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FIELD TRIP: Paul's Bar & Bowling
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FIELD TRIP: Paul's Bar & Bowling
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| The upstairs lanes at Paul's Bar & Bowling, Paterson, NJ |
| All Photos l Michael Perscio |
Paterson, the third largest city in New Jersey, is the original melting pot. Irish, Germans, Dutch and Jews were the earliest immigrants to the region, followed by influxes of Italians and Eastern Europeans. Syrian and Lebanese populations arrived as early at 1890. Paterson is home to communities of Dominican, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Columbian and Central American immigrants, many of whom are second- and third-generation Americans.
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This collision of diverse cultures is in evidence at one of Paterson's oldest continuously operated public houses, Paul's Bar & Bowling. Current owner Paul Awramko's grandfather opened the business in 1929 as a bowling alley, while he simultaneously worked as a horse-and-wagon iceman. Success selling beer from his cooler inspired him to add a tavern to the alley at the end of Prohibition, in 1933.
P.A., as he is known, started running the family business at the age of 21. He and his brothers took over day-to-day operations when their father passed away in 1969, though he does earnestly say, "The bar belonged to Mom. She was the boss."
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Like the plurality of cultures living in Paterson, Paul's Bar has a diversity of entertainments. Bowlers roll in the original bi-level lanes, complete with the automatic Brunswick Crown pinsetters installed in 1968. When bands play in the corner, bowling is free from 8 p.m. to midnight. The talented and the intoxicated take over the mic for karaoke to raucous cheers and applause. A New Jersey lottery machine squats next to a Jaegermeister dispenser, the pair offering either multi-million dollar chances or ice-cold shots of liquor as blackly green as the mildew in Satan's shower stall. For those seeking a sure thing, the food that emerges from the closet-sized kitchen is the biggest winner.
Pierogies stuffed with cheese and potato are seared and covered in sweet caramelized onions, accompanied by sour cream. Wings are deep-fried and served with sauce on the side — but the crisp, snapping exterior conceals bright white meat so flavorful it needs no dressing. Sliced spicy sausages and sautéed peppers recall dinner at an Italian grandmother's house. A plate of mozzarella and gravy-doused "Tina Fries" gives a dirty Jerz raspberry to lame disco fry imitators.
P.A. said he couldn't say where the seemingly random menu items originated. "Mom cooked, but we got the good pierogie connections from our Eastern European customers," he said. "We hired a couple of cute Polish girls to work, and they said, yeah, those are the right ones, put them on the menu!"
We never argue with cute Polish girls, and neither does P.A. From the superlative pub grub to the pencils and basic math skills required to score your bowling game by hand, Paul's Bar & Bowling is just like its 1968 pinsetter. In the words of P.A., it's "everything original — not retro."
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Paul's Bar & Bowling, 377 Crooks Ave., Paterson, N.J.; 973-278-1982; Open daily, 11 a.m.-3 a.m
Paul's the american classic's of bowling, beer and great food... The chili is homemade and the mayor stops by!!! gotta love it.
[...] north on Friday evening to Paul’s Bar & Bowling in Paterson, N.J., for the annual Osprey Bartenders Outing. Paul’s Bar is owned by Osprey substitute [...]
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