Last week I went to Alphabar NYC.  If you don’t know what Alphabar is…well it’s a drinking club.  Basically every two weeks the group goes to a different bar.  The first week was a bar that started with A, the second meeting was a bar that started with  B, and last week was H…the bar for H was HiFi, and next week will be I (not sure where that is going to be yet).  I hear that I will be Alphabar NYC’s first trip to Brooklyn!

But basically you join the group on Facebook, and when you go to the events you get drink specials that Alphabar as arranged with whatever bar is for that Letter.  Hifi gave us $4 draft beers til 10pm, and this was the perfect way to have a couple drinks before heading over to Sufjan Stevens at Musichall of Williamsburg.  Alphabar is a great way to get some cheap drinks, and meet some good people.

Hi Fi is one of my favorite spots in the East Village, and they typically have great drink specials every week night from 9-12am…and they have the best jukebox in the city (click here for more on that)

In the back of the bar they have a pool table, big buck hunter, and a CSI Pinball machine.  This was my first time playing this machine…it is a newer one made by Stern, and as expected it is crime scene/science themed.  This machine was in perfect condition with a really fun playing field (a centrifuge that you could hit the ball into, skull shaped ball lock mechanisms, microscopes, ect).  The multi-balls weren’t easy to get, but if you can they are super fun.  Not all of the new machines by Stern are good, but this one was pretty awesome.

I know it’s not in Brooklyn, but it is highly recommended.

The specifics:
Machine: CSI
Price: 75 cents per play, or 3 for $2
Level: a bit steep, but overall fair.
Condition: Brand new. Works perfectly.
Notes: A great machine at a great bar.  Another reason why I love HiFi.

Links:

• The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory
• Join Alphabar NYC (everyone is invited) here!
• more about HiFi and their amazing jukebox here.
• more on Pinball here.

This weekend involved much more than pinball (Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and the Edible Manhattan Fall Harvest Party), but we did manage to check out a couple more machines.

I had been reading about Satellite Lounge for a while, and heard that they had several machines… Satellite Lounge is a very short walk from Grand Street, and after finishing dinner at Caracas we headed over for a beer.  The sign outside the bar said “Good Vibes,” and that is something harder to deliver than one would expect…but that is exactly what Satellite Lounge is….Good Vibes.

As we walked up to the bar we could see five glowing pinball machines!  Typically I’m surprised to see a bar with two machines, but 5 is unheard of.  Four of the machines are newer machines produced by Stern (Batman, Simpsons, 24, and Lord Of the Rings), but they also had one machine made by Williams (Taxi). All of the machines were 50 cents a play, expect for Batman (75 cents per play, or 3 for $2).  All of the machines were pretty level, but the Lord of the Rings and 24 machines were a little on the steep side…not bad, but a little fast.

Beers were reasonably priced too…Lagunitas IPA for $5, and the bartender had good taste in music as well.  I will definitely be making the trip to Satellite whenever I have the urge for pinball…it is by far Brooklyn’s Best Pinball destination.

Saturday night we stopped in at the Levee on the way back from the Harvest Party.  The Levee isn’t my favorite bar, but they do have really reasonably priced beers (and good beers at that…$5 Dogfish 90 mins).  The Levee only has one machine, and that is the same Batman machine that Satellite Lounge had.

The Batman machine showed me how much two identical machines can differ.  The machine at the Levee was very steep (I can’t call this one level), and wobbly (the machine shook when you hit the flippers hard). The machine itself also did not work like the one at Satellite Lounge Machine either.

A little bit on the Batman machine itself…at Satellite Lounge this was our favorite machine.  Very unique playing field, and bonuses…the machine even rumbled (literally shook the whole machine) during some of the bonuses, but at The Levee this feature was broken.  The machine at the Levee is playable (although we did have problems with the ball getting suck), but not ideal.

For more (easier to read details..including addresses to these places) please click through to the North Brooklyn Pinball Directory.

This past Saturday klk and I took a drive to Asbury Park, NJ to go to the Silver Ball Museum (The Pinball Hall Of Fame). I was unaware that there was a pinball museum so close to New York City (I had previous only known of the National Pinball Museum in Silver Springs, MD)… but last week my friend Brendan sent over the link to their site.

The Silver Ball Museum is located in Asbury Park, NJ, and the drive was surprisingly easy.  Asbury Park is a nice little town (edit: I’m getting criticism for this statement…but as far as re-developing goes…it is a nice…slightly abandoned…town…what it comes down to it that I like it), and the block of Cookman St. that the Silver Ball Museum is on is pretty kicking…including a couple cafes, restaurants, the wonderful Paranormal Books and Curiosities, and the future home of the Paranormal Museum! The Silver Ball Museum itself is located in the back of the Speak Easy.  The Speak Easy is a music equipment, record, and rock apparel store (we did pick up a 7″ while at Speak Easy, but more on that will come later this week)….you walk in and head to the back…you see the Silver Ball signs, and walk down the steps into a basement filled with pinball machines.

If you have been reading the Great Pumpkin you probably already know that I have been working on The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory, and that pinball is a passion of mine.   Most of the machines in Brooklyn seem to be from the late 70’s up til the early 2000’s, but the Silver Ball Museum’s focus is on machines created from 33′-79′!

Typically when you think of museums you think of something that is hands off, and just for looking, but the Silver Ball Museum was 100% hands on.  While it might appear to be expensive there are several options for admission:

• $5 for 15 minutes
• $10 for an hour
• $20 for the day
• $50 for the weekend

Admission into the Silver Ball Museum gets you all you can play for the time you are there (and if you haven’t played a pinball machine in a bar lately, you can spend $10 and play the game much less than an hour).  The man working the counter let us in, and said “All of the games are on free play…if the machine is turned on all you have to do is find the start button.”

I had pretty high expectations for Silver Ball, and it exceeded my expectations by far.  Silver Ball gave me a history lesson in pinball in the best way possible…not only did I get to see how machines have progressed over time, but also experience how they feel during game play.  The most interesting thing I learned was that the flippers got much bigger sometime during the 70’s, and this made the game slightly easier…too me honest most of the machines from the 60’s were a little bit too hard.

Almost all of the machines were on (very few out of order…and most of those were marked), and in better condition than I could have ever imagined.  It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon, and gave us the opportunity to play a whole lot of machines (they boast 100 of the best from the 60’s and 70’s).

These were some of our favorites:

Fireball had an intense spinning mechanism in the middle that shot the ball in crazy directions…one of the most unique machines I have played:

Those were some of our favorites, but by far the most impressive thing was the amount of machines that you could try.

I’ll be honest, and say that this was my first good experience in New Jersey, and I really enjoy Asbury Park.  For fans of pinball in the NY/NJ area I think the Silver Ball Museum is a place you must visit…If I was spending the night out in Asbury Park I could totally get my moneys worth of a full day pass.

Paranormal Books and Curiosities (located at 627 Cookman Avenue) was a wonderful surprise, and we ended up bringing a book and some magazines home with us.  One of the best stores specializing in the occult that I have ever seen.  They do Ghost Walks, Haunted Investigations, Psychic Readings, and more all out of this shop! Here is a little bit more about the shop:

More than a store, Paranormal Books & Curiosities is a unique experience boutique! Participate in ghost hunting classes and paranormal investigations, view exclusive paranormal art and exhibits, or drop by for guest lectures, book signings and performances held throughout the year. We guarantee you won’t find any place like this in the world!

Paranormal Books & Curiosities also carries a wide variety of hard to find books and regional titles, including the current issue of Weird NJ. And for the paranormal investigator, we stock the latest in ghost hunting equipment and supplies.

I plan on going back to Asbury Park again once the Paranormal Museum opens…their first exhibit will be on the Jersey Devil! And while I’m there I will definitely stop back into the Silver Ball for another hour or so of pinball.  This is truly an amazing block in Asbury Park.

The Silver Ball Museum is located at
639 Cookman Ave
Asbury Park, NJ 07712
(in the back of Speak Easy and a couple doors down from Paranormal Books and Curiosities)
(732)-774-4994

Additional Info and Links:

• Silver Ball Pinball Museum
• Paranormal Books and Curiosities (and eventually the Paranormal Museum)
• The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory
• more of my pictures of the Silver Ball Museum here.
• Paranormal Books photo by Shawn Perez via flickr

Last night we headed up into Greenpoint to try out a couple more machines.  First was Mark Bar.  Mark Bar is a place that I don’t make it to that often, but the music is typically pretty good, drinks reasonably priced, and overall a pleasant atmosphere.  Tucked way back in the corner of the bar there lives a Indiana Jones Machine (which I’m finding out seems to be a common one round these parts)

Next up was Tommy’s Tavern.  Tommy’s is pretty divey, and I had only ever been there one other time for a show.  The space is awkward with loud Nu-Metal blasting to just the bartender and a couple older men.  We ordered drinks and played their Wheel Of Fortune machine.  Although the machine broke a couple times while playing it (balls getting stuck, including a four ball multiball all getting stuck in the launch shoot), we were able to fix it…and it is a pretty fun machine (not as good as the Family Guy Machine at Mug’s, but this one gets points for being old).

For all the details on these machines (and more!) click through to the North Brooklyn Pinball Directory.

UPDATE (9/23/09): Stopped in Tommy’s Tavern and the Wheel Of Fortune machine was gone, and there was BIG BUCK HUNTER in it’s place.  I asked and they said pinball was gone for good.  fucking sad. 

Continuing my research on pinball in North Brooklyn last night, klk and I stopped into Mug’s Ale House to play their machine.  I was skeptical of the Family Guy Pinball, because honestly I’m burnt out on that show…but it proved to be a really awesome machine.  So far I feel like this machine is the gold standard.  Really fun.

Click HERE to go to the North Brooklyn Pinball Directory!

Pinball is something that I have always enjoyed, but rarely get to play.  When I was in Chapel Hill for XX Merge the Orange Country Social Club had a really rad Elvis Pinball Machine.  Yesterday I was looking to find more information about Pinball machines in my hood, North Brooklyn, and found very little.  I’m aiming to make a directory of Pinball Machines in the area, with all of the vital info: type of machine, price, is it level (how fast does the ball move), and the condition (do all the springs and stuff seem to work).  I’m not going to get into the manufacturer, or year it was built, because after all I just like to play.

This is just the beginning.  I will be adding more pictures, and machines as I play them.  It might be a slow process, but you can help.  If you see a machine…let me know where it is, and I’ll go play it! I am going to focus on North Brooklyn, but machines outside that geographical area will also be added to the bottom of the page.  I figure focusing on the area I live will produce the best results.

The first two entries are Daddy’s and Enid’s.

The Great Pumpkin Presents:

The North Brooklyn Pinball Directory

As machines are added to the list I will be posting a picture of the machine on the blog, and a link to the directory.  I hope others find this helpful too.

Cheers,

Tom

UPDATE: Thanks Anna for the tip.  Here are some of establishments to come:

• Mark Bar
• Bruar Falls
• Mugg’s Ale House,
• The Levee
• Satellite Lounge
• Lulu’s (formerly Lost and Found)
• any others let me know (and I’m always on the look out).