An Adventure in Red Hook

As mentioned in a previous post, last weekend was a fun time. In part because I got to go to the Daily Front Row Fashion Media Awards on Friday night, and also because on Saturday I took a trip to Red Hook and may have found the coolest bar in New York.

Venturing to Red Hook was one of my NYC Bucket List Challenges, and a couple of friends from work were down to join me for it. To get there, we took the (free) water taxi at Pier 11 in lower Manhattan which was a beautiful, quick ride with great views of the downtown skyline. It dropped us off right on Van Brunt Street, the main strip of restaurants & bars.

After walking a few blocks on Van Brunt, we spotted Brooklyn Crab, but first, I wanted to check out Red Hook Bait & Tackle. I'm so glad we went because it was SO weird in the most awesome way.

The entrance had a funny chalkboard and a really old clock out front.

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignleft" width="189"] Entrance of Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_434" align="aligncenter" width="190"] Entrance of Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

Inside, it was dimly lit and only a handful of very randomly assorted patrons sat at the bar.  The bartender is was a friendly Irish guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Burt Reynolds mustache twisted up at the ends.  As we walked further into the bar, the first thing we noticed was taxidermy – everywhere.

[caption id="attachment_466" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

There were some nautical items on the walls, but this place mostly looked like the Museum of Natural History meets a hunter's lodge, meets a bait & tackle shop meets a garage sale from the 70s. And it was all kinds of awesome.

[caption id="attachment_436" align="alignleft" width="168"] Brooklyn Bait + Tackle[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_435" align="alignleft" width="168"] Brooklyn Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got a table that was surrounded by stuffed mammals and birds. Fittingly, they had the video game Buck Hunter.  The women's bathroom is labeled "BAIT" and the men's bathroom is labeled "TACKLE" - some were confused by that.

[caption id="attachment_464" align="aligncenter" width="282"] The Trio at Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

As my friend Marshall said, it was an "Instagrammer's Paradise." Yup.

[caption id="attachment_465" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

After a few hours of this...

[caption id="attachment_460" align="alignleft" width="139"] Red Hook Bait +Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

[caption id="attachment_462" align="alignleft" width="165"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

[caption id="attachment_463" align="alignleft" width="168"] Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...we decided we were ready to get some food. So we walked/rode bikes through some amazing sunflowers and spotted Hometown Bar-B-Que.

[caption id="attachment_459" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Joe on Van Brunt Street[/caption]

Unfortunately, there was a long line. We waited for about 10 minutes then just moved on to Brooklyn Crab around the corner. Brooklyn Crab was a multi-level, multi-bar log cabin meets crab shack meets arcade meets mini golf spot.  Here is Marshall riding a rainbow colored dolphin at the end of the night.

[caption id="attachment_458" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Brooklyn Crab[/caption]

 

Overall, I love Red Hook.

Cheap Sunglasses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHe6lVOTFEU

Confession: I am a serial loser of designer sunglasses.

I've lost expensive sunglasses all over the world: In the subway in NYC, off a boat on the coast of Brisbane, AUS,  on a plane in New Zealand, in Pennsylvania, and at my office in Manhattan. I've even watched a pair fall off the hood of a car onto Route 6 on Cape Cod.

Quick tally of the damage (to the best of my memory):

• 4 pairs of Rayban aviators


• 1 pair of Ralph Lauren


• 1 pair of Rayban wayfarers (polarized)


• 1 pair of Warby Parker

In short, I just don't deserve to have expensive sunglasses. It's just not a good way for me to spend money.

Luckily, my coworker told me about Knockarounds last year. Knockaround is a San Diego-based company that makes pretty cool sunglasses for super cheap.

You can get polarized ones for $19:

[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="676"] Polarized Knockarounds[/caption]

The Originals are only $7!

[caption id="attachment_169" align="alignnone" width="676"] Original Knockaround[/caption]

Their Bio-Based line is a bit more expensive. According to their site, the plastic in these is 53% plant-based, derived from non-GMO castor plant:

[caption id="attachment_170" align="alignnone" width="676"] Bio-Based Knockarounds[/caption]

You can even customize a pair by style, colors, lens and texture:

[caption id="attachment_172" align="alignnone" width="676"] Custom Fort Knocks[/caption]

First time shoppers will be prompted to opt in to a 15% off coupon upon entering the site. Once you click to redeem, a timer starts and you've got 30 minutes to use it or lose it. This is the quickest deadline I've seen for redeeming a coupon, but it's a clever conversion strategy for cheap items like these.

Plus, I kind of love their Instagram campaign, #knocksonproduce.

[caption id="attachment_176" align="aligncenter" width="354"] #Knocksonproduce[/caption]

 

Also, they have Snoop Dogg on their website.

[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Snoop D-o-double-g.[/caption]