When I was a kid, I would hold my nose
for two blocks, running full speed past the Gowanus Canal on
the way to pottery class. It’s spiffier now – I probably couldn’t
afford a co-op with a "canal view" – but still, it’s
the Gowanus.
So what was Smith Street chef-restaurateur Alan Harding thinking
when he named his latest venture The Gowanus Yacht Club? He was
kidding. But he wasn’t quite kidding when he put out a sign reading:
"Like camp but with beer."
Sufficiently inland from the wafting canal, on the corner of
President and Smith streets, the Yacht Club has merrily set up
camp, grilling hotdogs and burgers, and selling beer at near-wholesale
prices.
The result: wholesale drinking, and one of the most laid-back
scenes to happen on Smith Street since, well, Alan Harding.
Back in 1997, Harding joined a few pioneer Smith Street restaurants
by opening the French bistro Patois (followed by French-Asian
Uncle Pho). What ensued could be called a bistro boom. Today,
Brooklynites can stroll from Carroll to Bergen streets, comparing
menus. The phenomenon has also sparked a backward commute, luring
Manhattanites to this dining destination.
Harding thinks we’re getting bored.
"Every restaurant on Smith Street is the same: same rent,
same ingredients, same prices," he says. "I’m happy
I have a loyal customer base, but there are five restaurants
on the block using Asian ingredients. It’s not cool anymore."
So what is? This summer, it’s hot dogs. And $1 cans of Pabst
Blue Ribbon (PBR).
Harding reduces the latest trend to a simple formula: "People
are interested in going back in time. PBR talks to everyone’s
college days, or time they spent vacationing in Florida."
There’s definitely a tailgating vibe – irresistible to anyone
who’s been out of college long enough to feel nostalgia for watery
beer.
The $2 draught beer, Duff, is a nod to the fictitious brew favored
by Homer Simpson. Rumor has it the stuff is actually Budweiser,
but those of us who reached drinking age watching "The Simpsons"
can appreciate the lowbrow connoisseur-ism implicit in ordering
a Duff.
In this spirit, the guys I went to the beer garden with took
on the challenge of sampling most of the 11 offerings from the
oil drum-turned-charcoal-grill. They enjoyed several varieties
of wurst ($2-$3), a Polish Kielbasa (a special that night), quesadillas
(another special) and even a vegetarian "Notdog" ($3).
Hardly chef food. And while there are imported beers like Jever
Pilsner and Dentergems Ale ($4) and three wines by the glass
($5), it’s clearly the $1 and $2 brews, including a "Can
du Jour," that endears this place to a predominantly 25-
to 30-year-old crowd.
Harding said he opened the Yacht Club because "the neighborhood
needed an outdoor gathering place that was more affordable."
He’s friends (and now partners) with the owners of the adjacent
Bagels by the Park, and had long wanted to "showcase the
corner."
He’s succeeded on both counts. At first glance, the place feels
like someone’s backyard ("only hipper and more relaxed,"
Harding points out). Trellises and umbrellas define its boundaries.
The decor could be termed slapdash-nautical, thanks to a few
seaworthy tchochkes.
The camp-with-beer experience really hits home when it comes
time to the hike out back. A single portable toilet, although
clean, is still a portable toilet.
"I chose to lower my fixed expenses," Harding explained.
"If I had to build a bathroom I would need to charge $8
for a Pabst."
The cheerful fans of the place don’t seem to mind roughing it.
But are the neighbors happy campers? After all, Harding has bestowed
his outdoor drinking establishment upon Carroll Gardens, where
heretofore the loudest disturbances have been ice cream trucks
in summer and a Christmas tree lot broadcasting carols in December.
Harding views the issue as a "double-edged sword":
homeowners who complain about the noise, he says, have seen their
property values skyrocket with the bar-dining boom along Smith
Street.
"Of course," he concedes, "everyone has a right
to peace." So the stereo is turned off at 10 pm, and the
Yacht Club closes earlier than necessary. The nights I’ve been
there, the place has been packed, yet not rowdy – just good people,
re-living spring break, but more calmly.
Harding also does some "community handholding." When
a woman across the street complained about the late-night clinking
of glasses, Harding assured her that he’d talked to the dishwasher,
who would be "more mindful."
To skirt these issues by enclosing the Yacht Club would mean
building a structure "in keeping with the character of the
neighborhood," since the corner is landmarked. Harding prefers
to leave the yacht club at the mercy of the elements – it’s open
seasonally, from Memorial Day through Halloween – rather than
pursuing historical correctness.
"This was once a cow manure-infested lot where people sold
vegetables," he said.
Smith Street has always stood out from the surrounding neighborhood.
In my memories it is populated by guys munching pork rinds, pouring
libations into the gutter from brown-bagged beverages and arguing
into the night.
I’m glad that those guys don’t look like they’re going anywhere.
I hope they won’t mind if I hang out on Smith Street, too, downing
smoky sausages, toasting Homer with a Styrofoam cup of Duff,
and pondering life on the Gowanus into the night.
The Gowanus Yacht Club, 323 Smith St.
at President Street. No phone. Open Memorial Day through Halloween
(weather permitting). Hours: Monday through Friday, from 4 pm
to midnight; Saturday and Sunday, from 2 pm to midnight. Cash
only.
