Last Friday I kicked off the Prospect Heights crawl with two local legends: Bearded Lady and Finn’s Corner. That alone could’ve been a week’s worth of great drinks and good vibes—but no, the thirst was real. So I picked things back up on Tuesday with BierWax and The Bilt Bar, and let’s just say… it was one of those “too chill to be productive” kinda days.
The plan was to hit at least four bars. The reality? I lingered way too long in audio heaven. I walked into BierWax to the sounds of Isaac Hayes blessing the speakers, and before I could finish photographing the bar, the Isley Brothers slid in smooth as ever. With over 5,000 vinyl records behind the bar and Hip-Hop royalty welcoming you at the door, it’s a vibe. Owners Chris Maestro and Yahaira Gil Maestro have made this place feel like a friend’s living room—if your friend happened to own a bar with a black onyx countertop and Stevie Wonder queued up.
Leaving was hard. But I made it down the block to Bilt Bar, which still carries the sports bar DNA of its former life as Woodwork. It’s got a long bar (I love a long bar—there, I said it), and it was quiet thanks to the rain. Perfect for photos, right? I was mid-shoot when Trivia host J.R. Griffith walked in. Trivia’s normally Wednesdays at 7, but got bumped for sports this week. We caught up, I grabbed a bite, and next thing I know I’m in the middle of a trivia round about spring flowers. I didn’t win. My memory’s too busy storing obscure bar names from all five boroughs. Still, a good time.
The NYCThirst bar map for Prospect Heights is filling in nicely! You can now check out Beer Street South🔗, Covenhoven🔗, Gold Star Beer Counter🔗, Bearded Lady🔗, and Finn’s Corner🔗. BierWax and Bilt Bar are up next.
Coming soon in Prospect Heights: a second round of updates featuring The Barlow, Sharlene’s, Washington Commons, Tooker Alley, Shaka Shaka Tiki, Eve’s Lounge, Carib Soul BK, Burrito Bar & Kitchen, and at least a dozen more gems. (Yes, Shaka Shaka Tiki gets mentioned twice—it deserves it.)
Oh—and as promised, I haven’t forgotten my West Village wanderings. If you missed them, Due West🔗, The Four Faced Liar🔗, and Wilfie & Nell🔗 are now live on the site and ready for your digital (and real life) barhopping.
Stay thirsty and check back next week—more updates are pouring in daily.
NYCThirst is the bar culture guide for the five boroughs of New York City. We have a detailed page for every drinking establishment in New York City. Our job is to give the user the best information we can gather about a drinking establishment.
We plan on being a hyper local business forward website. If you have trivia night, we would like to tell our users about it. If you have a drink special, our user will want to know. If you get the latest craft brew, we will tell people about it. A daily update of what is going on in bar culture in the five boroughs will appear on our site.
