Chris Schonberger

This tasteful new cocktail bar hosts musical performances and comedy shows. 

Even in a bar scene as evolved as NYC’s, it can be frustrating how frequently what you drink determines where you drink. Seeking out good beer often requires a tolerant attitude toward televised sports, while hunting for haute cocktails can easily translate into an evening of bartenders dressed like Newsies extras. What we appreciate most about Proletariat—a slim ten-seat suds parlor behind Jane’s Sweet Buns—is that it offers a new stage for craft brewing. Co-owner Ravi DeRossi (Death & Company, Cienfuegos) has a knack for these types of high-concept spots, having built an impressive stable of niche cocktail joints in the ’hood. For this beercentric watering hole, he’s wisely handed the reins to beverage director Chris Elford, who honors the motto on the wall—rare, new and unusual beers—with one of the most exciting brew lists in town. Of course, flouting convention doesn’t mean everyone will like you. The tight quarters, semicovert location and aggressive markups can make Proletariat feel like a Portlandia sketch in the making (the name, with its connotations of downtrodden 99-percenters, is laughable at a spot that will charge you $10 for an eight-ounce pour). But for beer nerds looking to escape the pub, the place has a curious magnetism. DRINK THIS: Elford does a laudable job sorting through cutting-edge trends from New Jersey to New Zealand. Among the ten rotating taps and roughly 30 bottles, you’ll find collaborations between gypsy brewers (Stillwater Mikkeller Our Side

For those who crave not just great drinks, but also the culture of drinking well, there’s a certain thrill that comes with encountering a new bar that you want to get to know beyond the first date. The gorgeous Donna, a breezy, rum-soaked drinkery secreted away near the Williamsburg waterfront, is long-term relationship material: mysterious and sexy enough to seduce on sight, yet substantive enough to keep you coming back to dig deeper. The cocktails alone could coax aficionados from their habitual perches, but it’s the transporting staging that seals the deal—a fever-dream vision of Central America that owner Leif Young Huckman says takes its inspiration from Spanish-colonial cathedrals, Art Nouveau parlor rooms and the sailor’s flophouse that existed on this site in the 1800s. It all adds up to something charming, refined and a little subversive—an enchanting nook that feels worlds away from the industrial streets outside. DRINK THIS: Rum anchors the cocktail list from bar manager Jeremy Oertel (Dram, Mayahuel), who expresses the colonial theme with drinks that match tropical ingredients (pisco, Mexican Coke) with old-world amari and liqueurs (Ramazzotti, yellow Chartreuse). The OJ-splashed Brancolada elevates that tiki warhorse, the piña colada, with herbal and minty Branca Menta—the result is at once sophisticated and dangerously easygoing, like a Ph.D. student gone wild on spring break. If you’re in the mood for something stirred and on the rocks instead, the Haunted Hou

In recent years, Nolita has fully embraced its calling as the next great food ’hood, with hot spots like Parm, Osteria Morini and Balaboosta popping up alongside old favorites such as La Esquina and L’asso. Now the booze offerings are falling into place as well: Mother’s Ruin and 1534 spearheaded craft cocktails in the area, while Randolph Beer has ushered in a much-needed cast of craft brews. The Daily—a larger, more boisterous second coming of the Monday Room, the wine-and-canapés annex of Public—is a natural fit for this evolving terrain. The high-concept conceit of the place—it’s meant to evoke the well-heeled clubhouses of old New York, where gents gathered to discuss the day’s news—drives both the daily-changing drinks menu and the heavily stylized AvroKO makeover, accented by sepia-toned photographs emblazoned with provocative tabloid-style proclamations (secret meetings shape the world, drive over the bastards). While the setup feels all too familiar, it works pretty well, with good service and talented personnel running the show. DRINK THIS: Beverage director Naren Young (Saxon + Parole) says he collected a master list of more than 600 drinks to fuel the daily offerings, which are posted on Facebook and writ large across a felt menu board. What that means, in practice, is that this is a classic cocktail joint, with each day’s six featured tipples occupying quick-read categories such as “frothy” and “bubbly.” It’s gimmicky, but it serves its purpose well: Indecisive o

The craft-beer movement has been in expansion mode recently, colonizing far-flung neighborhoods like Washington Heights (Buddha Beer Bar), Long Island City (Alewife Queens) and Bed-Stuy (Brooklyn Tap House). What’s been glaringly missing from the takeover, however, has been a foothold in the thick of midtown—prime terrain for converting the Bud-swilling masses, as well as tourists who might be unaware of New York’s burgeoning brew culture. Thankfully, 2012 is shaping up to be a turning point: New York Beer Company and Little Town NYC kicked things off by flying the flag for local breweries, and now the long-delayed Beer Authority has upped the ante, christening a whopping 70-plus draft lines right across the street from Port Authority. Fair warning: The massive, multilevel gastropub—a spin-off of brew-geek favorite Rattle N Hum—won’t shake you out of your midtown ennui at first glance. Aside from some brewery decals on the walls and funky beer-tap handles on the bathroom doors, the place feels like a generic Irish pub. But for the suds alone, Beer Authority is a game-changer. DRINK THIS: Rattle N Hum regulars will be familiar with the daily draft menus, printed on white paper and categorized by style, alcohol-by-volume and RateBeer scores. There are some concessions to the ’hood, to be sure: Rattle’s “No crap on tap” mantra has been loosened to allow macrobrews like Stella and Heineken into the mix, and a no-frills ground-floor nook peddles snoozeworthy beers and spirits to f

Red Rooster Harlem may be a restaurant first and foremost, but anyone who’s made the trek is just as likely to tell you about the scene: Marcus Samuelsson’s uptown gamble is a certified hot spot, with a nightly scrum as lively and diverse as any in town. Thankfully, some of the folks who have been lining up three deep at the front bar can now slip downstairs to Ginny’s Supper Club, a sprawling basement lounge modeled after the Harlem speakeasies of the ’20s. With its own menu, cocktails from star mixologist Eben Klemm and a steady lineup of live music, the venue seems to have caught fire overnight. If you thought the Rooster was hopping before, now’s the time to circle back for the second act. DRINK THIS: The cocktail list is by turns classic and playful, with the most interesting options taking cues from Samuelsson’s Scandinavian roots. Dark-spirits enthusiasts might kick things off with a smartly tweaked Sazerac ($13), which deploys caraway-infused whiskey to evoke a slice of Nordic rye bread. There are less brawny options as well, like the easygoing Good Times ($12), which draws out the refreshing botanicals of gin with lemon, Dutch’s Colonial bitters and a fragrant sprig of thyme. Pairing the eclectic cocktails with globe-trotting eats can be a tricky endeavor. If food is high on your agenda, a serviceable collection of wine and bubbly should see you through; sadly, the beer list is a flop, highlighting international mass-market brews over craft options. GOOD FOR: Dinner

The New York dive bar is an institution in flux. While the old, scum-encrusted stalwarts like Mars Bar fade away, newcomers to the genre often come off as self-conscious replicas of their predecessors, trying their damnedest to appear gritty in parts of town that, for better or worse, just aren’t that gritty anymore. What’s great about Tender Trap—a drinkery from nightlife vet Ryan Virag (APT, Santos Party House) and BMX pro Darryl Nau—is that it doesn’t try to be a bar for the Bowery in the ’90s. Instead, it’s a no-frills spot that makes sense in present-day Williamsburg—a “classy dive” rejiggered for an era when it’s IPAs, not intravenous drugs, that keep the kids going. The place looks like a skater’s crash pad after his parents came by to clean up, neatly arranging his magazines (including the porn) and video collection (Ghostbusters on VHS, a Metallica live box set). But the various refinements—graffiti-free walls, French-press coffee—don’t stop the Trap from embodying the spirit of a good dive. DRINK THIS: The beer-and-shot combo, that trusty dive standby, is alive and well here. Pony up six bucks for a can of Genesee and a well whiskey shot, which in this case might mean Old Overholt rye or Evan Williams. The rest of the drink offerings don’t venture too far off the party-fuel track, but they’re slightly upgraded for the evolved Williamsburg palate: Dark rum is mixed with house-made ginger soda in the Ginger Lynn ($8), and the Clams Casino (beer and tomato juice) is ki

The neighborhood restaurant is a genre beloved by Brooklynites, whose Kings County pride is fueled by casual eateries---places where thoughtful food can coexist with reasonable prices and friendly service. There's obvious comfort to be found in the bond between regulars and their go-to filling station, but it can be a curse to the ambitions of a hungry chef. After all, how good can a neighborhood joint be if only the locals take to it? At first glance, Thistle Hill Tavern---the most recent addition to South Slope's growing culinary cosmos---appears to be another example of the borough's navel-gazing nostalgia. The cozy interior feels like a temple to turn-of-the-20th-century Brooklyn (dark wood, antique maps, black-and-white photos), and the seasonal New American angle---with its earnest balance of meat, fish and vegetarian-friendly offerings---is a predictable match. What's not predictable, however, is the accomplished food---at her best, chef Rebecca Weitzman, an 'inoteca alum and winner of Food Network's Chopped, produces dishes that are too good to be bound by a single zip code. Though the menu doesn't list any appetizers, tapas-like "snacks & sides" provide a good starting point. A fig-and-mascarpone crostini was delicately executed, balancing the sweetness of the thinly sliced fruit with rich, buttery cheese. Pair it with a selection from a wine list that highlights small producers, or mull your options over a local beer (Brooklyn Brewery, Kelso and Sixpoint all get nod