As of last night, the furniture finally arrived at the yet-to-be-open Bier International at 113th Street and FDB/8th Avenue. Upon closer inspection some of the side wall lighting needs to be installed but now they just only need to be stocked up to be ready to go. So maybe the return of Harlem's first beer garden in decades will happen this weekend? Stay tuned. Read all about Bier International in our past post: LINK. The nearest subway to this location is the B,C at 110th or 116th Street. Current photo by Ulysses. www.bierinternational.com
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
☞ DRINK: Bier International Looking Good
As of last night, the furniture finally arrived at the yet-to-be-open Bier International at 113th Street and FDB/8th Avenue. Upon closer inspection some of the side wall lighting needs to be installed but now they just only need to be stocked up to be ready to go. So maybe the return of Harlem's first beer garden in decades will happen this weekend? Stay tuned. Read all about Bier International in our past post: LINK. The nearest subway to this location is the B,C at 110th or 116th Street. Current photo by Ulysses. www.bierinternational.com
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Perhaps they don't have their liquour license. Could that be the holdup?
ReplyDeleteEntry #8 on the Bier Int opening? Not sure major development like Aloft has received this much coverage here. This is a lot of build-up for a merchant that essentially offers a nice place to sit and open a beverage made elsewhere. And what is this term, "Beer Garden"? Marketing language and nothing more. I spent this past weekend sitting in a lovely outdoor Harlem place, the Hudson River Cafe, and enjoyed a number of frosted mugs of Six Points Sweet Action, a tremendous creamy ale from a Brooklyn based mirco-brewery, Six Point Craft Ales. $5 a pop.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed wonderful times at El Paso on 116th Street, in their backyard outdoor garden, enjoying a variety of wonderful different off the beaten track types of Mexican Beers (under $5 a pop).
The notion that Harlem does have a lovely outdoor garden setting wherein one can enjoy a fabulous exotic beer or a local micro brewery ale is false. It has to be said. The problem is this blog marginalizes other Harlem merchants and when it says, "Harlem's first beer garden". That's incorrect. There are a number of places in Harlem that you sit outdoors in a lovely garden, literally, and enjoy exotic and micro brewery ales. They just don't market that narrative where this place does, and this blog echos (at the expense of the others, as if they don't or did not exist).
It seems to me this blog has a South Harlem bias, and is hell bent on labeling and characterizing Bier Int as the first and greatest thing since sliced bread, largely because it's in South Harlem and it follows Bier Int. agenda to do so. Bier Int can market any narrative they want. But this blog has a responsibility to be fair and truthful to all of Harlem, even places not in South Harlem, and not swallow hook, line, and sinker the marketing talking points of Bier International.
@HarlemOnMyMind - If you hate this blog so much, then start your own. No one is forcing you to read it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with UptownGirl. I was wondering when the poster who hates South Harlem would re-emerge.
ReplyDeleteHarlemOnMyMind makes valid points regarding the presence of other garden opportunities. I do not see where s/he used the word "hate" or even implied "hating" anything. His or her comments fit under the rubric of discussion and they are therefore appropriate here, agree or not.
ReplyDelete@HarlemOnMyMind At this rate, I wonder if Aloft will open up before Bier Int! :)
ReplyDeleteHave to check out El Paso. Not technically a beer garden though is it? Although, for that matter, I'm not sure where the garden is at Bier International. Are they going to have an outdoor space?
ReplyDeleteAt least Red Rooster is on track...I think.
Chris, how can one tell if RR is on track? If I had to guess, I would say no. Fall starts in less than 50 days? The opening is said to be in the Fall of 2010, yet not one hint of any activity of any kind over at the location. Look how long it takes a beer joint to open, can a place on the caliber and par of what is expected from M Sam in the kitchen, the bar jazz spot downstairs, the upstairs, the hype, seems to me it is going to take a while to get together and I doubt it can be open in the Fall at this point. Of course I don't know what I am talking about, Dinosaur BBQ is supposed to open in September at their new spot, and they've been working on that spot how long?
ReplyDeleteI see no way the RR opens in the Fall, and it would not shock me to see if there are unresolved issues and matters in the whole place even coming together in the first place.
"Beer Garden" is a term for outdoor/open space where alcohol is consumed. Just because HarlemOnMyMind had a drink in the grass someplace doesn't mean it was at a beer garden.
ReplyDeleteWhat's with all the anger about a new little bar opening? I think the reason it's on the blog is partly because it's been delayed (and specifically because there was likely some interest before and during the World Cup, since places like that are commonly visited by soccer fans throughout the world during World Cup matches). If you know of some new places that haven't been mentioned here, I, for one, would love to know. I'm always on the hunt for new places (including places that are just new to me) uptown.
But that stuff is just splitting hairs. The part that's the most ridiculous is the line about this blog having any kind of "responsibility" to be anything more than it is. It's a BLOG!
Start your own blog, HarlemOnMyMind. I won't visit, but your anger and constant criticism will probably help you produce a lot of content.
LovinHH, yeah, fall might be a tough one. Although, not sure if anybody else here got to have a peek inside, but on the way to Sylvia's free breakfast yesterday (awesome btw!), the doors were open and I saw a big red rooster logo on the wall inside. Great news and a definite sign that this IS happening, but yeah, might be a stretch to make the original date.
ReplyDelete@Chris:
ReplyDeleteIt looks like they have just started preliminary constuction at R.R.
As far as I know, they never did give a firm date on the Rooster's opening other than "the fall". So I guess they have some leeway.
First, this blog has no obligation to do report on broader Harlem. Besides, I don't really think the blog is focused on South Harlem. If you look at the current blog totals I see: West Harlem (547) vs. South Harlem (434). As far as micro-neighborhoods or specific streets, FDB has fewer posts than Hamilton Heights or 125th street or Mt. Morris Park (althought this of course is South Harlem).
ReplyDeleteSecond, a beer garden *is* different than another establishment that happens to have outdoor space and serve beer. The words beer garden usually mean a place with long tables, indoor and outdoor space, where the focus is on beer not food. That's like saying because Pizzaria 123 also served pasta that Frizzante was not the first Italian place on FDB to open in recent history. Not everybody has to want to go to it, but there is something unique and special about a beer garden vs. another bar. This isn't to say that El Paso or Hudson River Cafe aren't also special or that sometimes I wouldn't prefer going to those places. But I for one am excited for this to open.
Beer garden (literally from the German "Biergarten") is an open-air area where beer, other drinks and local food are served.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_garden
There are lots of places in Harlem that meet the definition of "Beer Garden" and serve micro brews, foreign beers, etc. Not clear as to people's motivation to exclude other Harlem spots that offer outdoor garden seating for the pure consumption of boutique ale and exotic beer from inclusion. But I can guess why....
Not sure where you are going with "I can guess why."
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, there is a connotation to the word beer garden, and while I love the places you mentioned too, this is something different about a beer garden (not to mention the other places you mentioned are a good 20 minute walk from this place).
Again, a pizza shop may serve pasta too ... but when one things of Italian restaurants in South Harlem they think of Piatto D'Oro or Frizzante not Pizzaria 123. It's a different atmosphere and the connotation is entirely different. Not better or worse, but different.
P.S. I love El Paso too ... and it's gotten plenty of attention on this blog.
HarlemOnMyMind: There's a whole world out there where people do things that might be a little different than the way you do them. Accept it or feel resentful forever.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I'm arguing the difference between outdoor dining (and drinking) and a beer garden. You should travel sometime (and I don't just mean down to South Harlem)...you'll see all kinds of things.
I think I have a beer garden on the roof of my apartment building. I serve my friends beer there sometimes. In the fall, when my windows are open, my living room is a beer garden several times each week!
I'll stop there. For your own good, smile a little and stop being so angry. Life is short.
Oh, and the "I can guess why..." is completely lost on me. My favorite (exotic) beer is from Brazil, called Xingu. I think the Brazilians who work in that brewery (or drink the beer) might not be as elitist or "boutique" as you think.
ReplyDeleteLike I said...the world is a big place.
Almost forgot: I'm definitely looking forward to the Beer Garden!
The height of silliness is to defend and declare a unique credence and legitimacy to a business, separate from all others, that's NOT EVEN OPENED YET. Already it's anointed and heralded as authentic, the others not, and why? GreenGirl says so (contrary to Wikipedia and a half dozen Beer Gardens in Harlem).
ReplyDeleteThis is a dumb argument. But what's even stupider is that the place is STILL not open.
ReplyDeleteI'm not aware of many places in Central or South Harlem where you can go an enjoy a good beer (i.e. multiple beers on tap, especially microbrews)
-Yatenga is one.
-Haven't been to Shrine yet but they may fit the bill.
- Cafe Amrita
Could people please fill me in on any more that I am unaware of.
>> "contrary to Wikipedia and a half dozen Beer Gardens in Harlem."
ReplyDeleteThat you proclaim are beer gardens, because you said so!
Lighten up a little. Not sure I used the word "authentic" .... but obviously I'm not the only one who thinks a "beer garden" is a little different than a "restuarant that lets you sit outside and drink." If that's the definition of a beer garden there is more than 5 or 6!
In the mean time head over to my local dive, Paris Blues. Old school establishment where you can have a quiet pint in peace.
ReplyDeleteMy longtime Harlem neighbor complains that Paris Blues is rough...I've always wondered whether she's just not the type to grab a beer at a bar, or if it indeed is a rough place. With Chris' endorsement, I'll have to finally check it out!
ReplyDeleteHa, well Doug, I haven't had any trouble there, but your longtime Harlem neighbor may have a point in that there has been a bit of aggro over the years.
ReplyDeleteI like to think it has a lot of character :)
Here is a recent article on the place:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/checking-in-on-paris-blues/
Cheers Chris! Interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteI looked at the site and saw the "renderings" in the Gallery link of a couple tables outdoors, we may or may not see that in real life, they may or may not have a license, we'll see (license for sidewalk dining).
ReplyDeleteBut in their renderings of the place, I see no clearly outdoor seating, do you? 99% of the seating is clearly indoors - best case scenario, in real life it may turn out to be 100% if they have no sidewalk license.
How exactly does place even meet the definition of a "Beer Garden" in the first place? They may be no outdoor serving of beer, none, zero. At best, they might, and only might have 2 tables, per their rendering? Yet people are pretty quick to declare and anoint this place a true "Beer Garden" even though it's yet to open.
Meanwhile in the rest of Harlem, you can enter El Paso on 116th and they have a lovely outdoor under the stars section in the back, an actual garden and order fantastic Mexican beers. They have 8 - 10 tables back there, an actual garden.
Or, in Harlem is Ricardo, with an actual outside garden in the back, where you can enjoy fantastic beers, OUTSIDE in a Garden. Or, as I did last week, great micro-brewery ales at Hudson River Cafe, OUTSIDE, lots of tables and space.
Won't it be interesting when this places opens if there is ZERO outdoor space? A requirement of a "Beer Garden". At best it will have 2 tables in front, best case scenario, will 99% of their seating will be indoors. LOL. Some beer garden.
The place actually flirts with being a fraud if the renderings speak to the establishment. Yet I have no doubt the SoHa crowd will declare it the best thing ever in Harlem and embrace the false notion of it being "Harlem's First Beer Garden". Just don't ask for actual outdoor seating!
Bitter much?
ReplyDeleteYes, there is not that much outdoor seating ... but Zum Schneider (in the far East Village) is the same way and if you google that, many people call it a beer garden. Although your math is funny. 99% of tables are outdoors ... when there appear to be three tables inside .. and two outside! Hardly 99%, (but who wants to do math, like the ratio of posts about South Harlem vs. West Harlem).
The places you mention are also lovely. This doesn't take away from those places - El Paso has some of the best mexican food in the city. But that's the point - more of the people who go there are coming for the food than just to grab a beer. It's a different feel ... I doubt there is a conspiracy going on here.
Anyway, we'll see if this place is any good. I certainly don't intend to stop going to other great establishmenta in Harlem if and when this opens. But why bash it?
I'm sure if there was a beer garden opening up anywhere else in Harlem it would have a post. Sadly there aren't any. As for beer garden if this place wants to be a beer garden it's a beer garden. It has the long tables. Hopefully it will have beer. Yes, typically beer gardens have to do with the outdoors or are often tented. They may or may not sell micro-brews. If they serve food it's usually not main courses. Yatenga calls itself a bistro. It’s not a bistro. Trattoria Amici has lobster an corn specials which is not very Italian. If you want an authentic beer garden travel to the Deutschland. This is Harlem. If it wants to be a beer garden, it’s a beer garden. Since no one else is claiming to be a beer garden that makes it the first. I’m just hoping the place is good.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that so many of us have given any of our time to this truly mind-numbing "debate". One of the most ridiculous blog arguments I have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI think I love you, GreenGirl. Thank you for setting the record straight AND keeping it positive.
ReplyDeleteAgreed UptownGirl--the debate IS silly. But check out the source...
Chris--thanks for the Times link to Paris Blues. Great photos
ReplyDeleteNo worries Sanou's Mum. Fascinating eh? And enough bickering about beer gardens, just give me a decent pint in a proper sized glass! Enough of these fancy flute style things.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Chris. Love the suit in the photo!
ReplyDelete