Lillie's Bar
46 Beard Street at Dwight, Red Hook, Brooklyn
Those who don’t have a car (and here in the big city, that’s a lot of us) will find Lillie’s subway-less location daunting, but trust me when I say that it’s worth the trip. The desolate Red Hook locale does a good job of weeding out the lightweights and guaranteeing that those who show up are in it for the long haul. Legend has it that this bar was a hangout for sailors for most of its seventy years. (It’s just a drunken stumble away from Brooklyn’s infamous waterfront, as in “On the”.) Thankfully, the surly seafarers left most of the original Art Deco details intact, making this expansive yet warm room one of the best-preserved bars in Brooklyn.
And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the owner and sometime-bartender, aptly named Lillie, is one of the sweetest women this side of the Gowanus Canal. As if she and her crack team of bartenders aren't incentive enough to make the journey, there’s also a lovely outdoor patio, soaked on many a summer night with the soft simmerings of grilled meat.
The bar hosts all kinds of music and crowds, from Hawaiian nights to motorcycle club parties, but is most famous in country circles for the legendary Hank III show of 2002. Keep your eyes peeled for more country shows, and then make sure you’re armed with a bus schedule or some good directions for your frightened cab driver, and come out and make a night of it.
phone: 718-858-9822