Lovely Service at Lover-Owned Maracuja
Maracuja is a little dive-and-grill on the south side of Williamsburg owned and operated by Charles Kaim and his wife Connie Ruiz. It’s a bar whose creators have put so much love into their project that it emanates from the walls. Restored to its mahogany 1950s originality and decorated with antique cameras, apothecary bottles, tinplate advertisements, an upright piano, a wooden rotary phone booth, and a beautiful backyard with a gazebo and roses galore, this is a romantic place to take a lady. And don’t worry, you penny-pinching love seekers, the joint is cheap too.
At the bar you got a PBR and shot for $6, picklebacks for $5, car bombs for $8 and Jaeger bombs for $9. And at the grill you got homemade empanadas for $5, a basket of fries or yucca fries for $4 (add $1 for melted cheddar cheese), and sliders for $5. Or if you’re in the mood for a snack just ask the bartender, Charles or Connie, for a Slim Jim or Pop-Tart. That’s right, they have Slim Jims and Pop-Tarts too! If you’re too broke for this place, then go home or take a walk. Know what I mean?
One odd and charming little aspect to this spot is that – since it’s ran and operated by a husband and wife – if the owners decide to go out of town for a vacation that’s it: the place is closed until they get back. It’s usually closed for about a month during the winter season, but now that they’ve already done that the bar should be open. They’re both sweet people and the kind that make you feel at home inside their establishment. Go there, drink and eat there, take a date there, chill in a gazebo with roses there, sit in an old phone booth and call your mother there, blah, blah, blah, etc… It will be worth it.
Maracuja Bar & Grill
279 Grand St. (between Roebling St. and Havenmeyer St.)
[Williamsburg]
image from yelp.com
