Train Hopping in NYC

I promised to take Jacob to NYC over winter break, stopping at my brothers to spend the night so we can catch the train into the city early.  Jess’ friend Lizzie was coming into town, and it was nice to give them some time together at the beginning of the week.  So we headed south, stopping at what Rate Beer considered the best brewpub in NY, Peekskill Brewing (http://www.thepeekskillbrewery.com/).

My folks used to live nearby, but moved away long before this place got established.  Located near the train station with plenty of parking, Jacob went into the bar area downstairs.  Unfortunately, it is reserved for 21 and over, so we headed upstairs to the restaurant.  Jacob got fries will I tried a sinful bowl of poutine (awesome!).  Next I tried 2 flights, sampling pretty much all the beers they had to offer.  My favorites were the Eastern Standard Pale Ale on cask, a collaboration with DeCicco Market called Pruno Tropical Ale, and a winner from the Great American Beer Festival called Amazeballs Pale Ale.  Although not on any beaten path, if you are in the area I’d highly recommend you stopping by.  So I headed over to Dave’s for an excellent evening (stopping at DeCicco’s along the way) and we got to play some video games, do some taxes (it is a service I offer for the family), eat pizza, and watch the World’s End. 

The next morning we got up and made it to Southeast station on time, taking the Metro North train into Grand Central station.  Jacob loves trains, and he was looking forward to taking the subway for a few of key places around the city.  So was I, so we headed downtown on the 6 Train to 33^rd street so that we could visit Rattle N’ Hum (http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/).  This place is awesome, always a Beer Advocate favorite, and has about 40 different taps.  Today Jacob got some chicken fingers and I went with the deviled eggs.  For beer, they were prepping for highlighting a famous London craft brewer, Meantime.  My sampler included their Old Smoked Bock, a Weizen Double Bock, and their world famous London Porter.  We next walked up 33^rd St. so Jacob could check out Penn Station, before taking the 1 Line up to 79^th St.

We walked around Central Park to see the History and Art Museums, kids sledding, and different streets looking for our Subway stop (I even had to ask for directions).  It was a gorgeous winter day, but Jacob was getting tired so we took the 6 Train to 59^th Street and headed over to one of the newest additions to Draft magazine’s Top 100 list, The Jeffrey (http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/).  The Jeffrey is on 60^th Street, close to Roosevelt Island Tramway, and doubles as a coffee bar in the morning.  We stopped in to rest and get a snack, Jacob enjoying a house pretzel while I opted for the home made beef jerky (awesome!).  The beer selection was solid, and I went with a Thornbridge Wild Raven Black IPA, a delicious beer from Sheffield, England.  It was mid afternoon and I wish I was hungrier since all the food going by looked fantastic.  The Jeffrey sponsors several events throughout the year (a Stone brewing small batch cask ale release is this weekend), so I’m going to have check in periodically to see when a follow-up trip is warranted.

We got back on the 6 Train to Grand Central, stopping by Beer Table to Go (http://beertable.com/bt-togo/) to see if they had any worth bottles to cart out of town.  The bottles were impressive, as was their 6 tap list for growler fills (although I had chosen not to cart a growler bottle around NYC for the day), but we decided to head town to the train to head out of town.  I guess the best part of the day, the part that made me truly happy, was the look of satisfaction when we boarded the train.  Jacob rode home in silence (except when we had to change trains for mechanical problems), and even slept a bit on the drive home.  It was a great day together, blending one of my son’s passions with my own.  – 15274

 
“Whoever serves beer or wine watered down, he himself deserves in them to drown.” – Medieval English saying