RuPaul, Patron Saint of New York’s Gay Bars
During Drag Race season, New York’s gay bars have the atmosphere of a sports bar in the run up to the Super Bowl.
- story: Jen Vafidis
- photo: Gabi Porter
When John O’Donnell Talks, People Listen
For the longtime Van’s employee, bartending is the only job he’s ever known.
- story: Robert Simonson
- photos: Eric Medsker
The Golden Age of Hipster Karaoke
Not long ago, an outlandish, anarchic form of karaoke ruled New York’s nightlife scene.
- story: Nathaniel Adams
- photo: Elann Danziger
Let’s Talk About Flatiron Lounge
Former bartenders, patrons and owners reflect on the recently shuttered bastion of the New York cocktail revival.
- story: Robert Simonson
- photo: Daniel Krieger
Bar Review: The Shake Shack of Christmas Bars
With 95 locations worldwide, the Christmas-themed craft cocktail pop-ups, Miracle on 9th Street and Sippin’ Santa, have become holiday juggernauts. But are they all created equal?
- story: Robert Simonson
- photo: Lizzie Munro
The Old Brooklyn Still Drinks at Bamonte’s
The bar within this 118-year-old mecca of Italian-American cuisine is one of Brooklyn’s best-kept secrets.
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photos: Michelle Hiemerman
At Lucy’s, There’s Only Lucy
The eponymous East Village dive famously has only one employee—she’s tended bar there for nearly three decades.
- story: Robert Simonson
- photo: Eric Medsker
Long Live the New York Piano Bar
A look at three very Manhattan piano bars, where you can request everything from Russian folk songs to Pavement and the Pixies.
- story: Kenny Herzog
- photos: Eric Medsker
Don’t Grow Up, Go to Stumble Inn
For a generation of New Yorkers grappling with arrested development, one bro-bar empire became a common refuge.
- story: Aaron Goldfarb
- photo: Eric Medsker
The Last True New York Newspaper Bar
Bull Moose Saloon was a hangout for the staff of the Observer in an era where everything seemed to matter both more and less.
- story: M.H. Miller
- illustration: Nick Hensley-Wagner
