Bar Bar Baby: Village Voice Gives Us List of 10 Baby-less Bars

Isn't that love bug just the cutest? He also looks sloshed but I'm sure he's not right? RIGHT?

My first memory is grabbing a bottle of Amaretto off of our putrid yellow kitchen counter circa 1981ish. My second memory is mixing my grandfather a vodka martini circa 1982ish. The third is sitting on top of the bar in some shit hole in Hackensack, NJ on what I'm pretty sure was a Saturday morning with the grandfather from the second memory. This makes alcohol a building block to so many of my formative moments. That may explain a lot about me now. But enough about me, what about babies in bars? Some of us think it's annoying, some of us think it's essential to parenting, others could give a shit. Personally I think the whole thing is very 2009.

We here at FIPS have covered the topic QUITE A BIT.  It's been talked to death in other places as well like blah, blah, blah. Comments get furious. Parents get defensive. Self-righteous singles want to call ACS. And just when we thought it was all over and people just got used to it or forgot all about it, the Village Voice (who voted us Best Neighborhood Blog this year) went and brought it all up in our business again. This time has an informative list of the 10 best bars "not yet ruined by babies." 

Let's see what made their list and a snippet of what they have to say:

1. Jackie's Fifth Amendment: "Bring your kids here if they happen to love octogenarians on oxygen tanks and listening to Bob Seger on repeat.... The frill-less watering hole features wood paneled walls from a bygone era of Brooklyn that little of Park Slope seems to resemble these days. Even the bar's namesake is an allusion to its alleged former association to certain groups that were both organized and illegal." 

2. Smith's Tavern: "Just down 5th Avenue from Jackie's, Smith's Tavern has been pouring cold domestic mugs of beers since well before your grandfather shipped off to Europe to kill Nazis. They've spruced the place up a bit since then with an internet jukebox and even scrubbed the tobacco stains off the walls." 

3. Lucky 13 Saloon: "In a neighborhood inundated with organic cocktails, where discussing the kale you picked up from the Prospect Park farmers market gets many a local all atwitter, Lucky 13 is the stuff nightmares are made of. If someone has a child here, it's probably because they stole it."

4. Freddy's Bar: "Freddy's is without a doubt, one of the last great places in Park Slope where a bartender might know you by name for both the right and wrong reasons. They might even remember your poison of choice if they haven't had too much drink themselves.... It all still feels like home and if you see kids, it's only because their grandpa is probably buying them their first beer ever."

5. High Dive: "A well loved neighborhood haunt, High Dive is the place local parents go when they're avoiding their own children or drinking because of them. A clean refuge where the predominately thirty-something crowd could order PBR, but rarely do."

6. Ginger's Bar: "If you park your stroller inside the door of Ginger's, there's a really good chance that a drag queen will incorporate it as a stage prop during karaoke. The bar is stocked with an inviting cast of generally easy-going neighborhood locals."

7. The Owl Farm: "The same beer nerds responsible for Bar Great Harry and Mission Delores opened this hop-lovers environment almost a year ago on 9th Street. After saddling up at the bar, you have to spend some quality time reading the tap list that changes on a daily basis."

8. South: "Slightly more decadent than other Southern Park Slope haunts, South boasts an array of craft beers, whiskeys and even pickle backs.... The sunny patio in back and an early afternoon opening make day drinking here very inviting. Leave the kids in school." 

9. Buttermilk: "A fleet of friendly bartenders and what tends to be a liberal pour, it's hard to dislike this South Slope oasis from the same owners of Boat. Cheap drinks and an even cheaper happy hour keep your pint glasses full, though Miller High Life seems to be the general drink of choice."

10. Commonwealth: "Commonwealth provides a nice and mellow atmosphere for those looking to swill alcohol in some amount of peace. It's a middle ground bar, a place where you won't run into too many degenerates or Wall Street types. Indie rock tends to own the jukebox, but with nary a milquetoast hipster in view."

So FIPS'ters what do we think about this list? True? False? Has the phenomena of babies in bars also jumped the shark like making fun of the Food Coop. Sound off.