McCrady’s

Drinking has been the raison d’être of the building housing McCrady’s since 1778, when Edward McCrady opened his tavern. Over rum and ale, McCrady and his friends plotted the Revolution, which landed the barkeep in jail; after his return, he hosted a 30-course dinner for George Washington. The restaurant’s contemporary incarnation is best known for launching the career of chef Sean Brock, who went through a modernist phase before reverting to a highly elegant version of Southern simplicity. Whiz-bang tricks still reign at the bar, though: Look for lots of tasty smoke, foam and edible cocktail garnishes plucked from the rooftop garden.