See you later: Folks swamp a Williamsburg watering hole

Comments (0) By D. Shawn Bosler Tuesday, Feb 24 2004

photo: Staci Schwartz

What? No crocodile rock?

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Alligator Lounge
600 Metropolitan Avenue Brooklyn
718.599.4440

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The facade of this new East Williamsburg bar slightly resembles a funeral home, black awning stretching across the sidewalk, but the aura inside is not as chilly. This welcoming neighborhood joint offers homey, good-time vibes set against a slick veneer of Manhattan-club-like panache sprinkled with random touches of bohemian artiness—Warhol movie posters and gravity-defying mannequins hanging from the walls. Dark wooden booths (with Star Trek-ish pink-purple lighting ensconced below) run along the perimeter of the spacious bar, making you feel like you're in an upscale pizza parlor—and huzzah! Pizza they gots. A wood-burning brick oven continually cranks out tasty, munchy-satisfying pies on the cheap: $4 for a nice-sized eight slicer. The extremely friendly staff focuses on community and camaraderie with free pizza on Monday nights and a comedy show on Tuesdays in the cozy tiki-esque back room. This gator's more about the art of knocking back a few with friends over a game of pool, darts, or Big Buck Hunter II (hell, yeah!) while listening to the finely curated jukebox (whoo-hoo! T-Rex, Christian Death, OutKast) than the haughty pursuit of froufrou cocktails. But hey, they do have a great selection of beers and liquors, and—considering Williamsburg's Soho-vibing tendencies—at affordable prices: pints of Brooklyn Lager, $3.50; and Yuengling, $3. Happy hour gets you a dollar off. If you're looking for an inexpensive dinner and a low-key meeting spot for friends in the 'Burg (without the attitude or hipster overkill), this li'l reptile's a good catch.