Nightbeat A Barn Out East for Weekend Revelers SIDEBAR: Hot Spot (SEE END OF TEXT)
Denise Flaim
WE HAVE a confession to make: Until last weekend, we'd never been to the
Boardy Barn (270 W. Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays, 728-5760).
Of course, we'd heard of it: Opened in 1970, the white clapboard
building on Montauk Highway has evolved over the decades into a must
stop for young weekenders. So last Saturday, we dropped in to remedy
once and for all this egregious gap in our recreational resume.
This past weekend's overcast skies were hardly a minus for the
tented, weather-impervious Boardy Barn, which dominates that slice of
afternoon between beach tanning and club hopping. (Hence its compact
hours: Saturdays from 4 to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 4 to 8 p.m.) On a
paved outdoor area that resembled a schoolyard, under
blue-and-white-striped tenting, young men in flip-flops and their female
counterparts in Daisy Duke cut-off shorts danced to infectious, retro
party tunes like "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
The Boardy Barn does have an indoor bar, accented with a raggedy
moose-head mount and a garland of sunglasses left behind by patrons over
the last four weekends; by season's end, observed one staffer, the
designer-eyewear chain will reach across the room. But most of the
action at the Boardy Barn is outside, where patrons take part in one of
its time-honored pastimes: beer tossing.
Now, don't get us wrong: The beefy bouncers who fan out among the
crowd in bright-orange "Boardy Barn Staff" T-shirts are evidence enough
that dousing one's neighbor is not exactly encouraged. But some patrons
would agree that the mediocrity of the tap beer (the Boardy Barn does
not sell bottled brews) is a powerful inducement.
"You have to eat a lot of bread before you get here, because this
tap beer does weird things to your stomach," explained A.L., a
26-year-old from Elmont.
Her friend, 29-year-old Joan Mullins of Queens, added this was her
eighth season as a Boardy Barn regular. Her one concession to age has
been a refusal to stop here on Sundays, which is, hands down, the bar's
busiest day. "If this was Sunday, it would be so crowded you wouldn't be
able to walk," she observed.
But if you're a collegian, Saturdays have their advantage: Every
week the Boardy Barn highlights an institute of higher learning,
offering its students free admission after 6 p.m. and freebies to the
first 150 partiers. Skipped this weekend because of Father's Day, the
policy resumes next weekend with Manhattan College.
And because Saturdays are more laid-back, agreed 24-year-old Scott
Hunzinger of Forest Hills, revelers have a little more leeway with
beer-dousing - provided they learn a few techniques to evade the
bouncers. "You flick the beer," he explained, dipping a few fingers
into his plastic cup. "Or you shoot it through your teeth until a
bouncer tells you to stop."
The brew-spewing lesson over, Hunzinger turned his attention to his
friends, who had gathered to celebrate the impending marriage of
25-year-old Mike Missakian of Cleveland, originally of Deer Park. They
were busy lining up for a makeshift game of limbo, using someone's
woven-leather belt in place of a pole. Meanwhile, searching for a way to
get his name in this story, best man Mike Vigliotti, 24, of Deer Park,
displayed the one skill he had learned at the Boardy Barn: how to drink
two beers at once, using a sort of cascading-fountain effect.
That reminded Hunzinger about the biggest Boardy Barn caveat: never
dress to impress. "Don't wear your nicest shoes," he warned, gesturing
to the sticky floor. "The Boardy Barn makes its own gravy."
Admission to the Boardy Barn is $5 on Saturday and Sunday; $10 on
holiday weekends.
Possibilities
Depeche Mode monopolizes the salt-sprayed stage at the Jones Beach
Marine Theater (221-1000) tonight and tomorrow . . . Tonight's Jane
Olivor show at Westbury Music Fair (960 Brush Hollow Rd., Westbury,
334-0800) has long been sold out; a second gig by the New York chanteuse
has been added for Aug. 17. On Saturday, you'll have better luck finding
seats for vocalist Michael Franks and guitarist Stanley Jordan . . .
More jazz on Saturday with fusion vibraphonist Mike Mainieri and Steps
Ahead at Inter-Media Art Center (370 New York Ave., Huntington,
549-ARTS).
Whitney Houston belts them out on Sunday at Nassau Coliseum
(Uniondale, for info, 794-9300; for tickets, 888-9000) . . . On
Saturday, Saffire: Uppity Blues Women bring their high-energy, sometimes
salty repertoire to The Stephen Talkhouse (Main Street, Amagansett,
267-3117).
Local bands: Pop-rockers One Groovy Coconut take the stage tomorrow
at J. Parkers (275 Rte. 25A, Miller Place, 928-4000).
Singles picks: Teddy's (at the Plainview Holiday Inn, Sunnyside
Boulevard, Plainview, 349-7400) reintroduces a singles night on Sundays.
The kicker this time around: no smoking. Drinks are half-price from 8 to
9 p.m., followed by a freebie buffet at 9:30.
***
Hot Spot
Another one for the disciples of "If it's free, it's me": On
Saturday at 8 p.m., oldies station B-103 (WBZO-FM) sponsors an outdoor
concert at Hidden Pond Park (LIE exit 58 North, Hauppauge; for info,
666-3900). Slated to perform are Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge,
The Orlons, and Randy & the Rainbows. Donations made at the event
benefit Suffolk County PAL. And bring your own lawn chair.
