Best of New York 2012 • Fun

• Maison Premiere

  298 Bedford Ave., nr. S. 1st St., Williamsburg; 347-335-0446

  If seduction is your goal, the year-old New Orleans–style boîte Maison Premiere is your destination. The patinated walls and antiquated fixtures conjure an era of bursting bodices, the selection of 30-plus varieties of oysters on the half-shell are sweet and tender complements to a low-lit evening whether or not you believe in their aphrodisiac powers, and the 27 absinthes—served drip style with cold water and a sugar cube—are potent enough to conquer any final inhibitions.

From the 2012 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine