We noticed a few things this week.
A few theaters, some roasteries, that cute florist you didn’t know existed, and more cozy spots from the cities we live in.
- The Odd Edit
The Lower East Side Bar Where the Drinks Are Built Like Algorithms
Double Chicken Please at 115 Allen Street, LES — the World's #2 bar (2023) where every cocktail compresses seven references into one drink, the same way a generative model resolves a prompt. Five years before "ai" became the search trend.
- The Odd Edit
A Science-Lab Speakeasy Hidden in the Building Where Nikola Tesla Lived
A 34-seat underground cocktail bar in the cellar of the Radio Wave Building where Nikola Tesla lived in 1896 — accessible by keypad behind a coffee shop menu board, with a Tesla-themed menu divided into Energy, Frequency, Vibration, and Descent.
- The Odd Edit
A Speakeasy on Norfolk Street That Still Serves Drinks in Teacups
A genuine Prohibition-era speakeasy at 102 Norfolk Street, LES — hidden behind a toy company sign, still serving cocktails in teacups since 2004.
- The Odd Edit
A Bar Inside a Former Casket Factory in Bushwick
A Bushwick bar inside a former casket factory since 2010 — oil drum tables, a Patti Smith ticket under the plexiglass counter, and trivia on Wednesdays.
- The Odd Edit
The Speakeasy That Hides Behind a Psychic's Neon Sign in the West Village
A West Village speakeasy hiding behind a neon Psychic sign since 2004, and the Art Deco cocktail program that shaped NYC's craft bar scene.
- The Odd Edit
A 19th-Century Longshoreman Bar at the End of Brooklyn
Sunny's Bar in Red Hook has been open since 1890 — built for dockworkers, saved by Hurricane Sandy fundraising, and still run by Tone Balzano Johansen. The city's best bars are always somewhere no one thinks to go.
- The Odd Edit
A Victorian Parlor Hidden Behind a Doorbell in Chelsea
Raines Law Room: a Victorian parlor in Chelsea behind a brass doorbell. Opened 2009, no standing, ~40 cocktails — an evening that starts before you walk in.
- The Odd Edit
A Cocktail Bar Sleeping Inside San Francisco's Old Newspaper Building
Local Edition occupies the former San Francisco Examiner press room beneath the Hearst Building on Market St. The marble bar top came from Hearst Castle. Opened 2012.
- The Odd Edit
A Speakeasy Hidden Behind a Hot Dog Stand on St. Mark's Place
Behind a phone booth inside Crif Dogs on St. Mark's Place, PDT has been NYC's most influential speakeasy since 2007. Still reservation-only, still worth it.
- The Odd Edit
A Cocktail Bar in the Former Printing Room of the San Francisco Examiner
A candlelit jazz bar in the basement of SF's Hearst Building — once the Examiner's print room, now home to marble from Hearst Castle, newspaper cocktail menus, and live jazz every night.
