Uninstall your air-conditioners and start fighting with your landlord over that troubling steam shooting out of your radiator, folks, because fireplace bar season is here at last. True, winter means you'll spend the next few months subsisting almost entirely on Easy Mac, Criminal Minds reruns and frozen human tears. (They're great as a margarita rim.) But if you do leave your apartment, it's best to find refuge at a place where you can warm your beleaguered body by a crackling fire while drinking your weight in whiskey. Here are our favorite fireplace bars in the city; as always, leave yours in the comments.
BLACK MOUNTAIN WINE HOUSE: Ever-romantic Black Mountain Wine House has been our go-to fireplace bar for some time now, and it's still going strong. The rustic, farmhouse-style wine bar's got a warm fire roaring all winter long, where you can settle in with a glass ($6.50-$11) or bottle ($28-$45) of wine and small plates like Black Mountain Mac & Cheese ($10) and House Panini ($10) until the upcoming polar-ish vortex fades into a distant memory.
Black Mountain Wine House is located at 415 Union Street between Smith and Hoyt Streets in Gowanus, Brooklyn (718-522-4340, blackmountainwinehouse.com).
SHOOLBRED'S: East Village pub Shoolbred's is more than just a welcome, laid-back reprieve in an area overrun with rowdy college kids. The bar's crackling fireplace, which is blessedly surrounded with leather seats, keeps the church-like space warm all winter. Show up early, order a $7-$10 draft (two-for-one during happy hour!) and a Shoolbred's Burger ($11.50) up at the bar, steal a seat by the flames and stay put until closing time, like a good lad.
Shoolbred's is located at 197 Second Ave between 12th and 13th Streets in the East Village (212-529-0340, shoolbreds.com).
CLOVER CLUB: Flame-seekers, beware. Getting a spot near this Cobble Hill bar's fireplace is nigh impossible during peak hours. But if you're one of the lucky, lucky few that manage to snag a fireside seat in the bar's back parlor room, you're in for a treat. The room boasts an elegant stone fireplace and fancy vintage couches where you can sit down and warm up with cocktails like the signature Clover Club ($12), made with gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg whites; the fierce Pyrenees ($12) made with aged apple brandy, Cognac, sherry, and coffee-infused dry vermouth; or a seasonal Apple Turnover ($13), comprised of Ron del Barrilito, white rum, bonded apple brandy, dry curacao, guava syrup and lime juice. Drink until all the dead trees are gone, and then drink some more.
Clover Club is located at 210 Smith Street between Butler and Baltic Streets in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718-855-7939, cloverclubny.com).
ALEWIFE QUEENS: Beer isn't as warming as, say, spiked hot cider or a gallon of whiskey. But if you pair one of Alewife's many, many craft brews with a table near the LIC bar and restaurant's fireplace, even the coldest of ales won't make you shiver. You'll get even warmer if you wash your beer down with, say, a plate of house mac 'n cheese ($13) or an Alewife Burger ($14); just note that the fireplace is located upstairs, and they usually don't light the flames until Real Winter sets in.
Alewife is located at 5-14 51st Ave in Long Island City, Queens (718-937-7494, alewifequeens.com)
LIC BAR: LIC Bar's been a Queens stalwart for 100 years, and if it's the old-school atmosphere and history that gets you in the door here, it's the gas fireplace that'll keep you here. Sadly, you may have to book an event to enjoy said fireplace, since it's located in LIC Bar's old carriage house and not in the main bar. But if you are lucky enough to lay eyes upon it, you'll be able to bask in rustic warmth and draft beers while snow falls on the neighborhood's new skyscrapers.
LIC Bar is located at 45-58 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, Queens (718) 786-5400, licbar.com).
Molly's' wood-burning fireplace.
MOLLY'S SHEBEEN: Neighborhood favorite Molly's is notoriously packed on weekend (and even weekday) evenings, particularly once the winter-weather fire's been lit. But if you don't mind a crowd, the bar's wood-burning fireplace is a perfect accompaniment to its famed burgers and brews. Park by the fire with a bacon cheeseburger ($14) and a pint, and eat and drink yourself a winter coat. You'll thank us once January's arctic chill rolls around.
Molly's is located at 287 Third Ave between 22nd and 23rd Street in Gramercy (212-889-3361, mollysshebeen.com).
CAMP: Even if you were the sort of pre-teen who wrote letters to your parents threatening to run away from overnight camp ("THEY WON'T LET ME READ HARRY POTTER AT DINNER, THIS PLACE IS A FASCIST HELLHOLE!"), this Smith Street bar's still a worthy destination for those in need of a mini-inferno. First and foremost, Camp's fireplace fits perfectly with the bar's woodsy log cabin theme, as all bars with fireplaces should be decorated with taxidermy deer heads. They've also got board games, which are mandatory fireside activities, and both s'mores and a s'mores cocktail on the menu. Screw Lake Baboosic and Bunk 11's mean girls, this is the only real camp for you, drunk adult person.
Camp is located at 179 Smith Street between Warren and Wyckoff Street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (718-852-8086, camp-brooklyn.com).
LEXINGTON BAR AND BOOKS: For fancy fireside drinkers, this Upper East Side bar permits you to enjoy the warmth of a fire while puffing on cigars and imbibing whiskey, just like all those evil first-class menfolk in Titanic did after not inviting Leonardo DiCaprio to hang out with them. Because this is a bar for old rich people, you will have to wear "casual yet stylish proper attire," which means jackets and tucked in collared shirts for men, and nice dresses/slacks for women. And though that may feel a little too one percent-ey for the average drinker, once, again, they let you SMOKE CIGARS HERE. Order a $$$$ scotch on the rocks and grumble about how that damn blond kid in steerage is trying to make off with your woman.
Lexington Bar and Books is located at 1020 Lexington Ave between 72nd and 73rd Streets on the Upper East Side (212-717-3902, barandbooks.cz/lexington)
ART BAR: Art Bar's been operating in the West Village for over two decades now, and it's worth a visit to see its spectacular contemporary Last Supper mural alone. Once you're inside, cozy up to the bar's roaring back-room fireplace, drink a glass or two of wine ($6-$8), snack on bites like Cajun popcorn shrimp ($8.95) and sirloin burgers ($7.50), and contemplate whether Jim Morrison was a genius lyricist who earned his spot in Jesus's seat, or just a dude whose hotness overshadowed the rest of The Doors members' legitimate talent.
Art Bar is located at 52 8th Ave between Jane and West 4th Streets in the West Village (212-727-0244, artbar.com)
HOT BIRD: Clinton Hill bar Hot Bird won our respect after it banned babies from its premises a while back. Infant-free zone aside, though, the bar boasts an outdoor fire pit, which makes its massive patio a welcome spot no matter how fierce the weather (okay, not this fierce). Grab a few beers and gather 'round this rare and welcome bonfire, and leave smelling like cedar and sheer joy. Again, leave your babies at home or we're tossing them on the fire.
Hot Bird is located at 546 Clinton Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn (718-230-5800).
DADDY'S: Williamsburg bar Daddy's is starting to feel like one of the city's last surviving dives, but hopefully its fireplace can keep it going longer than the shuttered stalwarts before it. Order a brew at the relaxed horseshoe bar, then post up by the corner fireplace until you're drunk enough to eat three or four hot dogs and brave the bathrooms.
Daddy's is located at 435 Graham Ave between Frost and Richardson Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-609-6388).
BRANDY LIBRARY: Those of us who prefer to do our heavy boozing in the company of many, many books will find refuge in this cozy Tribeca bar, which is blessedly set up to look like a library, complete with crackling fireplaces. Sadly, the bookshelves are filled with bottles of alcohol and not, say, the complete works of Shakespeare or The Hunger Games trilogy, but if you drink enough scotch you can trick yourself into reading fancy labels instead of chapters.
The bar boasts a long list of brandies, whiskies, rums, tequilas, wines and beers, along with specialty cocktails like the Russian Caravan ($15), made with bourbon, pine-smoked tea, elderflower, and lemon; and the Musket ($15), made with Armagnac, muddled fig, honey and lemon juice. You can also snack on small bites like foie gras ($16), sushi and even a rack of lamb ($19), like the distinguished ladies and gentlemen you all are.
Brandy Library is located at 25 North Moore Street between Hudson and Varick Streets in Tribeca (212-226-5545, brandylibrary.com).
