Brooklyn Nibbles: Not Feeling the Hot Dogs at Gowanus Yacht Club
The good news here is that the Gowanus Yacht Club on Smith Street is open again for the season. One of our readers, though, writes to take some issue with the limited menu (hot dogs) and wonders about bringing in some food to go with the brewskis. He writes:
My girlfriend and I took at moment to indulge at the Gowanus Yacht Club this Saturday while waiting for the laundry to dry. Couple of thoughts...We're certain there are varying opinions on bringing outside food into an establishment, but it gets more interesting, because as our friends at Eater note, the GYC has lost its grill and only seems to be serving boiled hot dogs. Specifically:
- We asked if we could bring a falafel in (who doesn't love Zaytoons!?) to eat with the beer we were purchasing. We were told we couldn't and that we would have to order something the club was selling. A quick look at the menu reveals hot dogs and... hot dogs. Nothing really for the vegetarian (and nothing really for anyone who, um, thinks hot dogs are kind of gross). We were forced to drink our beer in hunger!
In all seriousness, why not let us bring our food in if all you're going to offer is hot dogs? We quickly learned rule #2 -- don't ask. Some others just brought food in and were left alone. Go figure. They did, however, get some stares from the staff..
- The owner(?) and his two bartenders were a little intense. They kept eyeing everyone and walking over to ask if they wanted another. And it wasn't that "hey, want another?" friendly service that would be appreciated. It was more the, "hey, drink more so I can charge your for another."
Hmm... Maybe I still have a little winter bitterness in me, but, come on GYC!
When Eater operatives rolled in Saturday night, however, they were met with a cruel surprise—the outdoor grill that has served up burgers, sausage, and grilled hotdogs has been deep-sixed, replaced with a simple wooden counter... Apparently, neighbors on the street, vexed by noise and odors, discovered the grill was illegally installed and successfully petitioned to have it removed during the offseason. The venue had no choice but to cooperate. For now, as the season dawns, the GYC is serving up (boiled) hot dogs only—a fine treat, to be sure, but not the menu of yore we'd come to expect.Seems to us that GrillGate backlash is already underway.
Small upsides: a fancier beer list this season, and an ever-so-slightly upgraded bathroom area. Still, once news of GrillGate spreads, can street protests from angry GYC patrons be far behind?
Labels: Brooklyn Nibbles, Smith Street
posted by rsguskind at 7:40 AM
7 Comments:
It seems since the place has gained in popularity Alan and his staff are more and more grumpy.. back in the day the place was a blast (4 years ago) and we weren't even mad when we got a real dog instead of the veggie dog we requested (we noticed it on the first chew and spit it out). Last year we showed up a 1/2 an hour early w 20 teachers on the last day of school and asked if we could come in and wait and one of his croonies yelled at us, if my kid showed a half hour early would you let him in? I said yeah we do that all the time but we'll just take our biz to Vegas thanks!
i, personally, hate zaytoons. gives me a tummyache everytime. and btw, they have tofu pups. it's an outdoor beergarden. if you want something fancy go someplace else and stop whining.
and yes, if you show up 1/2 an hour early, they won't be set up. and then, instead of setting up, they'll be helping you, getting you a beer or something, and then when they are supposed to open for all the people who can respect that they have lives outside of work, the way you do, when you're done teaching class and want to celebrate, and they need that half an hour to prepare to open, they still won't be ready to open, because they've wasted their time on someone just as willing to go to awful vegas.
and, yes, of course, they've gotten more crancky. a place that used to be a cute little cozy neighborhood hang out is now packed with screaming duchebag frat boys. working a place like it is now is a lot less fun.
all hot dogs are good hot dogs.
Anyone who goes to GYC for the food should get their vision checked. I like the place a lot, but anyone who goes there looking for more than a nice place to sit outside and drink in Carroll Gardens should re-evaluate their expectations.
let's just hope they still have the plates of pickles...
Here here. Who goes there to eat?
That said, people should be able to bring their own food in if the place isn't busy.
Anne: You're crazy. Stay away from the hot dogs. They're horse meat.
The new guys they have working there are pretentious retards culled from the finest frat houses of the midwest. Losers.
firstly they seem to be grilling on the weekends... secondly they added nacho's n cheese to the menu along with an amazing pulled pork sandwich... and thirdly i like the asshole waitors ... its a bar- normally at a bar u have to go up wait on line n get a beer. they bring me my beer i dont care how they act it saves me the walk- and on the off day that there is only one person workin and i have to wonder up to the bar to get my beer sexy moose is always nice and offers his decent opinion on the options of drinks... he might be the only nice one who works there tho- but dont stand in his way on a friday night when hes carryin 7 beers.
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