A friend and I went out for drinks last night and I said, “Let’s try Mack’s, the new Snooky’s.”
This friend, a former Park Sloper, was game. She’d dined at Snooky’s umpteen times and attended more than a few parties in the upstairs party room.
Together we’d also tried Elementi, the upscale Italian eatery that went in after Snooky’s closed. We liked the wine selection there, the food, and the atmosphere at the bar.
Snooky’s was kind of a legend in Park Slope’s mind. A longtime sports bar, it represented Park Slope pre-gentrification. A meat and potatoes sports bar with a devoted group of regulars, it was unpretentious, inexpensive and full of characters. When Snooky’s closed there was much bitterness and consternation among its denizens.
Last night when my friend and I walked into Mack’s, on Seventh Avenue between Garfield and Carroll Streets, at around 10:30, there was a small crowd at the bar. The music was so loud I asked the bartender to turn it down. And when I asked about the wines, the bartender said: Cabernet, Merlot or Shiraz.
The Cabernet comes in a small Woodbridge bottle.
You get the picture. If you want Multipulciano (i.e. a broader wine selection) go to the wine bar on the corner of Garfield and Seventh Avenue.
Mack’s is about burgers, drinks, beer, basic wine choices and a friendly, easy, inexpensive place to hang. We sat on stools at the tall tables near the bar. We were glad for the multiple television screens placed throughout the room as we were able to catch some of the Olympic men’s ice skating
Small groups of men and women walked in while we were there. I think the kitchen was still serving food but no-one was eating. The staff is super friendly.
It was a drinking and talking Tuesday night and Mack’s was the place to be.
About the decor: the front room is very plain. Painted mustard yellow, there are two comfortable looking booths in the front and some high tables near the bar. Seems like it’s waiting for the mark of time and customers to define and weather it.
Went to Mack’s last night, Friday, for dinner. Won’t go back again for a long time. We sat in the back. A cross between Chucky-Cheese and someone’s basement rec room. Two groups of children making lots of noise and running around. No parents to be seen, till we figured out they belonged to the owners or staff. The wait-staff is poorly trained, mostly standing around, not knowing what to do. I ordered the house White Zinfandel. Don’t get it, it’s candy-sweet, and it isn’t white I ordered the penne pasta with chicken. Don’t get it. Tiny cubs of chicken, some tomato, some key-foody olives. No flavor either to the sauce or to the pasta itself. My wife got a salad that was decent, but her soup had no flavor, and she couldn’t remember what it was. As we left, lots of people up front at the bar. I guess that’s the real point. Older folks. Sort of a Mill Basin type crowd.
Oh well, it was a thought..