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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Trio at Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]As my friend Marshall said, it was an "Instagrammer's Paradise." Yup.
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Red Hook Bait + Tackle[/caption]After a few hours of this...
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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.
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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.
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Brooklyn Crab[/caption]Overall, I love Red Hook.
