LocalBozo.com has sent one of our correspondents out for some field research, as our own Link Cromwell attempts to bar crawl his way through Hoboken, New Jersey- just a stones throw away from Manhattan. Check back for his adventures and travels every single Friday as LocalBozo.com attempts to do the unimaginable. And yes, it involves drinking.

The Tilted Kilt recently opened up in Hoboken, and it certainly has Hoboken men turning their heads to take a look. Hidden in the western edge of Hoboken at 800 Jackson Street, The Tilted Kilt is truly unlike any other bar in town.

I guess to be simple you can call it the Hooters of Hoboken. But to be honest, calling it Hooters is doing the women who work there and their outfits a disservice. Whereas the outfits in Hooters tend to be mid-80s style baggy shorts, unappealing nude colored leggings and a tanktop, the ladies of The Tilted Kilt are dressed more like little Irish Schoolgirls. That’s good if you are into that sort of thing. But basically stay with me here and picture very short skirts and very small tops…and no leggings or other cover-ups.

So now you understand the draw of the place- scantily clad women. When I walked in early on a Friday afternoon (Black Friday in fact), it was those women that we noticed first. After that as we climbed up the bar we noticed the rest of the space. Tilted Kilt is a very large Irish Bar/Sports Bar hybrid. Some walls are covered in TVs, TVs come down off the ceilings, in fact TVs are everywhere. There is even a TV right behind the bar…which isn’t really in an ideal place. The bottom of the TV is blocked by the 24 or so beer taps they have, and what isn’t blocked by the taps are blocked by liquor bottles (in other words, not a smart setup). On the wall (in places that are not covered by TVs) tends to be Irish memorabilia, like some Guinness posters and U2 and other Irish bands album covers. The overall size of the pub is quite large, with many tables, over 30 TVs, and lots of room for parties, fantasy drafts, or large happy hours.

Now apparently the Tilted Kilt is a national chain of pubs. Normally I am slightly biased against chains, especially in a place like Hoboken that thrives on its neighborhood feel. But in walking into the Tilted Kilt you do get the feel of a chain restaurant, with the hostess station and the large seating area you have to walk through to get to the bar. In Hoboken, most restaurants with bars have their bar located immediately where you walk in, and not in the back of the place. However, being pretty far off the beaten path, in the brand spanking new MetroStop building, maybe having the backing of a chain will allow the Tilted Kilt to overcome any slight growing pains. One of the benefits of its location is that it sits right near a Light Rail stop and there is very little competition in this transportation hub area of Hoboken.

I ordered couple of Yuenglings and my friend ordered some harder mixed drinks. Considering that it was 2 PM on Friday (an atypical drinking time) we asked if there were any specials. We were kinda surprised when they said they didn’t have any at the moment. However, all things considered the place did have a decent amount of people for being an off time. My friend and I were anxious for the much anticipated LSU-Arkansas college football game, but despite all of those TVs, none were showing the game. Now I am sure if I asked for the game to be put on, they would have satisfied my request. But if you are going to be a taken seriously as a sports bar, you need to know when the big games are on, and get them on TV without people asking. Instead, they had cartoons, local news, and the Speed Channel on instead of the game (and some early season college basketball). So after we finished a couple of drinks we moved on to another bar.

So here’s the rundown…

Preconceived notion – It’s a new place and I’ve seen some pictures of the girls around town, so I knew to expect minimally dressed women and an Irish bar setting…both of which were accurate.

Bar Type – Sports Bar/Irish Pub/Hooters-like bar

Crowd stereotype – Primarily men 25 and up.

Music – Some Irish rock.

Value – Not great value, no specials when we were there.

Good for a….

Date – Probably not, don’t want your date to be jealous because you keep looking at the waitresses and bartenders.

Hookup – Again probably not.

Dance – Nope.

Catch up with a friend – Great.

First or last drink of the night – Very good.

Overall – Hoboken needed another bar on the west side of town and they got a really good one in the Tilted Kilt. It’s huge, clean, modern, and adds a little twist that wasn’t seen before in Hoboken. They might still be working out some kinks in not having some of the big games on TV, and I would love to see them add some specials to help give them another draw on top of their ladies. But if you want to see the girls you can checkout their website as I just have this thing about not taking pictures of minimally dressed women inside drinking establishments. Anyway, welcome to Hoboken, Tilted Kilt…I’ll give it a 7.3.

-Link Cromwell

Completed Bars
Introduction
Halfway
Marathon Recap
Northern Soul – 9.3/10
The Clinton Social – 9.1/10
Havana Cafe – 9.0/10
The Turtle Club – 9.0/10
Bin 14 – 8.9/10
Court Street – 8.9/10
Hudson Tavern – 8.9/10
Elysian Cafe – 8.8/10
Grimaldi’s – 8.8/10
Cork City – 8.7/10
Onieals – 8.7/10
Village Pourhouse – 8.7/10
1 Republik – 8.6/10
Wicked Wolf Tavern – 8.5/10
Zack’s Oak Bar – 8.5/10
Arthur’s Tavern – 8.3/10
Oddfellows – 8.1/10
Cucharamama – 8.0/10
The Shannon – 7.9/10
Carpe Diem – 7.9/10
Helmers’ – 7.9/10
Teak – 7.8/10
Mulligan’s – 7.7/10
Karma Kafe – 7.7/10
DC’s Tavern – 7.7/10
Louise & Jerry’s – 7.7/10
Brass Rail – 7.6/10
Hoboken Bar and Grill – 7.5/10
Four L’s – 7.5/10
Liberty Bar – 7.5/10
McSwiggans – 7.4/10
Nag’s Head – 7.4/10
Eight Street Tavern – 7.3/10
Maggie’s Place – 7.3/10
Three A’s – 7.3/10
The Quays – 7.2/10
Willow Billiard Club & Lounge – 7.1/10
S. Sullivan’s – 7.1/10
Farside – 7.1/10
Hobson’s Choice – 7.0/10
Rogo’s – 6.7/10