White Plains Pub Crawl

White Plains has a lively night life centered around Post Road and Mamaroneck Avenue. The only oddity a visitor might note is how little live music there is to be had. I have been told that White Plains has strict cabaret licensing laws and either does not grant new permits or charges an obscene amount for them, so during a typical night out on the town, you are not likely to come across any live music, but you may encounter Karaoke or a very loud jukebox. There seems to be consensus that this is less than ideal, but the opposition to deregulating live music is apparently quite powerful. Some have suggested that it is the currently holders of the cabaret license that have managed to prevent the law from being diluted. Anyway, enough editorial - here is the lowdown:

On Mamaroneck near Post is the center of the White Plains party scene. On the west side of the street is The Lazy Boy Saloon, The James Joyce and The Black Bear Saloon. Across the street is Acapulco and Dooley Macs. All of these places serve mediocre food; the primary attraction is the bar scene. The Lazy Boy is by far the oldest; there has been a bar operating in the same spot for several decades (Nick and Nells, earlier still Remy's). The surprising success of the Lazy Boy in the mid 90's inspired investors to build The Westchester Brewery at the height of the micro brew fad. It lasted about eighteen months, and the investors lost sick amounts of money. After a suitable morning period, it reopened as Dooley Mac's Publik House. This is one of only three locations in town which regularly features live music - very loud music, late at night, with a young crowd. Black Bear is a Lazy-Boy clone that is crowded, young, loud, and alcoholic. James Joyce is the newcomer on the block and has a skillfully done ersatz-Irish decor.

Heading down Mamaroneck toward Main Street, Griffon's and Applebee's have recently established themselves. At the corner of Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street, a Zanero's recently opened in an old bank building as part of the City Center residential / retail project, along with Legal Sea Food, and Famigia Pizzeria. All are parts of established chains with uniform service. I have not tried any of them, but I have been to the Legal Seafood restaurant in Boston and the one in Palisades Mall, so I would expect high quality food service items (cloth knapkins, heavy porcelain plates), mass-market wines (sweet), mundane food and valiant attempts to shape local high school girls into acceptable service staff (oh my god did he just say that!).

Nearby, going towards the train station on Main Street, there's two more party places - Trotters and Vintage. Trotters was a sleepy, somewhat creepy bar popular with county attorneys until recently when it was dramatically overhauled. The food is reported to be above average, the scene on some nights is High Drama. They play earsplitting club music for an older club crowd. Next door, Vintage opened recently in a cavernous space. I've been told its "just like the pubs at home in Ireland". I haven't been to Ireland yet, so I'll have to take her word for it.

If you are interested in dining, the options are more limited. The food at Dooley's and Vintage is acceptable, though the atmosphere isn't really. There is a PF Changs in the Westchester Mall, which, along with Zaneros and Legual Seafood, would be a good place to go for a grown-up date. There are several Italian restaurants - Lagunas, Graciellas come to mind, as well as that place on Court Street.