Serious Eats: New York
Happy Hour: Abilene in Carroll Gardens
Editor's note: We're back with another report from our happy hour bureau chief Linnea. On tap this week, Abilene in Carroll Gardens.
Abilene is not one of those "look at me" bars. In fact, you have to search for this Brooklyn joint or risk easily walking by, thinking it's just a generic pub. But once you find it and walk in, the interior is warm and inviting with dim PCV pipe hanging lights and candles on all the dark wooden tables.
I found myself there on a quiet Monday night with a friend and the place almost empty save for a couple regulars. That was fine by us since it's nice to be able to hear your friend talk every once in a while. The bartender was friendly and treated us to his iPod selection of tunes ranging from The Blow, to Week, to Cat Power. On one wall, stacks of games tempted us, but we declined and just sat at the hefty, old-school bar. It felt nice to be in there wrapped around a steaming cup of apple cider spiked with whiskey ($7).
The Happy Deal: From 5 to 7 p.m. and 12 to 1 a.m. all well and drafts are $4, down from their usual $5 to $6. I was happy to see Blue Moon on the list as well as Stella, Blue Point, Guinness, Sierra, Brooklyn Lager, and Six Point IPA. And of course, there is a full bar.
No happy hour food deals here, but they do have a barbecue style menu from the Smoke Shop featuring pulled pork sandwiches ($8), burgers ($8), ribs ($12), and cheese fries ($6). I sampled a couple sliders ($2 each) and am sad to say they were super dry and flavorless. After making a sad face I sucked my lips around some amazing buffalo style wings ($8), quickly devouring the six in the basket.
In Conclusion: While Abilene may not have the best happy hour, I appreciated all the deals on drafts. There is nothing worse then craving that creamy head of a Guinness and finding out only Bud and Amstel Light are cheap. Also, the food was good for a bar and decent for barbecue.
The laidback, classy Abilene is a nice neighborhood place to chill after a hectic day at work, whether you want to go there alone or with a friend or two.
Abilene
442 Court Street (at 3rd Place; map), Brooklyn NY 11231
718-522-6900
abilenebarbrooklyn.com