New York By Rail 14th ed. | Page 28

BEER SPOTS IN NYC Flatiron Hall This beer hall is a hot-spot for locals to meet up and get unique dishes and fresh brewed craft beer. With two pre-Prohibition bars you’ll be eating and drinking with a touch of class. 38 W. 26th Street HB Burger Named one of the top 5 burger joints in NYC, SeriousEats.com says, “The beef is so good and the potato roll is such a perfect vessel they are all one needs to reach burger Nirvana.” Houston Hall Formerly a turn of the century FBI garage, Houston Hall is the largest beer hall in NYC. This popular place has become the city’s magnet for fun loving beer lovers to get top notch bar food and steins of beer that quench any thirst. 222 W. Houston St. Heartland Brewery Heartland is New York’s first american-style brewpub, serving up award-winning brews made in NYC. Multiple locations: Empire State, Midtown West, Times Square & Theatre District Bernheim & Schwartz Located on the Upper West Side just one block from Columbia University, this beer hall & restaurant is a favorite for locals. Try the Saturday & Sunday brunch - shrimp and grits with a refreshing pale ale. 2911 Broadway 26 | New York By Rail Rooftop season for New York City’s cocktail scene used to start with the first wave of warmth arrived in April and end with dropping temperatures in the fall. But not anymore. While rooftop culture still blossoms in summer, many venues offer enclosures, allowing toasting to the skies year round. Here are seven of the city’s most interesting rooftop bars. 1. REFINERY ROOFTOP (right) The Refinery Hotel’s bar (63 W. 38th Street, Manhattan) has Garment-District style, with industrial-style furnishings and exposed-brick walls. A retractable glass roof lets the Empire State Building loom year round, and a fireplace keeps things cozy in winter. refineryhotelnewyork.com 2. THE SKYLARK This indoor 30th-floor bar (200 W. 39th Street), near Penn Station and Macy’s at Herald Square, offers classic cocktails, 360-degree views and a cluster of couches from which to watch the sun set and the citylights turn on. Theskylarknyc.com 3. MR. PURPLE At this 15th-floor indoor lounge on the Lower East Side (180 Orchard Street), “natural” bar food accompanies cocktails carbonated and bottled on the premises and punch made with small-batch spirits. Watch the East River from a communal high-top table. Mrpurplenyc.com 4. 230 FIFTH (left) Every winter, this year-round combination indoor penthouse/ heated outdoor roof deck in the Flatiron District (230 Fifth Avenue) is equipped with artificial igloos to shelter mulled-cider drinkers. 230-fifth.com 5. UPSTAIRS AT THE KIMBERLY This new rooftop lounge in the center of Midtown (145 E. 50th), enclosed by a retractable roof in winter, offers 360-degree views, including of the Chrysler Building, 3,000 square feet of space and a long list of craft cocktails. Upstairsnyc.com 6. ROOF AT PARK SOUTH HOTEL (right) In the NoMad neighborhood (124 E. 28th Street), this renovated seasonal rooftop restaurant offers craft cocktails and menus by James Beard-award- winning chef Tim Cushman. Roofatparksouth.com 7. LEAF BAR & LOUNGE The only rooftop-and-terrace cocktail bar in Flushing, Queens (133-42 39th Street), open year round, serves Chinese-inspired craft cocktails and Chinese food. Leafbarandlounge.com Amtrak.com PHOTOS: BEST