@YouTheReader - I’ll Never Smile Again by Frank Sinatra was his first Billboard #1 single and sold 900,000 copies in 1940.
I’m drinking Guinness and talking to people, I’m smiling all the time. I just wanted my first exclusive Pint&Pen&Paper of Hoboken to be Sinatra’s first hit. Allows me to Back Pocket some of his other hits. Hope you didn’t click on this link thinking I was going to get gloomy, ain’t nobody got time for that on this fine Sunday morning.
Guinness Challenge Season #1
@Kids don’t try this at home. Not just because you’re underage and will have plenty of pints to drink if that ends up being your thing when you’re older but also because Guinness is actually best served in a pint glass from a tap. A pint of Guinness varies depending on the drinking establishment. If the keg it sits in is rarely poured, it can lead to some underwhelming taste. Rather than stealing gimmicks, I’d like to start taking Notes while drinking Guinness. My grandfather from Connemara, who I never got the chance to meet, Thomas Davis, used to drink pints and by all accounts was a self-taught thinker. The one rule I’ve imposed on myself is that I will only have 1 pint per sitting from each establishment I review, so @AnyoneWorrying, don’t worry about my drinking habits. The Guinness Challenge is to “cut the G” on your first sip (more like a gulp and a half). If this is your first time hearing about it, I didn’t come up with the fun challenge @YouTheReader can try the next time you have a Guinness. I’m planning on this to just be a SEASONal thing for me because I don’t know about you, but I prefer a pint in the cold weather months until the end of March. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extremely nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan to ever give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
The Lola 1/16 ‘23
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 7.9
Guinness Challenge: N/A No Guinness Glass
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Kea is the bartender. Born in Brooklyn but is a Jersey Girl. She has worked at The Lola for 4 months and really loves it. She likes Hoboken but wants to move to Manhattan one day. She likes football and watches hockey. Islanders and Saints are her teams. She went to LSU so also roots for them. Likes to listen to Chirs Lake, John Summit, and Mac Miller. The Lola is an elite brunch spot with a DJ on the weekends. They serve mostly cocktails and have a trendy Instagramable vibe. Kea recommends the Watermelon Wobble drink.
Kea’s parents at one point lived in Nanuet, NY, a small world that Nanuet just a town over from my hometown. She went to LSU when Derrius Guice was there and she confirmed that he was always a jerk. @Ladies if you’re trying to get your “Hot Girl Winter” on (I don’t even know if that is a thing women say), The Lola is a very fun spot for brunch, and be sure to take an Instagram with a drink in hand. They have a $45 Bad & Boozy Brunch where you get 90 minutes of cocktails and an entree. I’m looking forward to checking out The Lola again soon!
Court Street 1/19 ‘23
Service & Staff: A
Guinness: 9.1
Guinness Challenge: Failed
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Bubba is the bartender. He “doesn’t have time to chit-chat.” An Eagles fan sitting next to me and he doesn’t have time to talk either. Court Street according to their website is the Hidden Gem of Hoboken. They have some very cool black&white old-school photos on the wall. Very classy establishment. One of the owners has owned Court Street for 35 years. The seafood is recommended, Bubba talking shrimp. Not a sports bar, but more of a restaurant.
Bubba may have talked a ton of shrimp about me after I left but that’s okay not everybody is interested in giving Week to Week Notes 5 minutes of their time. The pint was good. The food looked good. I’d love to go back another time, but we’ll see.
Farside 1/19 ‘23
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 9.2
Guinness Challenge: Failed
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Israel is the bartender. Basketball is his favorite sport. Brooklyn Nets are his squad. He loves basketball because a lot of people from Mexico played it with him growing up. He has been in the U.S. for 35 years - all while in Hoboken. Farside is a Giants, Army, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Penn State, and Delaware bar. They also went crazy for last year’s Saint Peter’s March Madness run. Israel gave me a cool factoid on how the bar got its name - back in the 90s most business storefronts were across the street, so this fine establishment was considered to be on the far side. “The walkway changed Hoboken the most. Before there was just a huge wall. More chain stores started coming in which brought more business. They also started urging landlords to renovate the apartments.” Israel loves Giovanni’s Pizza, which is just right up the road from Farside. As for Farside’s food, he recommended the Biscuit Sandwich and their wings were award-winning in Hoboken.
I really enjoyed talking about some hoops with Israel. He had some really hot takes like neither Michael Jordan nor Lebron James is the greatest to ever do it. We agreed that the NBA is in good hands in the future with Ja Morant and Luka Doncic. He liked both of those players because of their versatility, “if something isn’t working, they will figure out another way to try and win the game.” Hoboken has changed a bunch from the 90s, the walkway along the river gives a gorgeous view of the city. There are also now plenty of storefronts on both sides of the road on Washington, but I love the reason for the name. I’m looking forward to checking out Farside again soon!
Quick intermission of my rainy Hoboken walk up Washington Thursday night.
Wicked Wolf 1/21 ‘23
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 8.5
Guinness Challenge: Failed
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Nicole is from Linden, NJ. She has lived in Hoboken for 5 years, where she has also worked for Wicked Wolf. Nicole is a fan of Arsenal but doesn’t have any favorite players. She listens to all kinds of music. She is NOT nervous about the Giants-Eagles game tonight, is ready to make some tips and believes that Wicked Wolf is the best football spot to watch a game in Hoboken. She really likes Hoboken because “it is very easy to get around here. So many fun places to hang out with friends.” There are A LOT of Giants fans here.
I really hope that Nicole and the Wicked Wolf crew made off with some nice tips from Giants fans trying to drain their sorrows. Man, what a letdown. @GiantsFans don’t worry I’ll have a Mock Draft Monday ready for you tomorrow. Wicked Wolf is known for being a very entertaining football bar/club on Sundays, so it was cool getting a bit of a feel for what the bar scene was going to look like last night. I was there for the Jaguars-Chargers game last weekend and witnessed my Chargers fan insider go from talking mad shrimp to silent. I’m looking forward to checking out Wicked Wolf again soon!
The Ainsworth 1/21 ‘23
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 8.5
Guinness Challenge: Count It!
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Delaine is sitting next to me. He is from Bergen County, NJ. He is at the Ainsworth working for Betting Hero, which is a “middleman between clients and apps.” He really likes his job because he “works for himself and sets his own schedule. As well as hang out in some cool places while working.” The Ainsworth in particular, he really enjoys working at because they play more of his style of music. His favorite type of music is Afro Beats and he really enjoys listening to Burna Boy, a Nigerian singer&songwriter. As a sports fan, he watches basketball, football, and soccer. He watched the World Cup and is a huge fan of Messi&Brazil. With basketball, the Steph Curry Warriors are “fun to watch.” As for football, he is a huge Giants fan. Saquon Barkley is his favorite current player, but some of the others he liked were LT, Phil Simms, Eli Manning, OBJ, and Victor Cruz.
Delaine and I did some business networking at the bar. I signed up for one of his Betting Hero apps and he took a Week to Week Notes business & gave the @You_The_Reader account a follow. Much appreciated! He runs a travel side hustle of his own and had a few questions about Substack. I highly recommended using it as a weekly newsletter. I’m looking forward to checking out The Ainsworth again soon!