My Local: Carl Newman

You’ve lived in Park Slope for the past year and a half. What is so great about Great Lakes?
It definitely has a nice jukebox. They have “Oblivious” by Aztec Camera. I remember being shocked to find that one. I like putting on The Misfits. They are like the new classic rock. 

What is your go-to drink?
Gin and tonic. I usually go with Beefeater. I used to think Bombay Sapphire was the best, but that was because it had a fancy bottle. I heard that Beefeater won in a blind taste test and switched brands.

When do you find yourself at the bar?
I usually end up at Great Lakes on Sunday nights, when there are like five people in the back. But it’s pretty ok to be getting drunk until 4 a.m. in an empty bar with a cool jukebox. You can’t find that in many other towns.

Park Slope loves them some New Pornographers. Are you ever recognized?
The first couple times I went I got all these free drinks…and I didn’t know why. The bartender kept saying "don’t worry about it" and I cautiously accepted. I don’t know if anybody there knows who I am, but there are a couple of our songs on the jukebox.

Has anybody ever plugged one of your songs, to be funny (or really awkward)?
Once when we were leaving at 4 a.m. our song "Use It" was playing as we were walking towards the door. I’m curious if it was a hint from the staff to get our asses out of there.

When you stumble out of Great Lakes, where do you go for a snack?
The obvious place is Blue Ribbon and Blue Ribbon Sushi next door. Even though it’s open until 3 a.m., it’s not like a Denny’s. It’s a really nice restaurant. But you have to be careful when showing up drunk because you might be out a couple hundred dollars at the end. I also really like Joe’s Pizza, which happened to be the halfway point between my apartment and the studio where we recorded our new album. I would always stop in there and have a fresh mozzarella slice. I’ve become this weird pizza purist since moving here. Another place I love on 5th Avenue is this L.A./San Francisco-style burrito place called Rachel’s. It’s the only authentic place I have found—I’ll usually go with carne asada with black beans and a lot of pico de gallo. Basically the classic Mission Style burrito. In fact, I think I will go there today.

Matt Rodbard is music editor for Metromix New York.