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While a chalkboard touting the happy hour tips you off to this corner bar, a faded sign above the entryway points to its bygone incarnation as a bait shop, as does a host of fish kitsch behind the lacquered bartop (which is actually the cross section of a tree). Picturing a cheesy pick-up spot? Actually, the only thing the amicable locals are locking lips on here are pints of draft beer like Blue Point and Guinness. As evidenced by a plethora of preserved critters (stuffed vermin, goat and boar heads, a rearing bear, a marlin), the theme here is hunting for game, not for a mate: With the help of an Extreme Hunting video console, you can do the former on a riser in the back where bluegrass and rock bands sometimes play. On Sunday afternoons, the regulars—lounging in church pews and resting their spicy Bloody Marys on unhinged doors that serve as table tops—are more likely to be admiring napping babies than fresh kill: If these drinkers sink a sharp point into anything, it’s the dart board in the back. — Daniel Maurer

The bar is a considerable walk from the Carroll Street subway station. To avoid the hike, take the A, C, or F to Jay St.-Borough Hall and take the fifteen-minute ride on the B61 bus, which stops right outside.