In this city, restaurants come and go faster than you can say "sustainable locavore burger." And even though there are great new additions to the culinary landscape popping up every week, you've gotta give kudos to anyone who can stick it out for over a year. With that in mind, we bring you Still Got It, our tribute to establishments that continue to serve mouthwatering meals and drinks long after the buzz has faded—or if the lingering hype is still justified.
This current PolarVortexIceSlushSnowScapade of a winter may be better suited for hot toddies and cider than frozen cocktails. But if you need a temporary escape to the Islands for a few hours, this Carroll Gardens tiki-themed dive is a solid destination, doling out super cheap, super strong drinks to an ever-lively, wasted crowd.
Seriously, it is super cheap—Classic tiki cocktails like Mai Tais, Bahama Mamas and Planters Punches run about $5 regularly, and tend to pack enough booze to bowl you over on your first round. Then there are the shareable concoctions—a Frozen Zombie, for instance, will do you in with a surprise shot of lighter fluid-esque Bacardi 151 embedded in your straws before will plying you and your drinking partners with heavy doses of sugar and rum. And if it's a fiery hangover you seek, get your crew together for a $26 Scorpion Bowl, which comes filled with the aforementioned 151, brandy, and juice, its sheer alcoholic power amplified by a lit flame on top.
Zombie Hut's not all about getting drunk quick—though this isn't a place to savor a single refined cocktail and expect to walk out sans a case of the spins. The bar also boasts a number of board games like Jenga and Battleship, and when the city isn't under attack by the Weather Gods, Zombie Hut's backyard space is a mid-sized outdoor oasis complete with thatched walls, plants and colorful tables and benches. The bar's interior is just as delightfully kitschy, with funky faux-tribal art adorning the walls and dimly-lit colored ceiling fixtures casting an eerie orange glow. Do note that the bar packs up on weekend nights, particularly when the outdoor area is off-limits; if you stop in on a weekday evening, though, you may get treated to a quiet space most conducive to getting wicked blitzed and destroying your drinking buddies in a round of Apples to Apples.
Zombie Hut is located at 273 Smith Street between Degraw and Sackett Streets in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn (718-875-3433). Follow them on Facebook.
