Passing the Bar: Earl’s Beer and Cheese
Take a walk down Park Avenue near East 98th Street and you’ll see a Metro-North train rear its head and go above ground, but not much else. It’s a venerable no-man’s land. Call it the way Upper East Side or almost East Harlem. Just don’t call it a great spot to open a bar. Unless that bar is Earl’s Beer and Cheese.
But who’s Earl? From the looks of the place, he’s one-part urban woodsman and one-part blue-collar guy from the 1970s. When you enter this narrow space, a giant woodland mural complete with deer and ducks greets you. On the other walls you’ll spot a deer head, a fish plaque and a painting of a pig with antlers wearing a top hat. It’s as if your dad’s man-cave got a Freeman’s-style makeover. The music in the bar is equally eclectic: The Allman Brothers could play early in the evening before the night gets going with Jay-Z’s The Black Album and winds down with The Beatles’ White.
And about the drinks? Earl’s knows you’re here for the beer, and there are four microbrews and about 10 cans on rotation. The beers on tap are available by the glass ($5–$6) or growler to go ($19). Recent players have been Left Hand’s Fade to Black, Avery Joe’s Pilsner and Misery Bay IPA, all served in thick glass mugs. I didn’t expect a bar with "beer" in its name to serve wine, or good wine anyway, and options here are simply a glass of red or white ($7–$8), but they’re hardly an afterthought. Wines are chosen from Vinyl Wine shop a few blocks away— another new venture from Earl’s co-owner Mike Cescari. The wines, like the beers, are from small producers, and recently the bar has been pouring two Spanish brands, Bielsa Old Vines Garnacha and Benito Santos Albarino.
If the allure of microbrews and the 1970s basement vibe isn’t enough to draw you uptown, perhaps the seasonal pickle plate ($6) and selection of local cheeses ($9-$15)—what Earl’s humbly calls "bar food"—will. Cescari and co-owner Adam Clark originally thought they’d serve only cheese-focused bar food, but when they gave free reign over the menu to chef Corey Cova, who recently spent time in Momofuku Ssam Bar, the menu was upgraded. Cova is constantly trying out new dishes, but one semi-regular standout is the Beer-Cheese ($6). Inspired by a dish Cova had in a beer hall in Prague, it’s a basket of toast with raw garlic to rub over it, served with a spicy cheddar and cream ale sauce. Another standout is the grilled cheese with cheddar, kimchi, pork belly and a fried egg ($8). If you want to try something a bit heartier, go with one of Cova’s spring experiments: the deboned half game hen served over roasted pork belly, with a fried egg and pickled broccoli raab ($15).
Earl’s might have fit in better in Williamsburg or the East Village, but Cescari has lived uptown for six years, and says, "There’s not much to do north of 96th Street, but there are a lot of really cool people living up here. We just want to get everyone together and have a good time." Even Cescari has been surprised by how quickly the place caught on. "We totally underestimated the appetite for a place that serves good food and beer in East Harlem," he says. Case in point: At a recent trivia night, the bartender couldn’t see past the crowds and had to get on the mic to figure out who was missing a goat-cheese-andshredded-chicken mac and cheese ($8).
If you live within stumbling distance from Earl’s, consider yourself lucky; you’ll get to know the locals and the friends they’ve enticed uptown while sitting at the long communal table or playing trivia on Tuesday nights. Thankfully, it’s not just the Metro-North that travels up to this neighborhood; Downtowners can take the 6 train.
1259 Park Ave (betw. E. 97th & E. 98th Sts.),
212-289-1581.