Victor "Light My Country Music Award On Fire" L.'s Profile

Harry O's is neatly (or not neatly) tucked away on a construction filled block of Lawrence (and stands to make lots of business if the new building across the street becomes inhabited, as the new tallest building in Brooklyn).

Being so close to me that when I first looked for it I couldn't find it because I didn't think it was that close, I walked in on a Sunday afternoon  to watch the games. There were several regulars in the spacious bar area, and the restaurant section is actually rather large, decorated very simply and old school, everything wood, white linen tablecloths, well lit, like something out of Bay Ridge or more suburban upstate.

I sat down at the bar and enjoyed a 3 dollar Yuengling and some cheap, really good chicken fingers (although I was hoping for some good sauces). The menu? Whatever was written on the chalkboard sign. The cook? Was the barback, which is awesome because he was just chillin' like a villain with the other patrons.

The bartender was very sweet, she was being celebrity roasted by Hatch, a good natured (although I freaked him out about a dream I had about Troy Polamalu) Redskins fan that was big enough to play linebacker for them. I guess they were good with each other from a while back.

There was a Steelers couple to my left, and two older gentlemen came in later and starting cursing about jobs, honor, and friendship. The jukebox every once in a while popped on a Sinatra tune which was kind of weird.

All the games were on right in front of me, it was quiet (save Hatch's grilling), and incredibly chill. While it doesn't have the overall warm vibe that Cody's has, it's super relaxed and definitely hidden to most.

The funniest thing? Hatch must have had a late night the night before, because he totally fell asleep at the bar at around 4:25 in the pm. The place was so chill that everyone just let him take a nap for about 20 and he went back to watching the games as if nothing happened.

I was winging it. Get it? Get it? SHUT UP.

So what was up with the Zog Sports recreational co-ed problem children not only eating our wings but giving me weird looks as I waiting patiently behind them in line? SHUT UP.

Those bartenders were about as inept as you can get, although the usual vibe is probably much more relaxed so the last thing they may have expected was a bunch of loud farts like ourselves. WTF.

The place is about a step and a half from the subway entrance. GTFO.

It was a real Balls of Fury atmosphere over by the ping pong tables.

It was a real The Hustler by the pool tables.

It was a real buffet style by the pastas.

Seafood salad under a hot lamp FTW. Those clams were bacon!

Oh and pat b., don't call other Yelpers "ungrateful terds" (I believe the spelling is 'turd' but who knows) for rightfully picking out less than excellent points. The sun doesn't shine all the time.

I ran into an old high school classmate last St. Patty's day while waiting for a cab at the 76.

It was very late and she was in a track suit with a little clutch bag. She mentioned she was doing well and that she worked across the street.

I noticed the overt make up job and totally didn't realize what she was talking about for a few seconds.

She shall remain nameless, but it was an awesome footnote.

Aww pumpkin, I was just being a little Bratty, no need to put me in a fried pickle over it :)

Those carrots in the potato salad were cut fabulously.

I love how Yelp asks me while I'm writing this, "Good for kids?"

I'm checking yes on that one.

This is a bar that made me notice something kind of awesome.

If you are way out there, like this place, where really only regulars go, and it seems like busy equals about 20 patrons, and there's discoloration on the walls, and just a rough smell of it, you think, oh the place must be totally wonky in terms of it's bathroom right?

Wrong. This place had a really clean bathroom. I had the shadow and I felt no worries doing duties in there. It's because it's only regulars, and they don't want to mess up the bathroom of their favorite place. It's a wonderful thing.

Barcelona, who was the bartender, was very sweet and had snazzy French manicure and dressed about a decade younger. The bar was lit well enough so you could see people, but not well enough that you felt warm.

The real reason, as my friends Josh and Jess (who live in the neighborhood) to go is, DJ Mike hosts karaoke fun times every Saturday night. You don't even understand how awesome this karaoke is. "Spider" Jones took us through Baby Got Back, every word without looking at the lyrics screen, and then pronounced that he was showing everyone he could rap even though he was a middle aged white dude with long hair. He had a Jets colored Jeter jersey and a backward cap that was just the stuff of legend.

Then there's Virginia, and she took us through the sweetest rendition of Baby Come Back. Lots of babies here. DJ Mike looked like he liked life at some points, then maybe hated it at others. It was just such an interesting karaoke session, because it wasn't a bunch of young people doing it for kitsch, it was neighborhood blue collar people absolutely getting down with some serious power ballads. And some of it was horribly bad.

If you ever find yourself so out of the way, you're going to have to try it. You can't miss this place on the busy strip; it's got a white exterior and interior, and the inside once had dreams.

I've got the cautious optimism...I would normally give 3 stars but the 4th star is really because in this particular area, they do things slightly differently and that is commendable. It's like a bit of Williamsburg chic came to MPD chic and that's what you got.

It's really more of a 3.5 stars kind of place for now. The best thing about this lounge is the place itself, the brick, the separate rooms, the uncrowded direct path to the bathroom (so rare). Plenty of places to park, etc.

Oh and 4 dollar Miller High Life bottles in the lower Meatpacking? That's a good option. While the pints are small, I was enjoying the Peak Amber Ale as well.

If you're going to get a cocktail, you might as well do their 10 dollar menu drinks because you'll save two bucks on just ordering a cocktail off the menu, or at least that was the case with a gimlet.

If you get here early, it's a wonderful spot. Like I'm talking 10pm. It's really nice, not crowded, super chill. Even as the night wore on and the crowd really started to pour in, the service was excellent. In that area, you never get nice people. All the staff was incredibly polite, and that deserves 3 stars on it's own.

Basically you wait in line (again, get there early, they supposedly have a low max capacity so things don't get ridiculous), can wear sneakers, and get downstairs. There's the carved out recesses/rooms on the right side with the main lounge area with coffee tables and seating on the left, with the bar at the far left next to the DJ. Your path straight ahead is the bathroom and it's always uncluttered, it was so nice.

My problem was with the crowd that showed up on Friday later on, I was kind of half expecting the dream to be over as when you have a cluster of bars with a similar crowd (this area gets so many negative points for pretention) unless the bar is worlds away in demeanor you will have overflow. A lot of the dudes were a bit old for the clubs and a bit orange. The women were actually a nice mix of different styles and ages. There weren't too many hipsters here, but if this place were anywhere else, it'd definitely take on a different patronage.

The key thing is, people felt comfortable here. Even the d-bags weren't ruining much with the exception of a jorts-sporting young'un shaking her business a bit too close to our space. We're talking inches.

I would love to see this place on a weekday night; hopefully the music won't be blaring quite so loud (if you're going to do away with the Level V club, at least manage the volume).

Like most people, I hate waiting in long lines. Good news: there are definitely times where this place is not as crowded, and thus, less painful waits.

I walked in not having really experienced the Union Square Trader Joe's save their wine store which I knew wasn't part of the Court Street cart shuffle here. I kind of had sensory overload. The building seems massive but the store is actually to me fairly compact; you are ushered through a particular line that makes your trajectory easy if you're just browsing but beyond that you'll have to shimmy your way past rival shoppers. It just seems big because the ceiling is so high.

Trader Joe's isn't a specialty store in that they do have the basics, but it's just my preference for other stores to grab groceries from. I enjoyed many of their soups and some of their prices but I just didn't really care by the end of my experience there. Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, I guess I feel more comfortable shopping in a Key Foods across the way on Atlantic (although neither are close enough walking distance to make me shop regularly, however I regular the Montague Key Foods).

What is good is their deals on many ready to eat items that, packaged in an earthy style, give a particular feel to the brand.

What I do love is their Simpler Times lager. It's about as cheap as a 6 pack of Pabst in the city, and it has the coolest name ever. One star for that one.

In the end, I reiterate to myself, there's nothing here that moves me in a particular way. Maybe I was too hyped up. There are two things I enjoy feeling in a grocery store or supermarket: the feeling that I'm in a humble mom and pop operation, or I'm feeling the depression of The Clash's "Lost in a Supermarket" (not to be taken too literally, it's just a song I tend to hear in my head). Trader Joe's provides neither, so from my perspective, it gets a 2.

I'm kind of surprised by the extreme variances of reviews and opinions on this place. To me, it's plain and simple, a place to come in, grab a pie (yes it's a little over priced) and take a nice walk down Columbia. I'm not there for the atmosphere or to be particularly swept away. I feel bad for Eric whose wife's vegetarian style was cramped, but truthfully in order to be strict and a "real" vegetarian (hopefully he's got nothing against fish, I really love fish) I wouldn't trust most restaurants and establishments with something they call "vegetarian". To some other reviews, I don't think it's confusing that staff could be mistaken for customers; not every place has to have uniforms.

The place is on what I guess is the "busy" part of Columbia (I'm not sure why I'm making that distinction) and it's a crusty little place with a few areas for seating and a larger kitchen than patron area. They make their coffee to order, and the meat pies, while very tasty so far (I've had 3 kinds) are indeed small.

The thing is, stuff like this, dub pies, they are a particular type of food that isn't really gourmet to begin with necessarily. It's good grub food, and as long as you know that I think you'll be fine, good citizens.

And yeah, the dude who serves me usually is Australian.

It's like walking into a Manhattan establishment. Really. My girlfriend and her mother went here to eat and since they were locals of the neighborhood, they said that you really couldn't walk down this block at night and expect anything good to come out of it.

Well here comes Buttermilk Channel, a newer addition to the lovely sky rocketing (and yet, still somewhat quiet) Carroll Gardens.

Packed to the brim with an awesome Yelper at the hostess helm, we got drinks in the front corner of the long bar, and it's basically a very pristine place. It's old school decor, and seemed like a place that Dillinger would go to for brunch; the soft yellows and extremely friendly waitstaff combined to a great experience. It's a bit rollicking but that's exactly what a gangster would need to get some anonymity going.

It's not a cheap place by any means, but the bacon-wrapped trout was pretty amazing (I love fingerling potatoes). I think our appetizers were nasty good; I had a few oysters which I downed and felt like a million even though I was wearing shorts.

Is it my kind of Brooklyn? Probably not. Like I said it's kind of like you got shot back into Manhattan a bit, either Tribeca but more likely uptown. But if you can do the wait, you'll definitely get the good treatment and most likely have an interesting meal.