• 
  Holiday Cocktail Lounge

  75 St. Marks Place, 212-777-9637

  "It's dark, it's dingy, it's upholstered in duct tape. The bartender is more loaded than the patrons, so forget cosmos or margaritas -- you'll be luck to get a good vodka tonic. This is a beer and shooters place. The crowd is always interesting and the jukebox is country rockin'." — lisagrrl, Lower East Side. "What can I say? This bar has remained the same after every other bar in the neighborhood has died and gone to yuppie hell. Yes it's dirty. The beauty of it is that you won't be forced to endure a bunch of Wall Street kids singing "Hang on Snoopy" or whatever the hell that song is called. The drinks are TRUELY cheap and the music ain't half bad. Atmospherically, I'd give this a 10,10,10!!!" — savannah89, Lower East Side. "Like your living room (if you weren't picky about cleaning the ash trays) with cheap booze. Excellent jukebox in its own very specific way. Crusty bar staff—the only kind to have, if you ask me. A fine place to hang out. Low style, but not low life." — kira, Seattle, WA.

• Subway Inn

  143 E. 60th St., New York, NY 10022, between Third and Lexington Avenue; 212-223-8929

  "I friggin' love this place. You don't know codgers till you know Subway Inn codgers. Dark as hell, ancient, run-down, and gloriously out of touch. Best during baseball season, but a gem any time of year." — shamrock, Lower East Side

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine