The Kitchen in NYC

Most of y'all (both my loyal readers) know that Amazon decided to send me to New York City for two weeks in December to help launch a new FC across the street from the Empire State Building.

Turns out, midtown Manhattan has some absolutely amazing beer bars! I managed to visit three while I was in the city.

First up was Rattle n Hum. Located at 14 East 33rd Street, it was only half a block out of my way on the walk from work to the hotel. Downright handy! ;-) (Didn't hurt there's a Papaya Dog on the corner of 33rd St. and 5th Ave.! They don't look like much, but those dogs taste just like Fairbury Red Dogs at a Nebraska game!)

They had 40 rotating taps, with some great selections. The staff was very personable and knowledgeable about the choices on hand, as well as incredibly patient with an out of town jackhat like myself. They also had the best flight paddles I've come across: shaped like a large beer bottle laid on its side, what made them so great was the chalkboard coating: the bartender could write your choices right on the paddle! None of that scrabbling around with your receipt or trying to remember what the hell you ordered and what order the 'tender said they were in on the paddle. Super handy for folks like me with the attention span of a distracted gnat!

Rattle n Hum had some of the most personable staff of any bar I've visited, and certainly the most knowledgeable and willing to chat about brews.

They also have fairly frequent and interesting "tap takeover" events. While I was in NYC, they had a Troegs takeover which was fantastic as Tröegs doesn't distribute in Kentucky. Tröegs makes some fantastic beers!

The next weekend, I made my way all the way to 11 East 36th Street to visit The Ginger Man. 70ish taps available, with some really outstanding variety and unique choices.

 Their flight paddles weren't anything to get excited about, but the bacon they add to their Ginger Man Dog was just out of this world. The tater salad had too many onions for my taste, but I

 usually don't like potato salad anyhow.

The staff was super friendly, and very willing to spare a moment to chat about beers, Untappd, etc.


After my last night at JFK7, I bounced all the way up to 300 W 40th St to visit Rattle n Hum's sister bar, Beer Authority. (It was cold and raining, it seemed like quite the hoof!) 80 brews on tap, three floors (rooftop view would be great if it wasn't 30 degrees and raining!) They had a fairly ridiculous flight ordering/pricing structure that nearly pushed me out the door, but their current web menu no longer mentions this...hopefully they dumped that nonsense. They had some fantastic selections, though somewhat less adventurous than Ginger Man or their sister bar Rattle n Hum.

 The "tap number on the paddle" worked, but it wasn't fantastic in bar lighting with small-print beer lists.

Before I sign off on this, I have to give a "thumbs-up" to the bartender at the Martinique Cafe. Stopped in there with a coworker and the "Free Drink" coupons the Radisson provided at check-in. It takes a true professional to put up with fussy out of town jackhats like me handing over coupons in place of cash while taking up valuable bar stool real estate. ;-0