Profile

The folks behind Commonwealth continue to spread their seed over Prospect Heights, inserting throwback bars into a landscape of plasma screens and noise. In addition to the High Dive on Fifth Avenue, there’s now Sharlene’s, a TV-less operation run by the eponymous ex-manager of Commonwealth, who has nearly twenty years of suds-slinging behind her belt. Sharlene brings her twin loves of good vodka—try the Russian Standard on the rocks—and silly cover music, of which the crown jewel in the jukebox must be the Supersucker’s singing of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” The wooden bar top, grainy municipal-looking floor, and a sort of indoor gloaming are holdouts from the address’s previous resident, the no-frills Mooney’s Pub—as are many of the no-frills customers. There are a dozen beer taps, but no food, so feel free to bring or order your own. — John Metcalfe