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With its cloudy glass-brick bar and lurid, on-again-off-again pink neon sign, Montero's looks pretty damn grim. But dare to open the door and you'll find yourself in a surprisingly inviting, steeped-in-history dive. Nautical paraphernalia—model ships, lifesavers, flags, newspaper clippings—cover the walls, memorializing the sailors who drank here during Brooklyn's "On the Waterfront" era. It's the perfect port of call for those days when you just want to keep it real with a bottle of Bud, a game of pool and a genuine conversation with strangers. Manhattan lies within stone-skipping distance, but there's not a thing here to remind you it even exists. — Jenifer Van Vleck

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Dive (2004)