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Monday
Apr302012

Bohemian Beer Garden

One of the highlights of my 365 day bar crawl was going out to Bohemian Beer Gardens in Queens. It was a great day and it’s something Gene and I have always talked about going to. Gene’s never been and it is a bit of an investment in time, heading out to Queens, but we’ve decided today is the day.

Gene came by my apartment and in a tradition started at MAD, he brought two Sols for me to put in my refrigerator for the next time Britta and Tom come by.

And through the magic of the internet, we've magically arrived in a land known as Queens. We stopped in one bar on the way to the Bohemian Beer Garden, but the bartender didn't want us taking photos of it, so you don't get to see the first mystery bar. Hopefully we'll have better picture-taking luck at Bohemian Beer Garden.

And here we are!

And the garden is open, let's go inside.

We thought we'd have a beer at the bar that leads out to the garden. And once again we strike out with a bartender photo and this guy was kind of rude about it. We may not have a bartender photo at all for you today, but I'll keep trying.

Here's Gene at the bar with a big mug of German beer, partially blocked out by the sunlight. Damn you sunshine!

There's a nice display of lit up bottles behind the bar.

There's tables opposite the bar to sit at.

Here's a menu of some of the draft beers available.

And here's the actual draft beers themselves.

After a beer we decided to venture out to the garden area. This is the biggest beer garden in all of New York City.

In the summer time it's packed out here, but since it's still off season, there's plenty of places to sit and it's about half full. Or half empty if you're a pessimist.

I had a late lunch and wasn't hungry, but Gene wanted something to eat, so we wandered over to the barbecue grills.

Gene got a hot dog, topped with sauerkraut and mustard.

And we got a beer at the outside bar and once again got shut down by the bartender regarding a photo. Although judging by his English skills, I think it's because he didn't have a green card, so I took mercy on him and put the camera away.

Hey, what's that on the table?

It's an ash tray! It turns out there's a smoking area in the park! Hopefully Mayor Bloomberg and his goon squad will leave this alone!

On the way out I took this photo of a cigar and two mugs of German beer, a sight for sore eyes.

Before getting on the subway, Gene and I decided to see if we could finally get that elusive bartender shot before heading back to Manhattan. So we decided to have a drink at the Brewhouse.

And here we are at the bar, the tension is mounting...

And he shoots and scores! Stacey, the pretty and friendly bartender on duty was more than happy to pose for a photo! Cheers!

Bohemian Gardens
29-19 24th Ave. (Near 29th Ave.)
Queens, NY
718-274-4925

Further Reading: Queens Courier, Queens Crap and We <3 Astoria.

We are the Draught Beer Preservation Society,
God save Mrs. Mopp and good Old Mother Riley,
We are the Custard Pie Appreciation Consortium,
God save the George Cross and all those who were awarded them.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

--------------------------------------------------

Bonus Photos By Gene On His Never-Ending Bar Crawl!

I went home, but Gene had to make his quota of 1879 bars for the day, so he continued on. Here's a couple of shots of some drinks he had at Otto's. Lani was on duty and she said to say, "hi." Hi Lani!

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Reader Comments (20)

looks like a great beer garden and glad you finally got a shot of a pretty bartender, stacey was worth the wait! i wondered why you didn't put up the bohemian rhapsody song by queen and then i clicked on the surprise link and lost it! best surprise link ever! lol!!!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBobby D.

Biergarten, kindergarten, how do those crafty German engineers grow these things out of the ground? Wow.

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered Commentercsp

I noticed another bar a few doors down from the Brewhouse called McCaffrey and Burke, a real dive. You could do a whole bar crawl on that street and refuel with polish sausages at Zlata Praha, also a few doors down,,,,do I do my research or what?

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAl

@Al ... McCarrey & Burke is actually next door. I was also in there on Saturday ! Queens has some great neighborhoods around there. I really enjoyed the whole weekend !

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterGENE

@Bobby D: Glad you liked the surprise link, it really cracked me up too!

@csp: Only their hairdressers know for sure, and they’re not talking!

@Al: You sure do your research and I appreciate it! I'll have to take you up on that bar crawl soon!

@GENE: It was a great weekend, look forward to more BBC adventures! Thanks for the Otto's photos!

April 30, 2012 | Registered CommenterTripping With Marty

Great Big outside Garden !
Hotdog Looks Yummy. Me & Zioum Zioum will get Sauerkraut & Sausage ( We can get Hotdogs, but I prefer Sausage with sauerkraut ) hopefully this week.

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJHwang

Thank goodness for Stacey! She saved the day! Bohemian Gardens, despite its workers being camera shy, seems nice - a relaxing place to spend an afternoon, evening, or both. Although, I think I'd opt for that second drink from Otto's today. It looks bananaly delicious!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBiff

Oh snap! There's an actual smoking area in the park!? HOT DAMN!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered Commentermeleah rebeccah

@JHwang: It's the biggest beer garden in New York! Enjoy the sauerkraut and sausages!

@Biff: I'll pick both! And the drinks from Otto's are great, but can pack one wallop of a hangover the next day!

@meleah: I think it's the last place you can smoke in New York City!

April 30, 2012 | Registered CommenterTripping With Marty

Warning! Warning! Hipster sideburn alert in picture nine! Funny, I truly hate the smell of cigarettes but cigars and pipes, no problem.

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDuncester

Marty, What the fuck is up with some of these bartenders. That's part of their job, pour the beer, smile, listen to your drunkin stories , pose for pic's & take group shot's of patrons. Cool place.
I heard Hoboken has a new beer garden Hoboken Pilsener Haus & Biergarten with 20 premium imported German drafts. The place looks huge online

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDanny the freelancer

hahah @duncester!
I was laughing at his sideburns too.. and the guy at the bar had puny trying to grow ones.. hate that shit!

I want to go to the beer garden...just to people watch...

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterGidget

@Duncester: Ha ha ha! I didn't even notice that! Good call! I know some people hate smoking, but it was refreshing to see there's a spot that Bloomberg and his goon squad hasn't noticed yet!

@Danny the Freelancer: I hear you, I even said to Gene after the guy was rude to me in the bar that he should look for a different job. Rude and nasty bartenders must not care about tips! I didn't know about the Hoboken Beer Garden, I'll have to check it out, thanks for the hat tip!

@Gidget: It's a great people watching spot, but poor on taking photos of bartenders!

April 30, 2012 | Registered CommenterTripping With Marty

Man, I had to triple scroll that shot of the ashtray......although I know ALL the reasons for banning smoking are "good for us" and "for your own good", there are some places that just look and.......well.......just FEEL better with a bit of smoky haze........ESPECIALLY music joints. Very glad that bartenders/waitresses/musicians don't have to put up with 2nd-hand smoke anymore, but it just AIN'T the same.
And, YEAH, wotsup with shy bartenders? And cranky? WRONG JOB, bud! The best blog on what's goin' on in Toronto (blogto.com) has been running a "Get To Know Your Bartender" series over the past 3 months or so which has been excellently interesting (to the point I was going to suggest it to you as another topic you could pop into TWP once a month or something.). Their not all budding Hendrixes or Einsteins(sp), but they ALL seem to have interesting tales to tell. (Don't tell her, but I've always thought that Slum Goddess would make a pretty ginchy bartendress.)
And just wondering.......you a Rangers fan? Man, game 7 against Ottawa was tits up fantastic! GO RANGERS!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDrBOP

If you haven't already seen it, check out the 2011 documentary, Queen: Days of Our Lives. I missed Freddie so much after watching it ...

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered Commenteronemorefoldedsunset

You're welcome back to Hoboken anytime Marty! Yes, there's a new beer garden up on 14th St and it is pretty big. It's owned by the same people as the Radegast Beer Hall in Wiliamsburg, Brooklyn.

Let me know when you want to stop by and check it out!

April 30, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterPeter

@Dr. Bop: Thanks for the heads up for that blog.to blog, good stuff over there! And I hear you about the non-smoking thing, good and bad aspects to it, kind of a gray area, like ashes from a cigarette! I'm not a sports guy, but for you, I'm putting this out there: GO RANGERS!

@onemorefoldedsunset: I've seen that Queen documentary and it's great. Freddie Mercury was one of rock and roll's greatest frontmen. I'll never forget how he blew everyone out of the water at Live Aid.

@Peter: Let's definitely plan on hanging out there some Sunday, let me know a good date for you!

April 30, 2012 | Registered CommenterTripping With Marty

Looks like you both traveled well!

May 1, 2012 | Unregistered Commenter"Boris"

@"Boris:" A well-traveled day indeed, Daddio! Let's try and yak soon!

May 1, 2012 | Registered CommenterTripping With Marty

Hey that kid in photo number 9 is not 21!

I like the Brewhouse better though the beer garden was cool as well...one thing for sure the common denominator is BEER!!

May 2, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterTiki Bar Susie

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