USA Today has just announced its inaugural list of best bars in America, and two New Jersey bars made the cut.
Tierney’s Tavern, an Irish pub in Montclair, and the Wonder Bar, an iconic music venue in Asbury Park, made the short roundup of 27 favorite spots around the United States.
The list was compiled by the newspaper company’s network of food writers across the country, including The Arizona Republic and Florida Today; it includes their favorite taverns, cocktail bars and beach bars, both old and new.
At the Wonder Bar, the famous spot on Ocean Avenue, rock bands play onstage while barflies sit at the large, circular bar—which was built in the 1960s. Bruce Springsteen is known to be a regular and has played there several times. This summer, alternative New Jersey rock band Dramarama performed to a sold-out crowd as part of the state’s North to Shore festival. The bar’s colorful painting of Tilly, a grinning amusement-park “fun face” on the exterior of the building, has become a widely recognized symbol of Asbury Park, and can be found on T-shirts and mugs all over the city. It was painted there in the 1950s.
Wonder Bar even hosts a Yappy Hour for customers who want to bring their dogs. A large outdoor space includes a tiki bar and picnic tables. Shore singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins, from nearby Neptune, is slated to play there September 12.
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Tierney’s Tavern, a 90-year-old bar in Montclair, gathers college kids, boomers and old-timers alike at its vintage wooden tables and booths. The Sopranos filmed an episode at the bar, and actors William H. Macy and Emma Roberts once shared a drink here while filming a movie in town. Famous for its burgers, this classic Irish bar also hosts local bands upstairs. They even have a secret menu, and claim to have the smallest liquor store in town, selling packaged beer, wine and spirits.
Some even say the place is haunted. Bartenders have often reported hearing footsteps on the second floor, as well as the sound of bottle caps hitting the walls and floor, even when the building is closed.
The Tierney family opened the bar in 1934 and still operates it to this day.
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