Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Best of New York Nightlife 2004

Best Dives

One of the last of the great old gin mills.

  • Photo by Pak Fung Wong
  • Some bars haven’t kept pace with the times—thank God. Here’s where to go for some cheap, liquid relief after . . .

    . . . Splurging at a Nolita boutique
    The Mars Bar
    (25 E. 1st St.; no phone). A couple bucks will get you a Rheingold, though you may identify a bit too closely with some of the graffiti (go kill yrself). The infinitesimally more genteel Milano’s (51 E. Houston St.; 212-226-8844) has $3 PBRs and a stellar selection of potato chips.

    . . . Braving a sale at Bloomingdale’s
    The Subway Inn
    (143 E. 60th St.; 212-223-8929), where a shot of brown spirits will set you back $4. Deserves landmark status.

    . . . Noticing another New Duane Reade on 14th Street

    The drab Blarney Cove (510 E. 14th St.; 212-473-9284), which sells mugs of Bud for $1.25 to a serious drinking crowd from 8 a.m. on.

    . . . Dodging baby carriages in the Slope

    O’Connor’s
    (39 Fifth Ave., Park Slope, Brooklyn; 718-783-9721). Though it may look forbidding—clearly a no-stroller zone—it achieves a friendly neighborhood vibe with its $2.50 Buds and year-round Christmas lights.

    . . . Seeing the skyline from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

    Montero’s
    (73 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn Heights; 718-624-9799). A pool table, mysterious nautical bric-a-brac, $3 beers—if you can’t forget your troubles here, you’re probably stuck with them.

From the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine