Croxley Ales
190 Main St.
Farmingdale
516-293-7700
www.croxley.com

You have to love an alehouse that’s got a dedicated beer menu, especially one that proclaims, “Beers we do not carry: Bud, Miller & Coors.” What Croxley Ales does stock is an incredible 68 ales and lagers on draught, including, of course, many craft beers. A stool at the long bar gives you a perch for viewing an exhibit of beer taps, proudly jutting from the back of the bar for all the world to see: colorful, some of them outlandish, but utilitarian art-a treat for a breweriana geek such as myself. Sample a few and taste your way around the world. There are now three Croxley Ales on LI and this newest one, which opened this summer, has doors open to a sidewalk café and a great view of the Long Island Rail Road cars speeding by. I washed down authentic and satisfying Bangers and Mash, made with English Cumberland sausages, with Croxley Ales’ own crisp and light Croxley Blond. A Brit-infused roster of dishes also includes Shepherd’s Pie, Fish and Chips, and Meatloaf made with Young’s Oatmeal Stout. The pub grub boasts your favorite apps and salads with good sandwich options like a Popcorn Shrimp Po’ Boy and Pulled Pork on a roll. Their famous Fireman’s Buffalo Burger, made with buffalo wing sauce, bleu cheese and bacon, heads up a long list of burgers. Finish with a Beer Cocktail, like Dark Side of the Moon (Blue Moon topped with Guinness) or Black Cherry (Sam Cherry Wheat topped with Guiness).

Miller’s Ale House
3046 Hempstead Tpke.
Levittown
516-520-7000
www.millersalehouse.com

Question: How did this enormous sports bar, part of a chain which boasts 41 Florida locations, crop up under the radar in May and start immediately packing them in, day and night? Answer: Cheap beer. And low-priced chow. Serving $5 pitchers of anything made by Miller and $2 drink specials all day, every day, goes a long way in lean economic times. Also, more than welcome are the 30 beers on tap and 25 bottled, plus an extensive menu with enormous platters of seafood, steaks, salads, sandwiches and those famous boneless chicken wings called Zingers, all at modest tabs. Local ladies and gents of all ages fill booths as far as the eye can see. Flat-screen TVs abound and surround in the cavernous space and if I were 10 years younger-make that 25-and not as picky about what I eat, I’d make this my late-night hang. Who needs a diner when this place serves till 2 a.m.-with better prices and a menu more interesting, if not adventurous? Hot lunch specials for under five bucks, including a more-than-decent Shepherd’s Pie covered with cheddar and a bonus of crisp garlic bread, plus Meatloaf or Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches, are hard to pass up. But a Chicken Cheesesteak sandwich was subpar, and an order of 10 chicken wings was short two. The barkeep did remove it from my tab.