Last week Bowlmor confirmedearlier reportsthat it was opening a Times Square location in the New York Times Building, andrevealedthat the 90,000-square-foot space would have 50 lanes and a “Big Apple” theme, including a stairway fashioned after the Brooklyn Bridge. That got us to thinking about Funzi’s, the lounge at Ozone Park’s Cozy Bowl that’s graced by a mural of (funny enough) the Brooklyn Bridge.
可以看到从上面的模糊照片,Funzi(at least, we’re calling it that because that’s what’s inscribed on the mirror behind the bar) is nothing fancy, and that’s precisely its charm. There’s a shrine containing photos of Keith Hernandez and Jackie Robinson, a Quik Draw machine, a jukebox, a couple of pool tables, and aBig Lebowksiposter (Cozy Bowl hosted the first threeLebowski Fests).
You won’t find aquasi-legendary bartender-philosopherlike you will at Sunset Park’s similarly retro Melody Lanes, but a draft beer and a mixed drink comes to $8.50 and you can score a pitcher of beer along with a pie from the next-door concession stand for $17 (burgers, hot dogs, and popcorn shrimp are also sold). And right down to the fake flowers that adorn the booths, Funzi’s looks almost as if it hasn’t changed since it opened as Americana Lanes in 1960 (in 2002, a clique of Americana regulars took over operations after AMF closed the run-down lanes — the ball returns still get stuck, but at $3 per weekday game per person plus $3.50 for shoes, who’s complaining?).
Note the Galaga-themed lanes in the distancePhoto: Daniel Maurer
All of this is to say that the tourists can have their Big Apple–themed Bowlmors and velvet-ropedLucky Strikes— we’re always happy to travel to Queens for Cozy Bowl (Fridays and Saturdays are karaoke nights!), or to the Bronx forBall Park Lanes. Unless, of course, it’s shomer Shabbos.
Cozy Bowl Lanes and Lounge; 98–18 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park, Queens; 718- 843-5552
