FNSC: Union Hall, Bark Hot Dogs and Bergen Street Comics

This week we found ourselves in Brooklyn again.  Our first stop was Union Hall where we were snubbed by a rude bartender who served beers that were all foam. 

They had a lackluster beer list consisting of things we've already had or were not interested in trying except for the Donnybrook Stout by Victory (which we'd already had at Pony Bar) and Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand which tuned out to be very drinkable.  While we waited for the kitchen to open and Sofia to arrive I knitted and we watch people play bocci.

The iPhone 4 failed to illuminate this picture properly. The flash-free version was even worse.

The food was surprisingly good and the waitress was much nicer than the bartender.  I'd spotted the steak sammich (steak, gorgonzola, arugula, caramelized onions, horseradish aioli, ciabata roll, Cajun fries) on the menu and that turned out to be a tasty winner, as were the drunken Jamaican wings that Todd ordered on a whim.  The wings came with an excellent vinegary blue cheese dressing which was wasted on the wings because the wings were so good that we barely noticed the dressing.  Oh, and the wings also came with some tasty cucumber spears that went really well with blue cheese dressing.

Our second stop was Bark Hot Dogs where we had a Bark Red Ale, a Rightous Rye, and a Sweet Action—all from Six Point. 

The beers were all tasty.  For food we settled on a Kase Krainer, a Weisswurst, and a Beans and Frank.  The Kase Krainer was the best of our choices, especially since the filling included liquefied Swiss cheese. 

Here I am being made fun of for eating the mustard
right out of the little paper cup.

The sausages were served with tasty (but slightly dry) sauerkraut, very tasty bread, and whole grain mustard that was good enough eat by itself.  The best part of the Frank and Beans were the beans, which were home-made and smokey. 

After Bark Hot Dogs we were lured into Bergen Street Comics by the lovely piles of colorful books.  Comics are really an underrated literary genre because people think of them as a simplistic set of pictures for kids when in fact the illustrations add an additional dimension and layer of complexity to the story.  We narrowly resisted the urge to buy the entire Sandman collection by Neil Gaiman, but did come home with the first Sandman volume, as well as Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi, and Revolver by Matt Kindt.   

Our night ended on a sad note when we hiked over to Four & Twenty Blackbirds only to find that it was closed for a private party, which was not listed on their website.  BOOOOOO to Four & Twenty Blackbirds.