| Author |
Message |
    
ejillard
Citizen
Username: Ejillard
Post Number: 1
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 3:42 pm: |     |
can anyone recommend a place nearby where you can sit outdoors and enjoy a cold beer? When the day turned sunny yesterday my wife and I yearned for the kind of "Biergarten" that we've enjoyed in cities big and small in Europe. Three seasons a year you find people outdoors, talking with friends, reading a book or newspaper, etc. Does a place like that exist anymore in NJ? I know there are bars/pubs with gardens in the city (and the bohemian beer garden in queens)... I'm looking for options convenient to Maplewood. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 3305
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 3:51 pm: | |
We like sitting outside at Toro Loco in South Orange. That's the only place that comes to mind for outside drinking/dining. |
jet
Citizen
Username: Jet
Post Number: 826
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 4:10 pm: | |
There may still be a place on Liberty ? just before RT.22 on the left side that hosted soccer games & billed itself as a beer garden. Someone more familiar with the area may be able to add to this. |
kmk
Supporter
Username: Kmk
Post Number: 616
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 4:37 pm: | |
The place on Liberty was torn down. |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 231
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 4:46 pm: | |
Oh boy....I'm from England and in the Summertime I desperately miss the pubs and beer gardens (- it always gets worse when I watch my Inspector Morse DVDs and he's sitting with a glass of beer in a delightful Oxford or Oxfordshire country pub garden).
I was speaking with my student daughter yesterday and she was sitting on a terrace having a glass of wine at a pub next to the River Thames in west London, watching the swans. I was soooo jealous!
The only place I've found locally which is reminiscent of a beer garden is at the "Fore Seasons" golf club house (open to the public) at the East Orange golf course in Short Hills. We discovered this purely by accident when our son went to his friend's confirmation; the boys were treated to an afternoon of golf and then dinner in the clubhouse.
We arrived early to collect our son and went to the bar for drinks. It was such a glorious evening that we went outside onto the pretty patio with lots of flowers in containers (just like in English pub gardens) to drink our beers. It was blissful to sit in the peace and quiet. We sat watching the golfers play in the last hour of daylight and to see the sun setting behind the trees. The barmaid said that they often have barbies and a 'tiki' bar there during the Summer, but you can have bar snacks if desired or if you're not hungry you can just go for some beers, wine or cocktails....and no you don't have to have any connection with golf!
We went there a few times last year...but do wear mossie repellent (although they have citronella candles on the tables).
http://www.foreseasonsrestaurant.com/default.htm
You can see the patio garden (the bar is just behind it) on the Home page.
(PS. I've heard that the Basking Ridge country club and golf course is open to the public for dining. I've never been there but maybe someone knows if you can just go for drinks and if they have a garden too?) |
dougw
Citizen
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 99
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:07 pm: | |
I have been keeping my eyes open for a nearby, outdoor place to enjoy a beer and friends. I do not have good news. Toro Loco does have a few outdoor seats but not much of a view and you are right next to the traffic on Valley. Scotty's in Springfield (on Morris Ave) has some outdoor tables but again right next to a busy road. Fore Seasons is the best suggestion, although it the bar area is usually pretty empty so bring a crowd with you. |
dougw
Citizen
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 100
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:08 pm: | |
This thread really caught my eye and I wish I had a better suggestion. |
MHD
Citizen
Username: Mayhewdrive
Post Number: 2238
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:16 pm: | |
Bunny's in South Orange has outdoor tables in the Summer. |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 754
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:26 pm: | |
Wow, Miss L Toe, you made Fore Seasons sound wonderful and I don't drink beer or play golf.
A place I would suggest for drinking outdoors is Cafe Newport at the Newport Marina & Yacht Club in Jersey City. It's not local, but really close enough (maybe 20 minutes with moderate traffic). Used to really enjoy going there for drinks on spring and summer evenings when I lived in JC. You're right on the river overlooking the marina and downtown Manhattan . The food could have been better, but appetizers and drinks were just fine by me. However, since I don't drink beer, I'm not sure what kind of selection they have. So, if you're some kind of beer aficionado, I'd suggest you call first.
Gosh, now I think I have to go. Hmmmm, what to do with "the boys?" |
rosie
Citizen
Username: Rosie
Post Number: 26
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:39 pm: | |
Hoboken has some nice outdoor seating for enjoying a drink. The Madison on 14th and Washington St. has really nice outdoor seating. Ted & Joe's on Park and 12th is my favorite! It's tucked away from the commotion of Washington St. and always serves a good drink.
|
ejillard
Citizen
Username: Ejillard
Post Number: 5
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:49 pm: | |
Miss L Toe, I bet I know exactly the pubs you mentioned, on the Thames near Hammersmith? I spent a wonderful spring afternoon there once...
If you've ever seen Bryant Park on a summer evening you know there's no lack of demand for this kind of establishment. I'm sure it comes back to zoning laws and liquor licenses -- and an appropriate location/setup.
The South Mountain reservation would be perfect... I can just picture the kind of place that would be there if this were Germany -- a small kiosk serving simple food, great beer, with a dozen tables, some in the shade. Great revenue for the county to boot! Or imagine turning the old paper mill into a cafe with tables overlooking the pond... I'm entitled to my pipe dream!
Anyway thanks for the suggestions and please keep 'em coming. |
Two Sense
Citizen
Username: Twosense
Post Number: 110
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 5:54 pm: | |
Take NJ Transit train to Hoboken and the ferry to the World Financial Center. On a nice summer evening, the ferry is a great way to approach lower Manhattan. Just off the ferry, to the right, you'll find al fresco drinking (and dining). You can sit outside and enjoy drinks, while watching boats on the Hudson and in the adjacent yacht basin. You also can catch the sun set over New Jersey (more romantic than it admittedly sounds), or walk along the esplanade of Battery Park City, which includes some wonderfully unique landscaping and gardens.
Think of it as a cosmopolitan version of a beer garden.
P.S. Let's keep some perspective. The clubhouse at the public East Orange golf club is just that -- good place for drink before/during/after a round, but hardly a destination by itself. |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 756
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 6:06 pm: | |
Well now, Two Sense, I guess we all have our own perspective.
After spending 24/7 with three kids, yelling, screaming, hitting, arguing, tattling, crying, whining and saying Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, MOMMY, a nice quiet place to enjoy a drink and the outdoors sounds like a destination TO ME!  |
Two Sense
Citizen
Username: Twosense
Post Number: 112
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 6:14 pm: | |
Charley Brown's in Millburn used to serve outside in the rear. There's a quiet courtyard tucked away behind the restaurant. |
parkah
Citizen
Username: Parkah
Post Number: 121
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 8:40 pm: | |
ejillard... i too yearn for a local outside watering hole reminiscent of the viktualienmarkt in munich. unfortunately, outside of the city i haven't found anything...
i understand that a hundred years ago, the hilton section of maplewood was primarily german... and that population use to gather in the olypmic park (long defunked) area to drink, socialize, etc. so sad that that scene somehow died away when so many of us long for it or something similar.
so, until someone realizes that a biergarten may be a profitable enterprise in our area, i keep trucking back into the city. i know you didn't ask for nyc recommendation, but just in-case you're desperate one day, the following are my fav spots:
1) zum schneider on the lower east side... long pine tables, doors that open onto the sidewalk, hofbrau beer and the like, german waitresses and decent food.
2) 79 street boat basin... outdoor seating under the west side highway, nice view of the river, beer and basic pub grub. |
ejillard
Citizen
Username: Ejillard
Post Number: 6
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Monday, May 2, 2005 - 10:12 pm: | |
zum Schneider is one of my favorites, but it's kind of a hike! Great place to while away the afternoon though. I work downtown and the newly renovated Stone Street is great, too -- with tables outside Ulysses, Cassis, and a few other restaurants/pubs. |
Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1122
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - 10:13 am: | |
You guys make me homesick. |
Miss L Toe
Citizen
Username: Miss_l_toe
Post Number: 233
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - 3:55 pm: | |
Earlster...homesick for where? Are you from somewhere in Europe?
ejillard: I'm not sure which pub she was in. Her student accommodation is in Twickenham - the campus is next to the Thames and she spends a lot of time in lovely Richmond just across the bridge. She did mention though that she'd been exploring an old cemetery where hundreds of people had been buried in mediaeval times who'd died of the Black Death (plague) and that an enormous yew tree was planted on top of the graves so they wouldn't be disturbed...I think she may have been somewhere in Old Isleworth.
I have to go to London in the next few weeks to renew my visa...can't wait to get to some of those fantastic riverside pubs....then up to central England to stay with my sister...lots of lovely country pubs there too and good beer...I like Courage Directors and Flowers Ales (from Stratford Upon Avon). Hic. |
monster
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 733
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 12:39 am: | |
mmmmmm, beer.....
While I was stationed in Germany, back in the 80's, a group of us would either hit a festival of some sort every weekend, or we would hit the train station, and basically take a blind stab at a destination. Most of the time we found a pretty pleasant place to quaff a few beers, particularly in good weather.
That being said, I think a county run (seasonal) outdoor biergarten would be perfect for the South Mountain Reservation.
Of course it doesn't have to be county run, it would probably be better if they outsourced it.
Okay, who wants to pool their money together to open a nice outdoor place out behind my house? |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 779
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 6:59 am: | |
"That being said, I think a county run (seasonal) outdoor biergarten would be perfect for the South Mountain Reservation."
Monster, methinks you are insane. What a fiasco that would be. They can't even run the reservation, let alone an outdoor biergarten! |
Mozek
Citizen
Username: Mozek
Post Number: 3
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 - 2:02 pm: | |
Okay, this isn't in NJ, but Queens, so a bit of a hike. But perhaps worth it if you're looking for an authentic (Eastern) European beer garden. I haven't been yet, but I'm hoping to make it sometime this summer to relive some memories of a year spent in Prague: http://www.bohemianhall.com/home.htm |
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