Pine Box Rock Shop

BUSHWICK, NEW YORK –

Located in the industrial oasis between Williamsburg and Bushwick, Pine Box Rock Shop is a welcoming beer bar with a healthy dose of attitude.

Edgy artistic professionals and tattooed locals swing by the high-ceilinged bar, all done up in beige-brown pine planks, to sip one of over a dozen microbrews always on tap, while friendly beardo bartenders serve specialty cocktails and drink combos like Irish whiskey pickle-backs (here dubbed The Grim Pickle) at a wraparound bar inlaid with classic rock-and-roll ticket stubs.

In the back, groups of after-work hipster kids crowd around tables made from industrial waste barrels beneath a narrow skylight, admiring the collection of quirky paintings by local artists and the sparkling crystal skull lamp suspended over the bathrooms.

Daytime sees a steady stream of patrons enjoying an afternoon beer and a vegan empanada, while at night the place fills up with friendly rockers downing a few cold drinks as they play bar trivia and bop along to the background rumblings of indie rock and post punk.

A coffin-shaped sign gives homage to the venue’s former life as a coffin factory, and serves as an ironic comment on the groups of smokers huddled by the graffiti-painted façade below.

Though a little further out than the typical Williamsburg joint, Pine Box Rock Shop is a shining example of the neighborhood’s new trend of mixing laid-back dive culture with cultivated tastes.