This bowling alley and live music venue fully embraces the new mania for local nostalgia. The space takes its design cues from Coney Island with old freak-show posters and carnival-game relics, and all of the beer sold inside—by Sixpoint, Kelso and the Brooklyn Brewery—is made in the borough. This is a great place to kill a few hours with a big rowdy group: You can tackle a pitcher and the stoner-food menu from the Blue Ribbon team (delicious fatty brisket, Old Bay–fried chicken) laneside between frames. The plush tufted couches are the most luxurious alley seating we’ve ever seen.
What Williamsburg lacks in major museums and attractions, it makes up for in idiosyncratic institutions. In addition to shopping, eating and drinking, popular things to do in the nabe include checking out quirky displays at City Reliquary Museum, tastings at the Brooklyn Brewery, catching an art-house flick (with in-seat dining) at Nitehawk Cinema and bowling at Brooklyn Bowl.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Williamsburg, Brooklyn