New York spring preview

Bars: Outdoor drinking!

This spring, as we do every spring—except this time it’s with an almost panicked excitement—we’re looking forward to outdoor drinking! Benches, beer, sunglasses, sidewalks! Margaritas, gardens, ants, ocean-side glasses of Chardonnay! We plan to do it at places like Noho’s Quartino Bottega Organica (pictured), where the backyard garden is already open, whenever it’s more than 60 degrees out and not raining.

And although we said goodbye to a few of our fresh-air favorites in the off season (Trout, what happened?), we’ve got an old favorite coming back and looking better than ever: The Frying Pan (well, Pier 66 Maritime, the railroad barge alongside the ship) is set to make her debut May 1, if not sooner, with an expanded lunch and dinner menu, as well as all the booze you’ve come to love so dearly.

We’re also eagerly anticipating the new Fort Greene beer garden, Der Schwarze Koelner, serving $10 sausages and German brew on tap (opening June or early July), as well as the new downtown branch of the beloved Water Taxi Beach, set to start serving food, booze, sand and miniature golf on Memorial Day weekend (May 25) on Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport. Yes!