O'Connor's Bar

I’ve had two suggestions to go to O’Connor’s bar in Brooklyn in the last week. One was from onemorefoldedsunset and the other was from my former co-pilot from 365 Bars, Al Rizo, who is an expert at New York taverns. To prove I take suggestions and because I’ve wanted to check this classic Brooklyn dive bar for quite some time, we’re off to O’Connor’s! Never let it be said I don’t take requests!

And it's down into the subway we go to begin our journey to Brooklyn.

We're taking the Q train, which you always have to wait forever for it to arrive.

I'm always paranoid about someone pushing me on to the tracks down in the subway and always have a hand on a pole. It always amazes me to see someone standing so close to the tracks, texting away with earplugs in her ears  and oblivious to everything that's going on around her.

And five minutes later, she still can't stop texting.

I'm so tempted to push her on to the tracks myself!

Finally the train arrives!

And she's still texting!

I should've pushed her on to the tracks when I had a chance!

Okay, through the miracle of the internet, we're here in Brooklyn and I'm done obsessing over the woman who couldn't stop texting. I still wish I'd have thrown her on the tracks though!

And here we are at O'Connor's. There's no sign and I walked by it once without realizing this was the bar. Let's check it out.

This is about as old school as it gets! It's one of those bars that feels like night time, even when it's the afternoon. Let's grab a stool at the bar.

Here's Chris the friendly bartender serving up a bottle of Budweiser. Chris told me that O'Connor's has been on this block since 1930.

As you can see, it's a well-stocked bar.

Here's the front window from my point of view at the bar. I can't wait for the sun to go down!

There's rugged and well-worn booths opposite the bar.

Lights built into ceiling fans hang overhead and illuminate the bar.

Love that vintage cash register behind the bar.

A longshot of the wooden bar, if only it could talk!

They have a great selection of tunes on the jukebox ranging from Devo to Syd Barrett to Patsy Cline to the Sex Pistols and everyone in between.

The New York Press voted them Best Brooklyn Bar back in 1996.

And they were featured in a "Best of New York" in New York magazine as well.

A Smithwick mirror hangs in the back of the bar.

And when I got back to my seat, Eric had arrived at the bar. Cheers! One More Folded Sunset was also there, but she's a little camera shy and opted to stay out of the photo.

And after several beers, night time has fallen on Brooklyn.

Time to head back to Manhattan. If I see that texting woman down there, she's going down on the tracks!

O'Connor's
39 Fifth Ave. (Near Bergen St.)
718-783-9721

Further Reading: Brokelyn (last entry), Broke-Ass Stuart’s Goddamn Website and F’D In Park Slope (last entry).

What's your story,
Well I don't even care,
Cause I got my own double-cross to bear.

Surprise link, click on it, I dare you!

Mirage Diner

Live, from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring the Mirage Diner and featuring the Ready for Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now please welcome all the way from Brooklyn, The Mirage Diner!

When I did my infamous Kings Highway Cinema post, a couple weeks ago, I saw a classic Greek diner on the way to the movie theater and made a note that I should go back and check it out. Well, tonight's Cheeseburger Saturday Night, so I thought we'd go there for tonight's cheeseburger. So it's down into the subway we go...

And through the magic of the internet you're spared a 45 minute subway ride and here we are on Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

Goggla recently gave me a key chain compass to help me in my directionally-challenged travels, so let's see if it helps out any.

And look at this, with the aid of the Goggla compass we're here already! The sunshine is fucking up this shot, so I'll take another photo when we leave.

The faux stone walls are a sure sign of an old-school classic Greek diner.

Nice collection of gumball machines in the front foyer.

And here's the front of the diner. They've already got some balloons and Easter decorations up.

The cocktail lounge is situated at the front of the diner.

As I snapped a photo of framed New York Times article on Greek diners, someone said, "You must be from Manhattan!"

It was Micheal who's a chef here and his cousin owns the Mirage. He said that whenever someone is taking pictures in here, it's always someone from Manhattan enjoying the old school flavor of the place. I was busted!

There's a large dining area in here.

Booths line the far wall next to the windows facing Kings Highway.

Here's the marble-topped counter on the other side of the room.

There's nothing I hate more than a mouthy ketchup bottle. Quit asking questions and shut up till it's condiment time!

Okay, time to sit down for Cheeseburger Saturday Night.

I always love the giant menus in these places.

Vako took my order and here he flashes the TWM card. A nice guy.

First up is a generous order of homemade cole slaw and pickles.

And here's the main course, the Union Jack Burger and onion rings.

A delicious and savory cheeseburger.

And here's a shot of the diner on my way back to the subway station. It looks a lot better at night all lit up. A classic diner in Brooklyn!

My Meal
I got the Union Jack Burger which is one of their specialty burgers. The burger comes on a toasted fresh hamburger bun with cheddar cheese and piled high with bacon and fried onions. It was a great burger and instead of french fries, I got the onion rings and asked for them to be cooked extra well done. Most places I request this it doesn’t happen, but here they were extra crispy and it was a delicious meal.

They have an expansive menu with 17 other burgers to choose from including: a pizza burger, a vegetable burger, a buffalo burger and a Texas burger which comes topped with a slab of ham and an egg. There’s also a large selection of sandwiches, panini, wraps and soups and salads. Some of the chef’s specials on the menu include: stir-fry chicken, poached salmon, jumbo stuffed shrimp and the Captain’s Platter which offers up broiled lobster tail, shrimp and halibut, Alaskan king crab legs and stuffed clams.

If you’re still hungry and have a sweet tooth, they have a giant dessert menu featuring mulitple styles of cheesecake, pecan pie, angel wings and macaroon raspberry cookies.

Cheeseburger Rating
Three Wimpy’s an excellent cheeseburger!
Mirage Diner
717 Kings Highway
Brooklyn, NY
718-998-3750

Further Reading: NY Citysearch, allmenus.com and Bundle.

Mirage, that's all you are to me,
Mirage, something I only see.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!

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Bonus Easter Bunny Photo From Jaws the Cabbie!

Jaws sent in this Easter Bunny from hell photo he found on the internet. Somebody should boil that bunny! Thanks, Jaws!

Dumont Burger

Live, from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Dumont Burger and featuring the Ready For Prime Time Beef Player, Marty Wombacher. And now, all the way from Brooklyn, your host, Dumont Burger!

Okay, today we're off to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There's a place there called Dumont Burger which I've heard has both amazing cheeseburgers and mac and cheese! I've heard it's really popular, so I thought we'd head out around 4 PM and maybe miss both the brunch and dinner crowd, so it's off we go.

Down into the subway...

And through the magic of the internet you're spared a twenty minute wait for a train. I was just about ready to give up when I heard the train come rumbling in.

And four stops later, here we are in Brooklyn.

And my handy dandy old school GPS guide is all programmed to get us there, which is good because I'm starvin' like you know who over here!

Abandoned hipster glasses alert!

And here we are at Dumont Burger, for once I didn't get lost! Let's go inside.

Wow, it's a small bar inside and it's packed for this time of day!

I managed to wiggle in to the one empty stool and here's bartender Tom, serving up a bottle of Duvel. Cheeseburger Saturday Night has begun! Huzzah!

Here's the back of the bar. There's a well-stocked supply of bottles with a chalk board of specials overhead.

I stood up on the rungs of the bar stool to get an overhead shot of the bar. I don't think this guy was too happy about it, but hey, that's life in the fast lane!

A long shot of the beers lined up on the bar.

These two women squeezed into the two recently vacated spots next to me at the bar and it turned out to be bartender Tom's mom Julia and his sister Caroline. They're in town from Boston visiting Tom and we had a nice chat through the evening. That's one of the perks of doing this blog, meeting cool people like this. Julia has her own business which is a doggie daycare and overnight facility called, Pet Recess. They told me in addition to bartending, Tom plays in a band called Tryplex and they were going to see him play in Manhattan later in the evening.

And the table is all set, dinner is about to be served! Drumroll please!

And here's the burger and salad, looks great and I can't wait to dig in!

The burger is delicious and this is the mini burger! It doesn't look too mini to me!

And here's the mac and cheese. I got the small order, I'm glad I didn't get the full-size portions in here, or I never would've made it out the door!

Wow, I've eaten a ton of mac and cheese in my lifetime and I think I can safely say that this is the best I've ever had! Really creamy and cheesy and there's bacon in it, which takes it over the top!

A great meal and worth the trip to Brooklyn, for sure!

The crowd has cleared out for a moment, so let's take a look around in here. Here's the wooden bar up front.

The half dozen beers on tap.

There's a communal table in the middle of the room.

And there's a candle-lit wooden railing with stools to sit at that runs the length of the back brick wall.

And here's Caroline with Diana who's serving up dessert.

I got one of Dumont's signature boozy milkshakes, The Nutty Irishman.

It was so good...

I got a second one, served up by super-cute and friendly Erica, who took over bartending duties from Tom.

Okay, I'm stuffed. One last look out the window...

And it's off to walk off the meal and find the subway station as night falls on Brooklyn. See you tomorrow!

My Meal
I got the DuMont Mini Burger and a small order of the DuMac & Cheese. I chose the mini burger because I wanted to try their mac and cheese, which I’ve seen rave reviews of and I didn’t want to get too stuffed. The mini burger was great, it’s served on a soft, grilled roll and I got it with carmelized onions and cheddar cheese. A great burger and just the right size as the mac and cheese was very filling and very delicious! The use three types of cheese: parmesan, gruyere, cheddar and they also throw in some bacon which is the icing on the cake.Speaking of cake, for dessert I had one of their cocktail milkshakes, The Nutty Irishman which is a  vanilla shake spiced up with shots of Frangelico, Bailey's and topped with Dulce de Leche. It was so good I had a second one. I’ve heard great things about this place and they lived up to the chatter.

In addition to beef burgers, Dumont also had a Chickpea Burger and a Turkey Burger on the menu. There’s sandwiches too including, chicken, fish and a Reuben. All entrees include your choice of fries, onion rings, mixed greens or soup. Some of the appetizers offered up at Dumont are: split pea soup, DB chili, fried pickles and ricotta fritters. There’s a good selection of bottled and draft beer and four styles of “Boozy Shakes.” There’s a DT joke somewhere in that last sentence, but I’m too full to tackle it!

Cheeseburger Rating
Three Wimpy’s, an outstanding burger!

Mac and Cheese Rating
Four boxes of Kraft, one of the best mac and cheeses I’ve ever had!

DuMont Burger
314 Bedford Ave. (Near S. 1st St.)
Brooklyn, NY
718-384-6127

Further Reading: We Love Burgers, Village Voice and epicurious.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, little wing.

Surprise link, click on it...I dare you!