Hook & Ladder II

Over the past several years I've taken countless trips up and down Water Street via the M15 bus. As those of you non-New Yorkers might assume, Water Street pretty much hugs the waterline of Manhattan on its southeastern-most edge and runs right past the heart of the Financial District. Riding the M15 is always a pleasure because it goes underneath both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, past all the old ships docked at the South Street Seaport, and eventually terminates at the Staten Island Ferry terminal. I was on the M15 a few months ago when out of the corner of my eye I spotted the neon signs in the window of an upstairs bar just off Water Street, at 133 John Street, called Hook & Ladder II. There's a banner sign out front that announces the bar is available for private parties and that it has a pool table. It's been quite a while since I've gone to a bar specifically to check out its pool table, and so a few weeks ago I did just that. The place is pretty small and definitely a no-frills zone. The first thing I noticed after walking up the stairs was the mix-matched red pool table with green rails. That, and the empty beer kegs over to the side pretty much sum up the place. But I certainly wasn't complaining. I ordered a beer and started setting up a rack, content to just hit some balls around by myself. But it was a slow Thursday night and before long the bartender came over and asked if he could play me, and so that was very welcome. We played a few games, chatted a bit, and I was impressed he knew about the APA. He pointed to a man asleep down at the other end of the bar and said something to the effect of, "That big guy over there plays on the league and he practices here all the time. I learned league rules by playing him." So of course I found it somewhat refreshing to find a place where pool is appreciated and talked about. I was expecting Hook & Ladder II to be a big cop or firefighter hangout, but I didn't get that impression. It struck me more as a dock worker kind of bar. From the outside, the building is pretty unassuming. The best reviews I could find for Hook & Ladder II were on Yelp. Apparently, and this is total speculation/assumption, there's a sister bar up in Murray Hill that simply goes by the name Hook & Ladder. I'll have to find out for sure if they're owned by the same people or what. The reviews for that bar have indicated the presence of a pool table, however it is mentioned far less frequently than the beer pong table. Stay tuned.