As the commercial hub for affluent Westchester County (just north of New York City), White Plains boasts a host of upscale shopping centers and restaurants in close proximity to busy Route 287. Amongst several neighboring Mamaroneck Avenue bars such as Brazen Fox, Porter House, Hudson Grill, Element Food & Spirits, Ron Blacks Beer Hall and Black Bear lies the city’s best beer pub, LAZY BOY SALOON.
A tan exterior with brown company lettering and windowed garage door-like entrance welcomes varied patrons to the partitioned one-room pub. A closed-in patio with twelve tables and tan umbrellas allows for outside dining in the warm weather months while the exquisite cherrywood interior, with its pristine crown molding, retains a splendid cocktail-lounged sportsbar atmosphere. The elegant six-column right side bar features five tap stations with forty-two draughts, 200-plus bottled beers, sterling spirits, twelve stools, several TV’s and a mirrored inlet etched with the proud historic slogan ‘established on a Tuesday in 1994.’
Along the front wall are several neon craft beer signs from Paulaner, Founders, Abita, Pilsner Urquell, Palm and Sam Adams. The side walls are cluttered with sundry tin beer logos. The seperate partitioned left side dining space serves early Saturday afternoon ‘comfort food’ with a Southwestern flare as the place fills up during this late September ’13 sojourn.
Celebrating Octoberfest with twenty tapped pumpkin beers, my wife and I share jalapeno-peppered chili-cheesed nachos before I settle on the renowned tequila citrus wings while imbibing five previously untried libations. Two well-defined dessert-like Alaskan seasonals hit the spot post-haste. First, Midnight Sun Trickster Pumpkin Ale coalesced pastry-caked banana daiquiri sweetness, honeyed pumpkin spicing and black-peppered Belgian yeast. Then, Midnight Sun TREAT Imperial Chocolate Pumpkin fused dark-roasted black chocolate and fudgy caramelized molasses to cinnamon-nutmeg spicing. Another autumnal fave, soft-watered Kuka Pumpkin Porter (from local New York state brewer, Andean) layered dry cocoa-powdered chocolate malts alongside pronounced pumpkin-pureed spices.
Breaking away from the seasonal deluge, Robinsons Iron Maiden Trooper brought lightly creamed corn-sugared caramel malting to perfume-hopped citrus illusions for an approachable ESB. Bayou Teche LA 31 Passionne (a pale wheat ale) layered mild passionfruit across tart guava-mango tropicalia, biscuity malt sedation and mild smoked peppering (all fully reviewed in Beer Index).