Bar of the Week: Franklin Park

Drinking in the sun rarely leads to good things, but exceptions are to be made with these first few enjoyable weeks of warm weather finally upon us, and Crown Heights beer garden Franklin Park is an excellent new outdoor option. Co-owned by Matt Roff of Southpaw, the space is housed in a former garage on St. John's Place. Marked by a Franklin Park plaque and lanterns mounted on the street-facing brick wall, patrons enter through a wrought-iron gate onto the 1,200-square-foot patio with several picnic benches and tables. Sadly, the cold and misty Saturday night we visited was not conducive to beer gardening. The indoor area, however, promptly filled when the nearby Brooklyn Museum's First Saturday crowd made their way over and a glass-paneled wall on tracks (garage-door-style) was rolled up to make space. Décor features collages of vintage sports posters and ads hanging over a leather banquette, dark wainscoting lines the walls and a "Franklin Park" sign made of green and white subway tile decorates the front of the wood bar. The dozen beers on tap, all $6, feature a mix of local names like Coney Island Lager and Six Points Righteous Brew with connoisseur German brews like the bright wheat ale Schneider-Weisse and Radeberger pilsner. Bottles include a $5 Czech lager and a $4 Pale Ale called Porkslap that was, unsurprisingly, the cheapest thing on the menu. Food is still in the works (an outdoor barbeque will be installed soon!), and an empty storefront next door to the bar is rumored to be the future home of a full kitchen and lounge area. Franklin Park, 618 St. John's Pl., Crown Heights, Brooklyn, no phone yet