Watch HBO and Drink Cocktails in Gowanus! Yay!

What's a True Blood fan to do when, two weeks after moving and four cancelled Time Warner cable installation appointments (all by the company and only one hurricane related), you STILL don't have HBO? You might think the answer is to make sock puppet mock ups of the principal characters and put on your own True Blood Sock Puppet Theater, but you'd be wrong. The right answer is to head around the corner to a new-ish, perfectly charming, neighborhood bar that just happens to host a True Blood/Curb Your Enthusiam/Entourage viewing party EVERY Sunday night!

Halyards (3rd Ave and 6th St in Gowanus) has awesome air conditioning, a big tv with adequate volume, plenty of seats AND a menu of cocktails. There are classics (Old Fashioned, Gimlet, etc) as well as inventive drinks (one with a homemade, 80 proof root beer flavored liquor). These are all reasonably priced at $8. Trust me, this makes the can't-not-watch-yet-stunned-by-how-ridiculously-terrible-this-show-is experience so, so much better.

Sadly, there's only one episode of True Blood left this season (way to go with the fake out, writers - Marnie's not *quite* dead, we get it) but given that they were hosting a similar party for Treme all spring I think it's a pretty safe assumption that they'll switch to a Boardwalk Empire/Bored to Death viewing party when those shows start on 9/25 and 10/2, respectively.

The experience is such a delight I just might keep going, even after I get cable installed. If it ever happens, that is.