The other night I got the bar-experience of a lifetime. On
the weirdness scale from 1 - holy $hit this is weird (10)… it was a solid 9.
What could be better than something out of the ordinary though? Don’t hurt
yourself thinking about it - the answer is nothing. I love weird things. In
fact, the more “out of the norm” it is, the more intrigued I get. The name of
the bar was
Burp Castle. A friend of mine who I was with
had mentioned this place to me and with the anticipation that we were going to
kick a few back followed by some belching afterwards, we stumbled upon a whole
lot more than just that (and essentially stumbled out). This place was a
twilight zone, and if anyone thinks they can recommend something weirder, first
round’s on me.
Burp Castle is on
7th street in the
East Village,
right next to the oldest bar in NYC, the legendarily known, McSorely’s.
Burp Castle
has nostalgia of its own though, being over 100 years old and offering the most
unique drinking experience you can get in
Manhattan.
This place is a Belgian beer bar which sticks to its roots of being a Brewist
Monk bar. Yes, you just read that right… Monks… a bar… drinking. Weird, I know.
You walk into this old establishment and instantly have a ton of thoughts
racing through your head -- “What the HELL did I just get myself into?” “I’m
going to kill my friend for choosing this place!” “Ehh, this place isn’t too
bad.” –
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the dark
setting, lit by small individual candles placed sporadically throughout the
bar. And oh yeah, the monk music. Now, I’m not sure if there’s a genre called
“Monk Music,” but if there is, this place plays it. Soft music that could be
compared to that of a church or synagogue and seems to instantly weigh down
your eyelids. If this wasn’t my first rodeo, I may have decided to nap under
one of the barstools. Luckily though, I stayed awake long enough to reach the
bar.
We were greeted by a real nice bartender as soon as we
walked in and she instantly won me over by offering me free French fries. The
fries, I found out, were from Pommes Frittes, probably the best place to get
French fries in NYC. With an array of over 15 dipping sauces for my fries, I
kicked back with a light Belgian beer. Ahhh, nothing better. Aside from the
eeriness of not being allowed to speak louder than a whisper, all was real well
and as per usual. In talking to the bartender I learned a whole lot – 1, fries
are free every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday for happy hour between the hours of
5pm-8pm. She suggested getting there around 6pm though because apparently she
likes to make the customers wait and doesn’t order the beautiful tray of fried
potatoes until about 6:15pm. The bar, like the rest of the block, is grandfathered
into the old law which states that hard liquor can’t be served within 500 yards
of a school or church (which
Burp
Castle and the other 5
bars on the block are). So when coming here, expect an awesome variety of
Belgian beers and wines, but don’t expect that shot of Jameson you might be
craving. Although the talking level is supposed to be at a “whisper,” things
have eased up over the years and you can now talk with a soft tone. Want to
challenge the bartender that night? Speak loudly. You’ll be “Shushhhhed.” I
asked how they control the crowd on a busy weekend night and apparently most
people abide by the unique rule. Get out of line, take a good shushing… and
probably a few dirty looks. Nobody likes to hear that damn noise whether it’s
directed at you or not.
Definitely check this place out. If not for the free
fries 3 days a week, the delicious Belgian beer served only in chilled glasses,
go for the ambiance and a good memory to throw in the bank.
We were greeted by a real nice bartender as soon as we
walked in and she instantly won me over by offering me free French fries. The
fries, I found out, were from Pommes Frittes, probably the best place to get
French fries in NYC. With an array of over 15 dipping sauces for my fries, I
kicked back with a light Belgian beer. Ahhh, nothing better. Aside from the
eeriness of not being allowed to speak louder than a whisper, all was real well
and as per usual. In talking to the bartender I learned a whole lot – 1, fries
are free every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday for happy hour between the hours of
5pm-8pm. She suggested getting there around 6pm though because apparently she
likes to make the customers wait and doesn’t order the beautiful tray of fried
potatoes until about 6:15pm. The bar, like the rest of the block, is grandfathered
into the old law which states that hard liquor can’t be served within 500 yards
of a school or church (which 
