Another day, another secret bar. yawn. you’ll find the staircase that leads to Cienfuegos tucked away in the back of the Cuban sandwich shop Carteles. and while the hidden bar shtick has seen its day, there is definitely a reason to hit this spot, which is decked out like an old-school Cuban social club. the drink menu is full of rum punches designed by mixologist Charlotte Voisey. think getting punched is a bad thing? not after you put your face into one of these bowls. more

MANHATTAN'S FAVORITE WEST Side watering hole, The Rusty Knot, recently started a party bus service from Williamsburg. On slower nights, a vehicle complete with stripper poles and free beers will pick you up from Bedford Avenue and take you to the land of pretzel dogs, obscure tiki drinks and nautical-themed decor. Even though a trip on the drunk-mobile sounds fun, there’s no reason to head across the river anymore. New Williamsburg haunt The Commodore, taking up the space where dear, departed Black Betty once was, fills all of your upscale dive bar needs. In fact, you could call it Rusty Knot East. If you wanted to sound like a dick. more

WHEN THE OWNERS of Lower East Side spot Orchard Bar decided to renovate, they had to deal with the notorious LES Community Board. These nightlife naysayers try to shut down pretty much every drinking establishment with complaints of too much noise, out of control crowds, flim-flammery, Satanism—just about anything that sticks. During the reboot, Orchard Bar had to tone it down to avoid the pitchforks and torches of these mad-eyed neighbors. Now called 200 Orchard, the spot nixed the stage that once dominated the back room and decided to go green. The space is decorated with repurposed materials while still maintaining a gritty Downtown vibe. Turns out recycling really can be badass. more

SAN FRANCISCO SAW the original Mission Dolores open in 1776. This settlement, which is the oldest mission that’s still standing in California, sought to bring religion to an uncharted land. Brooklyn’s Mission Dolores has a similar charter. Housed in a converted auto shop, this bar seeks to bridge the gap between family-minded Park Slope and stilldeveloping Gowanus. It’s not the gospel being spread at the new outpost; with 20 taps and a focus on American craft labels, this spot’s holy water is beer. more

Walking into a restaurant with a French-sounding name like Allegretti, you might take a look at the menu and think, What’s with all the pasta? Tagliatelle, risotto, garganelli—the menu is rife with Italian goodies. And while Chef Alain Allegretti is in fact French, he’s not undergoing an identity crisis. He’s from Southern France, and the area’s cuisine is full of Italian influence. In case you slept through European history class like, well, everyone, the city of Nice was actually an Italian dominion as late as 1860. This means there was plenty of time for the chefs of the area to hone their skills at the pasta press. more

GET YOUR COLD weather puns ready, because theres a cool new lounge in town. Gramercys Polar, located in the Marcel Hotel, is selling itself as an arctic ice cave. This subterranean space has got paintings of polar bears, glaciers in their cocktails and icy blue hueseverything you need to chill out in the warm weather. more

LIKE AN EPISODE of The Twilight Zone, a walk down Hoboken’s main drag of bars is familiar but off-putting.There is a charming city vibe, but you can tell things are just a little bit off. Salons excitedly advertise “up-dos,” the Elks club (est. 1888) showcases no irony in its Caribbean Night celebration and signs warn of a $2,000 fine for unruly house parties.With the brownstones and young folks walking the street, it feels New York—but Brooklyn this ain’t. If you’re bar hopping here, you have entered the Jersey Zone. more

THOUGH THE PHRASE “peasant food” sounds low-brow, New York’s version of a peasant dish might just be some of the best chow that you’ve had. Think about it—you’re out on a drunken night in the West Village and stop for a $2 falafel on MacDougal Street or at that taco truck on Sixth Avenue. Simple, cheap, delicious. Arcane, a restaurant tucked away on Avenue C, showcases a different kind of peasant dish in its Colombo De Porc. Though traditional French Caribbean cooking is much harder to find in the city than Famous Ray’s Pizza, this pork curry stew is just as tasty and comes from similar low cost roots. more

MEATPACKING DISTRICT SPOT Abe & Arthur’s is New York nightlife all growed up. The space used to house Lotus, one of the first clubs to plop down amidst the trannies and leather bars that inhabited the Far West Side of 2000. During those days, a Cosmopolitan was considered a quality cocktail and the velvet rope era was in its infancy. As the decade wore on, though, the neighborhood’s smutty spots were washed away and replaced with overpriced clubs that drew the stiletto-clad crowds like drunken moths to striped-shirt, bottle-buying flames. more

STEPPING INSIDE The Manhattan Inn, you’ll be hard pressed not to say “Yowza.” Greenpoint’s newest lounge is quite the looker. The spot is warmly lit and constructed mostly out of recycled wood—throughout you’ll find creative touches that keep with the eco-friendly theme. School desks are re-imagined as bar tables. Old auditorium chairs are used for seating at the worn wooden tables in the bar’s back room. The lounge’s showpiece is a baby grand piano, which sits directly in the center of the dining room. And that baby’s not just for show—a pianist tinkles at the keys while you sip your cocktails. If you’re not impressed with the décor, you’re probably taking that jaded New Yorker thing a little too far. more