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Bushwick Country Club

618 Grand St (Leonard St & Lorimer St) Transit: G,L to Metropolitan Ave-Lorimer St

www.bushwickcountryclub.com (718) 388-2114

As is often noted, Bushwick Country Club is not in Bushwick and it is not a country club. Located on the southeastern outskirts of Williamsburg, the bar is named after Caddyshack’s Bushwood Country Club, and boasts six holes of mini golf in its back yard. Ask the bartender for putters—no charge, he’ll just want an ID—and knock yourself out. The tiny course is highlighted by a windmill made out of PBR cans but is otherwise sparsely-decorated. (The bar recently ran a contest for people to design their own hole, with the winner to receive a $100 bar tab and a plaque with his or her name on it.)

Micro-duffing aside, Bushwick Country Club is the near perfect hipster dive bar, featuring a photo booth, Big Buck Hunter, Safari edition, gratis cheesy puffs and comely, tastefully tattooed young ladies who stalk the premises in packs. My only complaint is the alcoholic slushies. The $6 cherry and vodka concoction—poured directly from a machine—is a high-fructose corn syrup nightmare. Before half of my mug was done I was bouncing off the walls, only to experience a sugar crash moments later. I asked the mustachioed bartender for some help, and he filled the rest of the mug with ice and vodka for five more dollars, but this did little to dilute the cough syrup flavor. A drunken/ slightly-deranged/ oddly-articulate barfly named Andy insisted that five cheesy puffs would sufficiently wash the cherry taste out of my mouth. (“I just grew another point in my crown!” he enthused after giving me this advice.) For what it’s worth, I’m told the Jim Beam and Coke slushie is more manageable (once in a while they have Makers Mark milkshakes.)

Ask at the bar about becoming a “member” of Bushwick Country Club, which entitles you to drink specials and other perks. Throw a party on your birthday and bring in 15 people (11 if you’re a member) and you’ll drink for free. If you bring in 30 people they’ll grill hot dogs for you in the back yard. Eat your heart out, Judge Smails.

Dive Bar Rating