Elite Event at Urban Cowboy

On one of the first beautiful days of spring, we were welcomed into the comforting and gracious arms of Brooklyn’s Urban Cowboy. He smells like firewood and brisket and promoted so much relaxation that I would love to visit again.
The day began with a long walk from Bedstuy to East williamsburg. Upon arrival, I fell in love with the huge garage door access points in the front and back of the house. The doors offered an exceptional cross breeze on one of the nicer days that week. The décor was clean, minimal and still mid-​western. I actually loved the feel of it all. It was not overwhelming (well unless you count the toilet seat which was absurd but also pretty amazing). We made our way through the open floored living and dining space to the back yard. After greeting a bunch of friendly faces and popping a few delicious Saranacs, we were told to explore with one of our hosts. He lead us into the separate cabin in the back yard. It held a small couch, large (and clearly inviting) bed, fireplace and bathroom. It was the perfect size for any couple looking for a get away. The moment he closed the door we did not hear the city or even the people right outside the door. I honestly felt like it could have belonged in any wooded setting with out trying but even in Brooklyn, the style was not outlandish or overly themed.
The second floor housed more rooms. They were themed and spectacularly breezy and open. I loved the exposed beams and high ceilings. Each room had its own personality from the Lion’s suite to the peace pipe room. The bathroom was shared except in the case of the Lion’s suite but with only a few rooms available, I am sure there isn’t much traffic to deal with.
The event itself was super relaxed and chill. I loved sitting in their backyard, drinking beers and eating pulled pork. It was not a packed house so everyone could enjoy not only standing outside but also taking a moment to go inside to cool off. The owners were incredibly sweet and welcoming. They loved to field questions and comments and seemed to genuinely our company and their business. It is always refreshing to have an event at a local business that promotes community, friendly hosts, gracious elites and back yard beers! Thanks Pete for an amazing event and an amazing Saturday.

As I kept walking down these residential Brooklyn streets, I was wondering when I would hit a main avenue where Urban Cowboy was located.
To my surprise, the B&B is on a quiet residential street and you might not know it’s there if you aren’t looking.
When you first walk in, it’s clear that the owners put a lot of thought into the look and feel of this place. It’s very open and welcoming with a lot of old western accents.
They have a backyard with a sauna and hot tub. There is also a cool cabin out back that you can rent. There are 4 rooms upstairs, a spacious livingroom/​dining room and kitchen downstairs.
Pretty cool place to stay for a weekend or just hang out during the day.
Thanks to the Unilocal crew for putting this event together and to the owners for hosting!

I would have never guessed hanging out at a bed and breakfast in Brooklyn could be so much fun… or so chic, modern-​western. Walking down Powers Street, I honestly thought I was lost; «I know it’s a B&B, but there has to be a sign or something right?» Turns out that while there is no sign (or at least I didn’t see one), the place is pretty easy to recognize if you know what you’re looking for — a house that has not one but two ridiculously awesome garage doors built into it (best cross breeze ever). We were also welcomed with the particularly nice smell of a wood fire burning; I think we can all agree this was a subtle yet classy touch.
After the saying hi to the hosts, catching up with some familiar faces, and popping a Saranac (or two), the tour began. We started with what would turn out to be my favorite feature of the place, the cabin in the backyard. Our host Lyon told us that this had been a structure in disrepair, but looking at the place you’d never know; it had a small wood burning fireplace, a large couch and bed, and an awesome bathtub. We then passed through the yard into the kitchen — oh that kitchen. It was love at first sight; huge six burner stove, professional grade Viking fridge, white ceramic basin sink… I am so (so) envious of that kitchen, I took about a thousand pictures to stock away as starter ideas for a future place of my own. Walking up the narrow staircase that sat by the main (garage) door, we got an even better feel for the modern western feel that ran throughout the place. The combination of salvage wood doors and cattle themed wall paper, combined with exposed wood beams and rope hung fluorescent light bulbs gave this place a super interesting mix of Southwest meets East Williamsburg. Once we were done exploring the amazingness that was the house itself, it was time for lunch. BrisketTown came through in a big way, offering up some amazing cuts of meat and insanely good potato salad (seriously, how good was that potato salad?!). We hung out in their backyard for a few hours, talked baseball (who took two out of three games? Oh that’s right, it was the Yankees, MITCH), and did our best to finish off the disproportionately large sum of beer provided for us — not complaining, I love a good challenge (and apparently so does Kenny, my newest peer pressure drinking buddy, who apparently also loves a good «hey do you think we can finish all this beer» challenge).
Combine the amazing food /​the seemingly bottomless cache of Saranac, a solid group of Unilocalers, and you get the best opening day BBQ in recent memory. Huge shout out to our fantastically gracious hosts at Urban Cowboy for having us, and of course to our fearless leader (s) Pete and Ruggy for pulling such an amazing event together.

A real B & B in the heart of Williamsburg? Seems too good to be true. But it is! This spot is about original as it gets in NYC. If you want a unique experience outside of the typical hotel Urban Cowboy is great. It’s a renovated old house so it retains the feel of a rustic home but with modern flourishes. It literally makes you think of an urban cowboy. Wandering through the rooms decorated like something out of the southwest /​Nashville I felt like was transported elsewhere. There’s also a full cabin in the back as well as a hot tub. Did I mention the hot tub? The thing that’s cool about this place is the homey communal vibe. When I travel I like to seek out places that foster chit chat among the guests. And as a B & B with plenty of communal space as well as breakfast served here, Urban Cowboy does that.
The owners, Lyon and Jersey live in the basement making this a legit for reals B & B. Seems almost unheard of in modern day New York. Like the Loch Ness Monster or something.
Even if you live in NYC, I could see this being a great spot to rent out for birthdays or BBQs. Thanks to Peter, Jersey, and Lyon for the great time!

This was such a unique and different kind of event. It was basically like having a backyard bbq on a perfect sunny Saturday afternoon at someone else’s awesome house. The bedrooms are each unique and incredibly relaxing with enormous amounts of sunlight, bright clean white sheets, urban chic rustic old western décor. A backyard cabin adorned with an old stove, bathtub, an antlered chandelier, a «How to Survive in the Wilderness» book, and various Native American portraits. A big olé bucket of Saranac beer was on hand as I inspected and dreamed of sitting in the hot tub. A table of Briskettown’s goods were also on display. Man, I love Briskettown. I didn’t try the turkey but the brisket fell apart in delicious fatty ribbons and the pulled pork, potato salad, coleslaw, and pickles were nice accompaniments. I also liked how the owners said that if you are in the neighborhood and bored they don’t mind guests not staying in the bed and breakfast to hang out and chill with a book or cup of coffee or whatever. Thanks so much Peter and Ruggy for the event and the fine people of the Urban Cowboy for hosting us!

ur·ban/rbn/
adjective
in, relating to, or characteristic of a city or town.
cow·boy/kouboi/
noun
a man, typically one on horseback, who herds and tends cattle, especially in the western US and as represented in westerns and novels.
a person who is reckless or careless, especially when driving an automobile.
This place is living up to it’s name. It’s is located in that part of town called «East Willamsburg». I walked in to this beautiful B&B and saw it was modern and clean but it still kept that rugged cowboy look it was aiming for. The «Cabin» was my fav. It was a private large space in the back. It is a huge room with a bed, a tub in the room and then a separate room for the toilet. I especially loved the large Nar\tive American skull dude tapestry. I could easily live here part time. And then when you walk back into the common area/​kitchen you are greeted with a Viking stove, an array of hot sauces, a cake stand full of treats from one of my fave local bakeries, Ovenly. And then there’s even a bar. Yeah… so they basically had o pull me away from this place. Talk about the deserted island I want to be left on. Just the essentials. Do I need to mention the hot tub!
I was chit chatting with the gorgeous and hip owner, Jersey. And she mentioned how her and Lyon (the other owner) live in the basement. She mentioned how it could not be a legit B&B unless they lived in the same spot. And it’s so true. When you come to a B&B there’s an aspect of being in someone’s home because you are in someone’s home. There’s this warm and inviting feeling when it comes to one’s home.
I went upstairs to check out the rooms and they were cozy and comfortable. I wanted to take a little cat nap on the giant beds. Being here made me feel like I wasn’t even in NY.
I plan on checking out the Nashville spot when it opens.
Thanks Lyon and Jersey for inviting us into your home. It was an oasis! Thanks for the grub and the tasty drinks.
Always a shout out to Peter D and his better half! You two are adorable!

Like little daffodils, the Unilocalers emerged just as soon as the frozen tundra that was New York transitioned into spring. It was clear that everyone was enjoying the sunny day and first backyard BBQ of the year.
Urban Cowboy is special. It is delightfully unique — a portal to a different place. The vibe and décor is amazing and I kept thinking to myself ‘I want to live here!’ The house is old in the best sort of way. The cathedral ceilings in the peace pipe room were to die for. Swoon.
And the cabin! The claw foot tub! It is just about the coolest place to stay I have ever seen.
Great food, beer and crowd! I’m glad I came out, and thank you to our hosts!
Also Peter D — your wife is delightful!

Confession: I love B&Bs.
Whenever I travel, I make it a point to stay in a B&B if I can. I love the magical feeling, the coziness and warm hospitality that they offer, plus my childhood self gets her dream fulfilled of staying in a real-​life dollhouse.
Urban Cowboy has those same exceptional qualities and then some! Lyon and Jersey have created a wonderful, unique place that you can’t help but feel you’re somewhere special from the moment you enter. It’s western, rustic, urban chic, country modern, etc… however you describe it, it’s fantastically well done.
We spent a perfectly clear and sunny afternoon chilling in the backyard with delicious BBQ from Brisket Town and Saranac beers. The brisket and pulled pork were my favorites, along with the yummy potato salad (this coming from a girl who dislikes potato salad)! We were free to wander upstairs to see all of the rooms, plus the adorable cabin in the backyard. I loved the uniqueness of every room, and that cabin was beyond cool.
Great crowd, was so nice hanging out with the Unilocalers at the event and the after party! Thanks so much to Jersey and Lyon for hosting us, looking forward to seeing your next place in Nashville! And thanks to Peter D. and Ruggy for putting together this awesome event!

Lovely place…
This place is as original as it gets. With not many legal B&B’s left in NYC this is one of the last ones standing and is 100% legit.
As soon as you step foot into Urban Cowboy you will feel as though you left NY. It has such a vintage, western feel it is absolutely amazing. You can visibly see that every detail of the décor was hand selected. There are a total of 5 rooms I believe and they each had their own theme. My favorites were the Lions den and the cabin. The lions den was so cozy I literally wanted to jump into the bed and go to sleep! The cabin was awesome. That totally took it to a different level of staycation. The old school tub with the Native American theme. If you shut the door behind you you’d feel like you were in a totally different place. The entire place is so clean and welcoming. You will get nothing but the best from Lyon and Jersey as their hospitality is to the max. They also have a hot tub, a sauna, and a BBQ grill in the backyard talk about relaxing. Rather than blowing money on a hotel that doesn’t have much to offer I would highly recommend the experience of this B&B!
I would also like to add that the BBQ food from Brisket Town was damn good! I went for seconds and thirds! Loved that pork and potato salad! Anyhow thank you to Lyon, Jersey, and of course always Peter D for my first BBQ of 2015 it was a blast!!!

There are few Unilocal events that are really able to place the bulk of the focus on the actual business, but I really have to commend this weekend’s event at Urban Cowboy B&B for achieving that. First, who knew that Williamsburg actually had a Bed & Breakfast? Not only that, but holding a venue as unique and quirky as Urban Cowboy? Major kudos, Brooklyn.
The actual venue deserves much more acclaim, but stepping into Urban Cowboy is truly an escape from New York City. From the open garage door that serves as an entrance, to the compact (but surprisingly well-​stocked) bar table, to the airy kitchen that looks like it was poached from the cover of a Bön Appétit magazine, it truly is in a category of its own. Lyon Porter, the mastermind behind the space, describes it as «a modern luxury Brooklyn Townhouse, with an industrial Williamsburg /​Adirondack /​cowboy sensibility». It’s a lot of promise in just one line, but all of it holds true. In addition to four bedrooms on the second floor, Urban Cowboy sports a lone townhouse in its backyard (a perfect respite from the city), decked out with a clawfoot bathtub and a pot belly stove. The amount of care placed in each and every artifact is clear as well, evident in the Jon Bön Jovi piece hanging above the stovetop (which he’s held onto for over 15 years) to the nearly century-​old Coca Cola cooler casually sitting in the corner.
Yeah, this place is pretty awesome.
Although I arrived nearly an hour late (blame the weekend service /​shut-​down of the L), the laid-​back set up of the event made it feel as though as I hadn’t missed anything. Most of us spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine in the backyard, and the chilled bottles of summer pilsner and IPAs as well as few trays of food from Brisket Town, ranging from brisket to pulled pork to cole slaw, really made it feel like a backyard BBQ.
Thank you to Lyon and Jersey for welcoming us at Urban Cowboy; the opportunity to freely wander throughout the B&B and the time they took to share their passion with us is truly commendable. Major kudos to Peter D. and Ruggy for overseeing one of the most unique YEEs that I’ve yet to stumble across, and for one of the most relaxing Saturday afternoons that I can recall. Lyon encouraged us to stop by, with a book or a laptop, the next time any of us were in the area, pointing out that out-​of-​town guests enjoyed the chance to talk and interact with the locals. It’s certainly an offer I won’t turn down, as it truly is a space like no other.

I had the best date ever, I only needed a light jacket.
While using a joke from Miss Congeniality about April 25^th might seem corny, it really was the perfect date to throw that BBQ. The night before was freezing. So much for spring. I figured the next day would be the same. I wore a hoodie and a jacket. The second I got to the backyard though I was in heaven. The sun was out in full force. I couldn’t have asked for better weather. It really was a day where it wasn’t too hot or too cold, and you only needed a light jacket.
Walking down Powers street to Urban Cowboy, I started to ponder if this was for real. I’m walking in residential Williamsburg, down a block with five year olds on bikes, to go to a party at a bed and breakfast? It was real. Too real! Urban Cowboy is legit.
This seems like the perfect spot to have a fun night with a special someone or with a large group of friends. It provides people with the ability to get away, without really getting away.
That cabin is ridiculous. I would totally stay there for a special occasion. The upstairs rooms were pleasant looking too. My favorite was the Lion Master room.
The backyard was where all the action was though. There was beer galore. I enjoyed sipping to some beers and chatting it up with people, and talking smack to Chuck about how Matt Harvey was going to shut down the Yankees.
The food was plentiful. Thus I knew I could make a move for it later. Whenever I hit up a BBQ I make sure line my stomach with alcohol first. I have to make sure it can absorb that food. When it was time to eat I got a giant piece of brisket, a slab of turkey, some pulled pork, delicious potato salad, and a scoop full of cole slaw. The brisket was amazing. Tender, chewy, and just the right amount of fat. The pulled pork was perfectly shredded and juicy. The unheralded star of the show was that turkey tho. I had to go back for seconds, and thirds. I slabbed it on some Martins potato bread, lathered on some hot sauce and ate away. So much for watching how much I ate.
After the event we kept the party going by hitting up a sports bar to see a sports trifecta go down. A Mets, Nets, and Islanders win! Eat it, Chuck.
Thank you so much to Urban Cowboy for hosting an amazing afternoon. I made sure to get Jerze’s contact info to make a reservation in the near future. Awesome job by Unilocal setting up this party. Pete, thanks for planning an awesome Spring day for us. How’d he make it so nice out?

Things I didn’t know before this Unilocal event:
1) That there was a b&b in Williamsburg
2) That there was an AMAZING b&b in Williamsburg
To say that Urban Cowboy is an experience would be an understatement. Everything about the space is so well thought out and it makes you feel like you’re nowhere near Williamsburg (whether that’s a good or bad thing, I’ll leave up to you).
It’s rustic, modern, hip, cozy, urban, southern, and Brooklyn all at once. From the survivalist books to the old school gramophones to the new school speaker systems to the fur and leather studded toilet seats to the garage doors… I could go on and on.
Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we were able to enjoy their spacious and wonderful backyard with picnic tables, a hammock, and yes, even a sauna and jacuzzi. The only reason I didn’t go in was because I don’t have my beach body back yet. Also, because it wasn’t open.
The rooms are worthy of adulation as well. We were able to take a tour of the upstairs. Each room looked incredibly comfortable. There was one with a cool nautical window in the shower. Another with a gigantic wooden sliding door closet. As a design guy, I love love loved everything.
The cabin out back is also one of the most amazing rooms I’ve ever seen. It has its own bathtub, wood burning oven, and a gigantic tapestry on the wall.
Can’t forget to mention the food. I’ve been a supporter of Dan Delaney’s whacky ventures since Brisket Town was just a Brisket Lab, and he continues to deliver on the good food. Best fatty brisket in town. The potato salad was amazing too!
Of course, we had to wash it down with some booze. Saranac delivered with their Summer Pils and Legacy IPA. Definitely crushed a ton of both but the rest of you guys were slacking!
Anyway, big thanks to Brisket Town for the wonderful food, to Saranac for the cases upon cases of their delicious beer. To Peter and Ruggy for putting everything together. And of course, to our beautiful hosts Lyon and Jersey! See you guys in Nashville!

I almost missed it walking down residential Brooklyn Street.
But Ruggy showed up out of nowhere, then suddenly turned the corner and disappeared behind humongous evergreen and iron gates.
I felt like Alice in Wonderland that been following White Rabbit…
I looked around for little bottles that say «drink me» — and here they were. Or he was: Peter D. was standing on backyard asking if I wanted a beer, pointing to the left.
(Thankfully, or sadly, he did not turn into caterpillar).
An ice bucket filled to the brim with bottles of Saranac beer awaited us — cold, crisp, hoppy Summer Pils. Backyard perfected.
Inspired, with a beer in our hands, we continued with tour of Wonderland — we run around peeking into open doors — all of them, even the ones we did not supposed to — curiosity took over.
It is pretty unbelievable that this place exist in heart of Brooklyn. Amazing.
Rooms with edgy country-​urban chic that makes you want to stay here forever and ever…
Bathrooms and showers with tall ceilings and baskets with crisp towels… Closets with heavy reclaimed wood sliding doors… Living room with long tables and chairs… Incredible kitchen was perfect hangout retreat. Cast iron wood-​burning stoves. All kinds of cool memorabilia on the shelves and floor… Backyard: with pool, sauna & cabin that makes you basically forget you in New York.
It’s incredibly charming, and designed with amazing sense of style and attention to details.
Kudos to the owners of Urban Cowboy B&B and huge thank you for letting us all party at their place on Saturday afternoon!
Also thank you to BrisketTown for BBQ — that brisket was delicious, and cole slaw was crisp and fresh.
…Please, Peter, let us know to bring swim suits next time!

The fact is, if you give me Brisket Lab in the middle of a freeway i’m still going to give your party a 5 star rating. turns out, this particular Unilocal event was at an extra cool Bk bed and breakfast so that helps. the chances of you having to dodge traffic are much lower.
That being said, Urban Cowboy is great. And it’s run by 2 adorable (and possibly super models?) people that were so welcoming and friendly. It’s an open space too, so apparently you can just stop by and hang out with them if you want. i just might do that since they made me feel like an old friend when i talked to them. Good stuff Peter D. Good stuff indeed.