Jeff Hansen on the Beauty of Being a Regular

For our ongoing series “Le Guestbook,” we sit down with neighbors, regulars, and friends who make Wythe feel like home. This week, we spoke with Jeff Hansen, a longtime Williamsburg local and wine professional with Jeffrey Alpert Selections, about the changing face of the neighborhood, his favorite New York haunts, and the simple joy of sharing good company over a good drink.

Le Crocodile: You’ve been in Williamsburg since 2003. How did you wind up in the neighborhood?

Jeff Hansen: I came to New York just to come to New York. Once you visit, you either know you're going to move here or not. Williamsburg ended up being the place that was affordable back then.

“There will never be another Williamsburg,
and that’s okay. It was a period in time.”

Le Crocodile: Is there anything about Williamsburg that has been consistent since you first moved here?

Hansen: Diner is still open. Otherwise, it's a different animal.

Le Crocodile: Do you feel like the zeitgeist has moved somewhere else?

Hansen: There will never be another Williamsburg, and that’s okay. It was a period in time. I think maybe Bushwick tried to do something similar, or it just got advertised that way–but it was never like Williamsburg back then.

Le Crocodile: What's your favorite restaurant in the city right now?

Hansen: M Wells Steakhouse, my favorite restaurant in the city for many years, sadly closed on New Year's Eve. Hugue and Sarah are two of the best restaurateurs ever. I can't say I’ve found a replacement yet. I obviously love the food at Le Crocodile. Then, there's a restaurant in Tribeca called Eulalie that is outstanding and incredible. Tina, the owner, requires a certain amount of decorum from her guests, and I appreciate that. No sneakers. Please don’t show up in jeans. Dress appropriately. At the same time, I also love this little joint called Le French Diner on the Lower East Side. It used to be so easy to dine at, but now it’s impossible to get into. I've been going since before it got on people's radars, and I'm glad to see them succeeding.

“Instead of going to twenty restaurants, become a regular at one. Sit down at the bar and get to know the bartender. Sit down at a table and know the servers; know the hosts.”

Le Crocodile: Is there a characteristic you look for in a restaurant and in a friend?

Hansen: I look for loyalty and companionship. These days, everyone tries to hit as many new restaurants as they can and rate them and all that shit. We don't do that to our friends! My point is this: instead of going to twenty restaurants, become a regular at one. Sit down at the bar and get to know the bartender. Sit down at a table and know the servers; know the hosts. Restaurants should feel alive. It’s what’s fun about a joint like Le Crocodile– it’s in a hotel, but there are regulars here all the time.

Le Crocodile: What do you think is overrated in a restaurant experience?

Hansen: After thirty years in the restaurant business, the expectation that everyone should always be nice.

Le Crocodile: In whose company do you most enjoy drinking?

Hansen: Oddball people who you would never expect to be friends with. There are a couple of ladies that I met while doing a tasting, and they're a decade and a half younger than me. We'll go out and have drinks and it's just hilarious. There's the random buddy who's into metal. I'm not a metal guy, but we go drink shitty beer and have a good time together. It's just different worlds just colliding.

Le Crocodile: What's your favorite simple pleasure?

Hansen: Having a coffee and a Guinness at Le Crocodile in the morning on Saturday, and not being judged for it.

Le Crocodile: How do you take your coffee?

Hansen: Black.

Le Crocodile: Tell us a good joke!

Hansen: A skeleton walks into a bar and says, I'll have a beer and a mop.

"A skeleton walks into a bar and says, I'll have a beer and a mop."