Best of New York 2010 • Fun

• Amsterdam Billiards

  110 E. 11th St., nr. Fourth Ave.; 212-995-0333

  Just because the country’s No. 1 nine-ball player, “Iceman” Mika Immonen, regularly rules over one of Amsterdam Billiards’ front VIP tables doesn’t mean you have to be a shark to survive here. On the contrary, many patrons are casual shooters looking for well-maintained tables and a non-trashy bar. To wit: Each of the 25 Brunswick tables are cleaned every night (versus once a week, if you’re lucky, at other pool halls) and re-felted every few months. While prime-time weekend rates are a bit steep (from $8.75 an hour per person), the late-night Power Play ($29 per table, Sunday to Thursday) are hugely popular with strapped NYU students. The ambience: upscale pool-hall heaven, with a curved bar (and even curvier bar staff), plasma TVs, generously spaced tables, and oak everywhere.

From the 2010 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine