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Brooklyn Brackets: The Emerson Named Best Neighborhood Bar

By Janet Upadhye | April 2, 2015 7:44am
 The Emerson in Clinton Hill in known for its pool table and spacious backyard.
The Emerson in Clinton Hill in known for its pool table and spacious backyard.
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Facebook/The Emerson

CLINTON HILL — The Emerson sunk the competition for best local watering hole.

The Clinton Hill bar beat out Gowanus' Lavender Lake in the first round, Prospect Heights' The Way Station in round two and its Fort Greene neighbor Alibi in the third.

In the championship round The Emerson went up against Project Parlor for the title and stole the show with 39,819 votes — that's 53 percent of the total votes cast.

The Emerson, located on Myrtle Avenue near the corner of Emerson Place, became a fast fan favorite after its arrival nearly five years ago because of its laid-back atmosphere, pool table and spacious backyard complete with a peach tree.

The owners — friends Gina Jankowski, Sam Barron and Tom Wentworth — wanted it to be like a community center with a pool league, game nights, barbecues and alcohol.

"It is literally the kind of place where everybody knows your name," Jankowski said. "We have a loyal crew of regulars that includes Pratt students, artists and working professionals."

On any given night you can find someone reading at the bar, smoking in the backyard or dancing by themselves in the makeshift dance area near the pool table. Drinks are cheap and on Thursday nights there is live music that generally leans towards blues and sometimes turns into a jam session.

And the oasis-like backyard is jam-packed in the warm months.

"It feels like an escape from the city," Jankowski said.

But ultimately it's not all the great amenities or quirky decor — think funky chandeliers, curved banquettes, black-and-white photos and a bust of Ralph Waldo Emerson — that keeps people coming back. It's that feeling of belonging that everyone seeks when they walk into a bar.

"We consider each other a family here," Jankowski said. "And that's what makes a great bar."