Then there’s food. If that doesn’t matter when you arrive, then it might become important when you realize that you don’t want to leave.

Unsurprisingly, the foodstuffs lean toward flavorful fatty items that pair well with beers: pulled duck sliders, ALT (a vegetarian BLT, with avocado taking bacon’s place), fish donuts made with cod and corn, clams and sausages served with Sullivan Street Bakery’s bread, deep-fried Adirondack Bill’s horseradish pickles, fried oysters and bacon, Thai calamari . . . The words alone could increase a reader’s thirst.

The dedication to craft, in food as in beers, could increase a guest’s respect for a Pony Bar. Could and should. Good New York City places, these bars have no time to waste in being dishonest. They have their standards, and they serve by them.

3/7