All Things Brooklyn - Brooklyn Sting: Camping Out On Smith Street
Hello Noo Yawkers, it’s Julie here, Neighborbee’s new Brooklyn blogger. I’m back in the city after year-long travels, and now I have one more good reason to go out and explore my new borough.
Unsure of what haunt to cover for my first post, I called my friend Hils, a long-time Brooklynite. She suggested Camp, a Smith Street bar that had always intrigued her. “Julie,” she said, “they have S’mores.” That was all it took for me to agree to a 3-train trip across Brooklyn. (Sidebar: why is it easier for me to go into Manhattan than to go to Smith Street? I really must look into buses.)
Camp is located on Smith Street just across the street from the Bergen Street F/G stop. With a wooden exterior and a small sign that looks like it could have been made at sleepaway camp, I could see why Hils had passed by before, but never entered. Once inside, we were glad we came. The space was small and cozy, welcoming to regulars and strangers alike. True to its name, Camp is a bit campy, with board games, a mounted deer head on the wall, and a Big Buck Hunter arcade game. Fortunately the “camp” theme never goes overboard. Though there were tables in the fireplace-lit lounge in back, my friend and I hunkered down at the bar.
The S’mores arrived shortly after I did, and they did not disappoint. We toasted our marshmallows over a three-inch tall blue flame, and remembered another S’mores bar that served the marshmallows with a pitiful votive candle. The classic campfire dessert came with two Hershey’s bars, two packs of Graham crackers, and more marshmallows than we would need. There were enough ingredients for at least eight S’mores, but Hils and I had reached our limit after two-and-a-half each. Not people to let good sweets go to waste, we shared the rest of our goodies with new friends.
We paired our S’mores with margaritas, beginning my quest to find the best margarita in Brooklyn. (They sound like an odd combination, but it turns out that S’mores and margaritas go great together.) The margaritas at Camp are made with a secret ingredient, and my friend I both agreed they were some of the best margaritas we’d had in a long time.
If you’re more into beer than margaritas, Camp has an eclectic collection of draft and bottled beers. No Budweiser or Michelob are on tap here, but rather Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Goose Island IPA, Sly Fox Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsener, Stella Artois, Guinness, Sam Adams Lager, and Blue Point Toasted Lager.
All in all, I would definitely go back to Camp again, either on a date or just out with friends. Hils and I raided their collection of board games to find out that we are indeed smarter than 5th graders, at least most of the time. Roger the bartender is the friendliest bartender this side of Sam Malone. And any bar that pours an orange tic-tac shot is good in my book.
Camp // 179 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 11201 // F or G to Bergen Street // P: 718-852-8086
20. October 2008 at 7:10 pm :
I was just in NYC last month for a wedding and had I known about Camp then, I would have definitely tried it out! I love me a good s’more any day! Sounds like a place we’ll have to hit up next time we’re in the Big Apple!