th - good for going to watch sports. other hours it gets a little rowdy. however, if you are a teacher, they have a teacher's discount during happy hour. and their wings rock the casbah

bar reis - eh, whatever. it's a bar. real basic and nothing to write home about. however the weirdo toys on the bar are kinda fun to play with

my favorite of the bunch? flatbush farm

i think patio is actually a pretty decent bar.

The gate is where you go when you have babies and want to get trashed. Too stroller friendly and too many tykes on the few occasions I've gone.
Personally, I don't step foot in any bar with kiddies in it. Mommy & Me is down the street and not sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery.

pitu wrote: so, did Music Trivia come together yet?
I'll take International and Obscure if someone else knows the last 15 years of Top 40.
Better yet, if you need help formulating the questions . . .

Not yet. I'm still trying to figure it out. But I'll be letting everyone know once something definite happens.

Are you offering your services? 'Cause I've got some great questions and a possible venue or two but I'm not 100% on the logistics of the actual event...

pitu wrote: [quote=erikka]The gate is where you go when you have babies and want to get trashed. Too stroller friendly and too many tykes on the few occasions I've gone.
Personally, I don't step foot in any bar with kiddies in it. Mommy & Me is down the street and not sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery.

Funny, The Gate is where some Mommies I know go to have a quick one on the way home to the little nipper...

It's awfully relaxed there, and I like all the dogs on the deck. Even the babies don't seem so bad under the right circumstances.
The toddlers, another story altogether. THEY need leashes.

Seriously, people bring their kids there? Since having kids I rarely go to bars -- the Gate or otherwise -- but I would never bring kids in. What's the point in even going out then? (And really, how selfish. Probably boring as hell for the kids, unless thay're going nuts and bothering everyone else.)

As far as other people's kids or dogs, I guess I don't mind their presence as long as they leave me alone. I remember having dogs come sniff around my table at the Gate (in my childless days) and the owners acting like I'm supposed to consider it cute.

So, I was just at The Gate for Saturday Happy Hour and lo and behold: inside a leashless dog run amok, while outside a set of parents with loud, restless children. (There were also a couple of strollers but those babies were probably asleep.) Yes, the bartender rocks and there were plenty of cute girls, but WTF?

liftandcut wrote: The title of this thread is obviously a trick question, because unless you're white and like light-in-the-ass music, and annoying people, most of the bars in Park Slope are a waste of money.

lol. And what is heavy-in-the-ass music? Rap only? Deep Purple?

lol. And what is heavy-in-the-ass music? Rap only? Deep Purple?

Hah. Funny.

I like how the reply was racialist but the comment to which she was replying somehow wasn't...