Detour Bar

by Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng
February 16, 2011

Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng

Narrows
1037 Flushing Ave
@ Morgan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
281-827-1800

A recent Saturday night visit to Roberta’s — the buzzing not-just-your-neighborhood-pizzeria in Bushwick — jolted and inspired me to discover more hidden gems.

As luck would have it, a bartender at my local hangout gave me the scoop about a bar with tailored drinks — called Narrows — to check out on my next trip to Roberta’s. The fact that there was “no sign outside the door” definitely encouraged a personal visit.

So, last Friday night, after a scrumptious pizza outing to Roberta’s, we made our way off the beaten track to Narrows. If you like adventure, this bar will be up your alley; while it’s only a five-minute walk from Roberta’s, the ambience of a cold, dark night helps make one’s imagination run wild.

Inside Narrows, I was delighted to find the atmosphere of a quaint, low-key Manhattan speakeasy (or for a few seconds, I felt I could have easily been in Tokyo).

The cocktails have very dreamy and poetic names: Harvest Moon, Word, Babushka, Caulfield’s Dream. As I’m a tequila girl, I ordered the Word ($10), made with jalapeno-infused tequila, scotch, chartreuse, maraschino and lime. The heat in the drink takes a while to hit you, and when it does it’s more in lingering warmth. A bit of smokiness comes through because of the scotch, which happily reminded me of my beloved mezcal.

If you are curious but not into adventure, you can go for an aperitif when the bar opens at five p.m. Otherwise, a late-night visit is the way to go — atmospheric in every way.