Manhattan store help-mission impossible?

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by Franziskaner, Mar 30, 2023.

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  1. Franziskaner

    Franziskaner Grand Pooh-Bah (5,662) May 27, 2005 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm not optimistic about getting help on this one because it's insanely unique. Heading to NY for my first time, but it is as a chaperone on a high school trip. My wife and middle school son will also be there. Understandably there's no alcohol allowed to chaperone's on the trip. Was hoping to have a beer or 2 in my room in the evenings, but they make it clear in the signup that not even that would be permissible. Regardless, my family is staying after the rest of the crew departs and the field trip ends. I've got some extra hours and the wife has said to feel free to grab some stuff to haul back. Unfortunately that on Easter Sunday.

    I'm staying at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Any chance in hell that there's a place I can check into that might actually be open to grab some singles, 4 or 6 packs of local goodness? If not, it's not a big deal.

    Seeing a Broadway show (not my thing, but still cool), my daughter performing at Carnegie Hall!!!!, Statue of Liberty, 9/11 museum, etc. So again, I'll have a blast regardless. Was just looking to see if I could add a cherry on top.
     
  2. stairway2heavn

    stairway2heavn Zealot (746) Aug 17, 2017 New Jersey

    Clinton gourmet Market. See untappd for the list but tons of stuff. Should be maybe 10 or 15 min walk from times Square area. I assume open Easter since it's kind of a Bodega as well. Wouldn't hurt to call.
     
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  3. tinoynk

    tinoynk Pundit (800) Sep 25, 2010 New York
    Trader

    Seconding the rec for Clinton Gourmet, always a great selection including stuff that gets very limited distribution.

    Other Half's Rockfeller Center taproom may also be doable, it's not the shortest walk from TS but hopping on the 7 train for one stop and exiting the eastern-most exit at 5th Ave will cut out the biggest chunk of that trip. If you want to bring back more than a couple cans I'd suggest that, since the markup at shops like Clinton Gourmet ends up with most highly-regarded stuff being like $8/can. But if you've already had a ton of OH and want a smattering of more under-the-radar stuff, do Clinton.
     
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  4. Franziskaner

    Franziskaner Grand Pooh-Bah (5,662) May 27, 2005 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for the help. I called and the gentleman who answered I think understood what I was asking and I think I got from it that they will be open. I'll try calling again in a couple of days. I see their beer options online and there's definitely a lot of options that I can't get back home, some of which appear on the BA top 250. If I get the chance I'm definitely checking it out. Awesome advice!
     
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  5. guinness77

    guinness77 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,554) Jan 6, 2014 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    I would go to Bread and Honey before I would go to Clinton Gourmet. Hell, I’d go to Threes in Moynihan/Penn Station before I’d go to Clinton. I went into Clinton Gourmet back in January and left without buying anything. Lot of old stuff and no good lagers at all. Check beermenus.com, all 3 stores are active there. There was a ton of good stuff at Threes, including Carton and Schilling amongst other stuff.
     
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  6. tinoynk

    tinoynk Pundit (800) Sep 25, 2010 New York
    Trader

    I haven't been to Clinton in a while, but a buddy of mine did say the selection fell off. B&H is a bit more of a shlep from Times Square, but also a good option.
     
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  7. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Also check Beermenus for the Food Emporium on 8th Ave and 49th Street, much better than the one on 43rd. There's a refrigerated singles section upstairs and larger department in the basement. It's a closer walk and might fit the bill.
     
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  8. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,587) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Almost any bodega will have decent local options and should be open on Easter.

    If you don’t mind a little travel you could hit Carmine Street Beers or Grand Delancey. Both offer great beer to go. Grand Delancey is in a food hall so could be a good option for the family for lunch.

    Both Carmine and GD are taprooms that have retail cans/bottles to go and will have more limited options
     
  9. BoardwalkBock

    BoardwalkBock Pooh-Bah (2,041) Aug 18, 2012 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah definitely recommend GD if you are going to be with the family. Essex Hall is a great market with a lot of places to eat and shop.
     
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  10. rolltide8425

    rolltide8425 Pooh-Bah (2,470) Feb 18, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm a third for Grand Delancey. I'll be in town this weekend as well and hoping to stop by there again. The food hall is excellent and you can actually have certain options delivered right to your table at Grand Delancey. The tap and to go lists are both excellent; two visits ago I sat and drank a bottle of Saint Lamvinus.
     
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  11. Franziskaner

    Franziskaner Grand Pooh-Bah (5,662) May 27, 2005 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    So I didn’t have a lot of time and I didn’t want to grab a cab. I walked with my son to the Clinton Gourmet Market, which has a different name now: Cita Gourmet Market. They had a lot of the recent Goose Island barrel aged varieties and I am sure there was premium pricing on those. I found a good selection of Other Half IPA’s of the 2022 vintage…same with most of the Lawson’s. I ended up with my first ever Nugget Nectar, an Allagash Curieux (I always dig grabbing one every year or 2), a $20 Westbrook Mexican Cake (never had it) and a fresh Lawson’s Hazy Rays IPA.

    Not likely traveling again until September and that will be for Savannah. The options back home are good and there’s already some things I might grab this week anyways.
     
  12. Xerlic

    Xerlic Maven (1,398) Aug 26, 2016 New York
    Trader

    If you have time/desire to go back and want to get some fresh hops, I would just check out their instagram page and get whatever they have in their latest posts. I love District 96 and would recommend picking up Snake Wizard if they still have it.

    https://www.instagram.com/clintongourmetcorp/?hl=en
     
  13. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,989) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Mexican Cake is pretty good, you should be happy with that pick up. Thats not a crazy price for a 22 oz, I think I paid $15 in South Carolina
     
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  14. midegrou

    midegrou Crusader (459) Dec 14, 2013 New Jersey
    Trader

    Slightly on topic. I see that Harlem Hops opened a spot in Chelsea. Probably a dumb question but you can't (officially) take their cans/bottles to go, right? They're explicitly on site options? Have a light afternoon tomorrow so looking to duck out early and head into the city for a couple of pours somewhere and bring home some cans I can't get in Jersey (would love to finally try Deep Fried Beers!).
     
  15. tinoynk

    tinoynk Pundit (800) Sep 25, 2010 New York
    Trader

    Their Harlem location you can get anything they have to-go, but not sure about Chelsea. Based on Untappd seems like the can selection there is much more limited, but maybe they don't list everything like they do uptown.
     
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  16. midegrou

    midegrou Crusader (459) Dec 14, 2013 New Jersey
    Trader

    Ok, so my little domesticated adventure was a mixed bag today.

    Both Harlem Hops and Milk and Hops Chelsea had draft menus unaligned (to put it gently) with what their branded online menus had stated (with "updated" dates as of Monday or later). That was very disappointing.

    Clinton/Citra Gourmet was exactly as I remember it from my days as a Hell's Kitchen resident pre-pandemic. Absolutely love that place. I feel like people who hate on it simply don't understand that it's an authentic NYC bodega that *happens* to have a world class local beer selection. Please appreciate that, people.

    Was gonna go to As Is to hopefully see some of "the gang" but it didn't open til 3 and I had a tight timeline to catch my "normal" NJT train outta Penn.

    Went to OH Rockefeller. Fantastic. Grabbed a 4-pack of TDH Vapor Rings.

    Was able to swing by the Three's outpost at Moynihan and grabbed a 4-pack of their 12 degree Czech Lager. Brown bagging one on the train and it's spectacular.

    My first kid is coming in about a month and my extremely dry MiL will be staying with us indefinitely (for which I'm super grateful!). So, wanted one last taste of impromptu freedom before a completely helpless human dominates all of my decisions. :slight_smile:
     
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  17. Xerlic

    Xerlic Maven (1,398) Aug 26, 2016 New York
    Trader

    Loved the write up. I agree that Clinton being not as polished as the other NYC craft beer spots is part of its charm. Congrats on your impending little one!
     
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  18. guinness77

    guinness77 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,554) Jan 6, 2014 New York
    Pooh-Bah

    My issue with Clinton Gourmet is that it’s been selling this kind of beer for like 7 years now. They’re no spring chicken “bodega” selling decent beer. When I was there in January, everything was old, nothing was new, and very little in the lager department, just hazy beers ranging from 2 to 6 months old.

    I’m not sure if the guy who used to do the beer was still there or not, but that guy LOVED beer. It was obvious, and a natural born salesman too. The place stayed maintained for a long time, built its rep on its selection so I’m not buying this bodega stuff. I was buying Bourbon Counties, KBSs and DFH Palo Santo Marrons from rando bodegas before Clinton was doing it.
     
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  19. stairway2heavn

    stairway2heavn Zealot (746) Aug 17, 2017 New Jersey

    I've been seeing this issue all over NJ here. I basically only buy hazies from breweries. Lagers and pilsners are usually 2 to 3 months old as well, though obviously stored cold that's not an issue. They were really good, especially for new OH drops and D96. Guess maybe that's not the case, or perhaps that stuff doesn't move fast enough anymore.
     
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  20. midegrou

    midegrou Crusader (459) Dec 14, 2013 New Jersey
    Trader

    Fair enough. For what it's worth, I got two mixed four packs of mostly hazies, all stamped at the end of March or beginning of April. But I also made sure to look at their Untappd and sort by most recently added. They definitely had a few hazies that were beyond their prime (some of the OH anniversaries, for example), but I'm pretty sure they've had them since they were fresh, and they just aren't selling like they used to. Didn't really look closely at their lager selection, but I'm sure it's not great (though I did grab a Schilling pilsner).

    I think we'll just have to agree to disagree that they're a bodega first and foremost. There were probably about 10 people in there, and I was the only one looking at beers. They were all either quickly grabbing a Gatorade, ordering a chopped cheese, or grabbing some toiletries, just how I remember it a few years back. Lol

    But yeah, if folks are going in with the perception that this is a beer store with a finely curated selection, they'll be disappointed. Unfortunately, perhaps that is the prevailing perception based on things like Place or Venue ratings.

    If you want a place to mix and match high quality local hazies and possibly be surprised by the occasional whale randomly sitting next to potato chips, this is totally your jam.
     
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