Latest Best of NY

Drink NYC: Best 3 Bars Near Summer Streets

August 4, 2011 2:09 PM

NYC Summer Streets (credit: Summer Streets/New York City Dept. Of Parks)

Once again, the NYC Department of Transportation is making city streets car-free for consecutive Saturdays this summer to encourage biking, walking and other green modes of travel. Spanning from Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, Summer Streets allows New Yorkers to play, walk and bike in the streets without the interference from those large moving heavy metal objects normally found there. Sure, the point is to spend a morning being healthy and active, but there’s no reason why you can’t make a pit stop for a beer or cocktail. Here are the best bars (with early hours) along the way. By Selena Ricks-Good.

Whiskey Tavern

Drink NYC: Best 3 Bars Near Summer Streets

(file photo credit: Clipart)

79 Baxter St.
New York, NY
(212) 374-9119
whiskeytavernnyc.com

The second outpost from the owners of Whiskey Town, this unpretentious Chinatown bar is a block east of the Centre Street route and opens at 11 a.m. Expect a variety of rye whiskeys, bourbon, and beer, with most drinks under $10. If you’re planning on continuing your Summer Streets journey, watch out for the bowl of bacon with ranch dressing–it’s indulgences like these that will keep you at Whiskey Tavern for hours.

McSorley’s Old Ale House

mcsorleys front Drink NYC: Best 3 Bars Near Summer Streets

The famous facade of McSorely’s Ale House (credit: mcsorleysnewyork.com)

15 E. 7th St.
New York, NY
(212) 474-9148

Just a block east of the 4th Avenue route and open at 11 a.m., McSorley’s would make a fine stop for a hearty mug of ale after a morning of exercise. NYC’s oldest continuously operating bar, the history and simplicity here are a breath of fresh air in the ever-changing East Village. Choose from two house-made beers on tap, one light, one dark, which are served in two glass mugs for $5.

Park Avenue Tavern

Credit: Facebook.com/Park Avenue Tavern

99 Park Ave.
New York, NY
(212) 867-4484
parkavenuetavernnyc.com

Open at 11:30 a.m., the lower level of this deluxe pub near Grand Central offers beer on tap–at your table. Choose your pours by the ounce while you relax in cozy booths and catch up on sports on the flatscreen TVs. Upstairs, find an American gastropub, a square wooden bar featuring cocktails by Billy Gilroy of Employees Only and Macao Trading Co., and naturally, more flatscreens.