Well guys, it’s the end of the road. After a good fifteen months of writing about Hoboken bars every week (and literally turning them in to the editor at the last possible minute), it’s time for me to hang up my hat and move on. Don’t get me wrong, I love this column. I mean, I’ve gotten paid to go out and drink every week! I will miss it for sure, but sometimes you just have to saddle up and ride off into the pasture – yeah, I’ll stop now, because I have no idea where this is going. So, just for funsies, indulge me as I round up my favorite people and places, as well as the spots that I …

So, in my previous life reporting for an actual printed newspaper (how quaint!), I ventured out to Hudson Tavern for a weekly column we used to do about getting to know your local bartender. At the bar I interviewed a lady bartender who plied me with drinks and local gossip, before I finally looked at my watch and realized I had been sitting at the bar for almost two hours. My former boss would be disappointed to know this, sure, but at the time I thought, This bar rules and everyone is cool. Fast-forward almost three years and I’m back at Hudson Tavern, this time undercover, ordering a few …

The Cuban is a new-ish bar and restaurant that opened in the former Nine space on Washington Street. I had only been to Nine once, I believe to cover some sort of political rally, and I remember thinking to myself, I would never come back to this place on my own time. But when I heard it was closing to become a Cuban-themed spot, I thought of my love for Havana Lounge and said, Alright world, you win. The first thing I will tell you is that The Cuban is pretty fancy. It’s dim and lit by candles, with smooth Latin music playing. At the front door someone will take your coat (for free, …

So I’ve never been to Carpe Diem before, basically because it’s way uptown and I never am. Also, from the outside, I thought it was some old-timers bar where they sip on cups of gasoline or something. Apparently my colleague Alan Skontra thought the same, describing Carpe Diem as “the bar you hit to relax after cutting someone under the 14th Street bridge and stashing the body at the abandoned Macy's float depot.” Well, maybe I woudn’t go that far, but it turned out we were both pleasantly surprised, as Carpe Diem is actually a hidden gem uptown. Okay, maybe “gem” is an overstatement, and you…

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and you should really get yourself a sweetie and go somewhere nice. Do it for me, because I will be sitting at home with a bottle of wine and next week’s episode of “The Bachelor” on DVR. But despite my depressing celebration of cupid’s most sexy day, I can totally guide you on a super romantic journey of snuggles and kisses. After all, I’ve written, what, like 50 reviews of bars in Hoboken? I am an expert now. So wait, let’s back it up first. Don’t have a date? No problem. If you’re looking for the frat dude/sorority girl of your dreams, try Hoboken Bar & Grill…

My biggest gripe with Hoboken’s bar scene is just how similar everything is. Take for instance, this very moment, when I am sitting here at my laptop thinking of a way to introduce a review for Trinity, an Irish-themed bar and restaurant on the waterfront. It was nice, it was okay, I want to write. By my estimation, I have written approximately eighty thousand reviews of Irish-themed bars in Hoboken with flat-screens and deals on Coors Lite. So while I’ll keep my eye out for the next Havana Lounge or Sammy’s Roadhouse, let’s just get this mess of a review over with, and go back to picketing …

Stepping into Scotland Yard, with its bright red Euro-style phone booth outside, you may think you are stepping into an episode of Doctor Who, but it’s actually more of a dark, divey basement bar. Actually, despite it running for about fifty years, I’ve never seen an episode of Doctor Who, so who knows, it could totally be a sci-fi series about a dark, divey basement bar. Anyway, Scotland Yard looks like a super old-timey European pub from the outside, which I love. Inside, you walk down a few stairs (this could be very dangerous if you have had too much to drink) to the horseshoe-shaped …

In my years of drinking in Hoboken, I’ve only stopped by The Farside (or, maybe simply Farside) once, which is weird, because it’s got a great location on Washington Avenue between 5th and 6th streets. I think I have always been put off by the font on their sign, so take that as pretentiously as you will. Anyway, I was roaming the streets with two friends (one of whom was in Hoboken for the first time – yes, we had to go to Carlo’s Bakery), and it was freezing, but we had just stuffed ourselves with falafel from Mamoun’s. It was prime Happy Hour time, but a few of the bars we peered into …

The first time I visited McSwiggan’s, I was working for another Hudson County newspaper, and was tasked with interviewing a local drink-slinger for our weekend guide. I met bartender Paddy at McSwiggan’s that day (he would later go on to open the great bar Cooper’s Union, a few blocks away), and I remember having the best time just chatting and enjoying a beer in the garden. At one point I looked at my watch and realizing how long I had been out of the office – whoops! I was truly on my way to becoming the great and responsible journalist I am today. Anyway, since then I had been back at …

Hooray it’s 2012! A whole new year of drinking! Well, since I haven’t died from liver poisoning after reviewing about 40 Hoboken bars over the past year (and plenty of events, like the Santa bar crawl, Cinco de Mayo and the beer pong playoffs), let’s just kick off year two of boozing and carousing around town. For my first review of 2012, I probably should have gone to some glamorous lounge, or at least an old Hoboken treasure. But I went to a pretty generic sports bar, which is actually probably the most Hoboken place I could have gone. From the outside, I always thought Rogo’s was some rock…

While there’s nothing like cracking open a cold one on a sweltering summer day, it has been scientifically proven (by me) that the winter holiday season is the best time of the year for drinking. Craft breweries put out their seasonal ales, Hot Toddy’s are suddenly on the menu everywhere, and it’s the one time of the year when you can enjoy a 3,000-calorie eggnog drink without feeling too guilty. Okay, but you should probably get to a gym and work that off, though. Baby, it’s cold outside, so maybe you should get yourself to a bar and enjoy some of these fine limited-edition holiday drinks:  …

It was an awful, rainy day and I needed a drink. The only problem was, it was barely Happy Hour, let alone barely opening time for most bars in Hoboken. So, armed with an umbrella and wearing flimsy canvas shoes that were soon soaked, I found myself traipsing around town, dragging a friend along (yeah, he loved that). There was one lonely dude drinking at the bar at Trinity, and at McSwiggans, the bartender looked like she was just taking the stools off of the bar. But alas! Walking past Louise and Jerry’s, we noticed a couple of dudes sitting at the bar. I’ve never reviewed Louise and Jerry’…

I had a busy week (those cat sweaters weren’t going to knit themselves), so I pleaded with a friend to grab one tiny drink with me for my review this week. I went through Patch’s bar listings and realized after a year of reviewing a bar every week I was coming up a little dry. There are only a handful that I’ve never been to (mark my words, you will have to drag me kicking and screaming into Bahama Mama’s). “Alright, let’s go to Nag’s Head Pub,” I said to my friend. “What kind of name is that?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “Uhhh,” I replied, not really knowing at all. Actually, according to…

I’ve been weirdly anticipating the opening of The Tilted Kilt, because for some reason, up until now, Hoboken has not had a place to ogle scantily dressed ladies while also eating hot wings. I mean, sure, there’s the parade of short skirts weaving in and out of bars on Saturday nights, but they won’t usually let you take photos with them. I’m just kidding, and I thought The Tilted Kilt (a “Scottish Hooters” as I’ve heard it referred to lately) would be a super creepy weirdo place full of drooling old men and girls stuck in sorority-mode, anyway. So I dressed up in my rural librarian best, put…

A chill is slowly creeping through the air, the days are getting shorter and darker. It’s time to pack away those swimsuits and shorts, because the fun of summer is over and the slog of winter will soon be upon us. If only there was some place in town where we could re-live those warm, carefree days… No, I’m not talking about Bahama Mama's. Gross. Rather, Havana Café and Lounge recently opened on Newark Street, near River Street. Havana took over the spot that used to house The Cage (a bar that I loved, and am still sad to see it gone), but you’d never be able to tell just by looking at it. …

One day I’m outside sipping beer on a beautiful fall day, the next I’m inside with fifteen sweaters on, watching snow fall from my window. This review was done on one such beautiful fall day, but if my weather predictions are right, by the time you are reading this it should be sunny and inching towards 60 degrees, so hopefully you won’t think I’m so crazy for writing it. If you’ve been reading this column since the beginning (oh my god, we’re approaching the one-year mark), you know that I love three things: chill atmospheres, good craft beers and outdoor seating. When I stopped by Onieal's …

The last time I wanted to grab a beer at Wilton House, my friend and I peered inside and saw that the place was empty, save for one homeless-looking man swigging whiskey. We quickly ran away. It’s a bar that’s never really popping off, and yet has been in business for the last 3,000 years (well, it seems so anyway). Secretly, deep in my heart, I long to be a regular at Wilton House, drinking cold, cheap beer and talking smack about Hoboken politics. But I guess I am too young for that just yet… Anyway, this weekend, a different friend and I were strolling about town, looking for a place to …

So this week, on my quest for the perfect drink, I passed by Havana Lounge, which took over the Cage’s old spot on Newark Street. I’m happy to report that the interior looks done, and it will be beautiful. I won’t make any judgments until I can experience the bar for myself, but I am kind of excited. Can they get someone to fan me with palm fronds as I hypothetically sip my rum punch? Just an idea. Anyway, this week’s journey took me to 3Forty Grill, a restaurant and lounge that I had no idea even existed (it’s been around since 2003). It’s tucked away on Sinatra Drive, at Third Street, and …

Well, the real Oktoberfest is Germany is just ending, but here in Hoboken it’s still going strong. Would it surprise you to learn that Oktoberfest is my favorite time of the year? It is a celebration that revolves around drinking beer and eating pretzels, so really, what would I not love about that? Anyway, here’s a rundown or some local Oktoberfest fun that’s gone down, and a preview of what’s still to come. The traditional Oktoberfest event is opened with a twelve-gun salute and the mayor’s cry of "O' zapft is!" ("It's tapped!"), but here in Hoboken we didn’t have quite that. One of the …

When I first walked up to Sammy’s Roadhouse, which opened about a month ago at 700 First Street, I was confused. I was expecting a rough-and-tumble cowboy’s watering hole at the edge of town, but what I found was a shiny, brand-new bar at the foot of the SkyClub luxury condos. Huh? It was a Friday night, and my friend and I had walked all the way over from Washington Street to check out the new place. I peered in the window, and all looked quiet, but I was by the door, so I thought I might as well go in and see… With dark wood floors, tin ceiling and exposed brick walls (not to mention the …