Streets of Woodlawn | Larks Nest | Behans Bar | Horse and Jockey (Woodlawn) | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Streets of Woodlawn by The Narrowbacks. Great tune, but even more cool for me because I know some of the band. They are from Pearl River, New York, and I went to high school with some of them (I’m a bit younger). I also worked with Pat at Emmett’s Castle on Blue Hill Golf Course. I was Pat’s busboy while he bartended for many parties at the Castle. The Narrowbacks can be described as, “The brainchild of a future banker and a drop out bartender, The Narrowbacks are a fresh voice for songs and stories old and new. After some late-night sing songs, a couple of whiskeys, and a few lost jobs we came up with a young punk attitude that found itself running through the veins of an old-time folk band. The Narrowbacks: American First, Irish Always.” (Source: The Narrowbacks)
The song is set on Katonah Ave in Woodlawn in the Bronx, New York. The street is home to quite a few nice Irish pubs, a fun spot on Saturday nights.
The mahogany is the wood of the bar tops and they are littered with $5 bills. Some poor souls put their credit cards down for tabs, half of which will forget to close out. Also should mention that The Narrowbacks are releasing a new single called Runaway on March 8th. They posted a snippet earlier this week so tune in!
The lads are getting after it, feck working! What’s cool is I would always listen to this song and their Paddy’s Field on Spotify, especially around this time of year. Since the days of bussing tables, they’ve performed on CBS and have been featured on the likes of Forbes along with the Irish Echo. The Streets of Woodlawn was featured on their album called “By Hook or By Crook” which legend has it Oliver Cromwell stated when he vowed to take Ireland back by any means necessary. They used the album name as a play on the saying.
Behans Bar is included in today’s 3 Woodlawn bars. Tomorrow will include the Rambling House and Keanes. Sadly, I’m not sure Aqueduct North is around anymore, but we’ll be hitting some more spots in Woodlawn.
The Narrowbacks’ slogan is party like a Narrowback so they know quite a few bar stars.
Of course, this tune is about getting after it with the lads but make no mistake they know their history. The term “narrowback” used to be a slight against Irish-American women who lacked broad shoulders to carry baskets of wet seaweed. Thus, their name is a bit of satire as it’s a group of all-male Irish-Americans. What makes it even more perfect is they told the Irish Echo’s Colleen Taylor that the band’s name came about as a drunken joke that evolved into a real band that’s opened up for the likes of the Dropkick Murphy’s and Flogging Molly. (Source: Irish Echo)
I know this song is about Woodlawn and they have an excellent Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, but I gotta shout out Pearl River’s too. Barstools and beach chairs get lined up on the street the night before. Nothing else like it.
I made sure to include their music video as today’s YouTube Rabbithole. Rockaway in Queens, Iona, Manhattan, and Fordham all have some good bar spots as well. To all the J1’s, your secret is safe with Week to Week Notes!
I don’t consider #GuinnessChallengeSeason much work, it was a blast having some proper pints in theStreets of Woodlawn!
Great tune, on to the pints…
#GuinnessChallengeSeason
@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, whom 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. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extraordinarily nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan ever to give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
Lark’s Nest (@InstagramlessLarksNest) 2/17 ‘24
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 4.0 (Standard Can)
Guinness Challenge: I Failed. X
Song On In The Background: Let You Go by The Chainsmokers ft. Great Good Fine OK
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Skulls painted on Cowboy boots behind the bar. Lark’s Nest is a dive bar to its core, it’s nearly pitch black inside and it’s 10:03 AM. It’s a snowy Saturday outside. They have a dart board in the back. This is my first Woodlawn spot for the #GuinnessChallengeSeason. The bartender is not sure why they got the name Lark’s Nest. “A bottle of Bud and a shot of Jameson is the most popular drink combo”, she says. I am not surprised. They have a microwave and air fryer so you can heat up food. A middle-aged man just walked in asking if he left his iPhone here from Thursday. They don’t have it but he sat down for a drink sighing, “Ah Jeezus, where can you get a new one? Verizon?” Margaret next to me has lived in Woodlawn for 28 years and loves it. “In this neighborhood, everybody knows your business before you do.”
I had a very nice off-the-notes conversation with Margaret that I don’t think she’ll mind me sharing. She used to work at the World Trade Center and lived in Brooklyn at first. She would go to the same bodega for a coffee every morning and the people behind the counter wouldn’t have a clue what her order was. Woodlawn was a different story. When she first moved to Woodlawn, her company would provide a limo service after work to drop off at her apartment. The older Irish and Italian ladies in her Woodlawn apartment building would think she was coming home with a different guy every night, but it was just the perks that came with the job! She was very nice and helpful as she gave me some great recommendations for other spots to grab a Guinness in Woodlawn. I look forward to grabbing another drink at Lark’s Nest again!
Behans Bar (@InstagramlessBehansBar) 2/17 ‘24
Service & Staff: A+
Guinness: 7.8
Guinness Challenge: I Failed. X
Song On In The Background: Streets of Woodlawn by The Narrowbacks
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: The pool table is very nice. Their back patio must be very nice for the spring and summer. Big NY Sports Bar. They were just showing a GAA match and now have Arsenal vs Burnley on TVs. 3 middle-aged men are watching the games next to me with newspapers and tea. Wrap around bar. They have these sick portraits of Yankees, Jets, and Giants on the walls. No Mets, love it. Donegal won the match. There has been a total of 7 words spoken since I got here, the lads need some pints. My corny ass wasn’t going to ask them, “Hey who’s your favorite player?” in the middle of their tea.
I’ve been around the block long enough to know, never disturb an Irish man when he’s in the middle of his cup of tea. The pool table and darts set up looked cool. I really liked the pictures they had of the New York sports, sorry Mets fans. I look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness at Behans Bar again!
Song On In The Background: Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Horse racing on TV. Honor Grey and Ben Jones just won. Dartboards in the back. NYPD and FDNY badges behind the bar. Large very cool NY GAA Statue of Liberty logo on the wall. “What whiskey won’t cure, there is no cure for” on the mirror behind the bar. The hockey classic is tonight so they are expecting a nice crowd for it. This is an American sports bar that has been opened for 1 year. Cop and firefighter bar. The owner is from Donegal and knows my neighbor from Pearl River well. “The crime today is bullshit.” Agreed.
I could tell they were a bit cautious with the questions at first. As an esteemed journalist who’s now reported on over 600 pubs, I sometimes do be coming across a bit like a health inspector or whatnot, but I’m the furthest thing from a narc! The owner is heavily involved with the New York GAA and as soon as I named dropped a few of the fellas I grew up with that played for Rockland all was well. Very cool spot, Up the lads of New York GAA! I look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness at Horse and Jockey in Woodlawn again!