Virtual pub crawls crop up in Bay Shore and Massapequa Park
James Bonanno of the Tap Room, with locations in Patchogue and Bay Shore,is bringing a "virtual pub crawl" concept to Bay Shore and Massapequa Park. Credit: Chuck Fadely
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Desperation breeds ingenuity, and coronavirus closures have bred … virtual pub crawls? Yep, the one that launched in Patchogue a few weeks ago — led by the peeps at The Better Man Distilling Co. — has been such a hit that one participant has exported the concept to Bay Shore and Massapequa Park, with inaugural events taking place this Saturday, April 11. (He's also helped mount a Breakfast Crawl for Easter Morning, but more on that later …)
Organizer James Bonanno of The Tap Room (with locations in Patchogue and Bay Shore) said dozens of people have signed up for the crawls so far, and will receive rounds of apps and drinks delivered to their front doors by local restaurants.
"It gives people a little sense of normalcy, and it gives us the ability to get more employees back to work," said Bonanno, who is also a partner at the Island Time Food Truck at Tobay Beach, which will anchor the event there.
How it works: Aspiring revelers sign up at universe.com and chose one of two afternoon windows; at the appointed time, a box with three appetizers and four drinks from three different restaurants will appear at their door, for $40 (or they can pick up the box for $35).
In Bay Shore, Coastal Kitchen (which has changed its name to au-courant Coastal Kitchen & Curbside Pickup Bar) will serve chicken and roasted vegetable pinchos, plus Painkillers; its sister restaurant, Verde Kitchen & Cocktails, will deliver chips with salsa and guacamole, as well as Verde margaritas. The Tap Room is doing mac-and-cheese bites, sangria and a beer, Imperial Sunshine blonde ale from Blue Point Brewing Co. During both sessions, local musicians will livestream on Facebook.
The Tap Room is boxing up the same items in Massapequa Park; the Good Life will do mashed wontons and Maduro brown ale from Cigar City Brewing Co., while the Island Time Food Truck has beef empanadas and rum punch. Musician Sal Nastasi will perform on Facebook live.
To get delivery in Bay Shore, participants need to live within three miles of Main Street, while in Massapequa Park they should be within the same radius from Park Boulevard.
And if those events whet your appetite for more, The Tap Room is also taking part in an "Easter Breakfast Crawl," on Sunday morning — two sessions, same price — with additional eats from Bango Bowls (acai bowls), Bay Shore Bean (cold brew coffee) and NoFo DoCo (doughnuts). Whew!
To sign up, visit universe.com and search for "pub crawl" and your town.
