Some cheer in my beer

The Bell House is on 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, in the neighborhood now known as Gowanus.  Beloved by the Yelp crowd for its performance space, I can vouch only for the lounge (at a non-peak time). Nice space, nice help, nice beer selection.

The beauty of Bell House is its relative isolation. I have a beef with complainers who say the place is out of the way, in an industrial never-never land. When you go, get out at the 4th Avenue stop on the F train, not Smith & 9th, to avoid crossing the canal. Or take the R to 9th Street. Bring a friend. Hell, if you’re scared, hold your friend’s hand and run those couple blocks from the subway to the Bell House. Then, when you arrive safe, winded, and thirsty, of course, remind yourself that being hip is about pushing boundaries, including the geographical.

Walk Gowanus in daylight, and you’ll get the feeling that Park Slope has started sliding downhill, and the brownstones have turned to low cinderblock buildings. Whatever. You cheated death to get to the Bell House at night, and that’s what counts.