Food Adventures: A Beer Garden Close to My Heart

You may assume from this title that I simply love beer gardens. Your assumption wouldn’t be entirely wrong. I love beer—particularly artisan and European varieties—and I love hanging around outdoors. So it was a particularly good day when my editor asked me to write about the beer gardens of New York. And, knowing I’d want company during my “research,” it made my husband pretty happy too.

But what brought this assignment close to my heart was that I would finally get to visit the beer garden in Astoria where my grandfather spent afternoons during his senior years. For some reason, the local senior center decided it best if the old men gather at Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden, the oldest beer garden in New York, for part of the afternoon. Every weekday, they would play cards, and I suspect have a beer, or maybe just a cup of coffee.

The visit didn’t disappoint. On a Saturday night, it was packed with laid-back revelers, ranging from Mohawk-wearing hipsters to local Queens residents who were happy to be outside with friends enjoying Czech beer and food. Bohemian Hall is no-frills and comfortable. Best of all, the six twentysomethings at the table next to us were playing cards. So the tradition continues.

The other beer gardens I visited were peppered around the city, from Loreley, an upscale Lower East Side spot with a northern German bent, to Studio Square, a mammoth outdoor space in Long Island City, to the hip Radegast Hall & Biergarten located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Not only do they offer excellent beers from countries like Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Belgium, but the food ranges from high-quality fare to down-home comfort food—with each serving up warm German pretzels with mustard. Check out Return of the Beer Gardens here to get more details and craft your own tour. And don’t forget a deck of cards. —Denise Shoukas