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South Williamsburg's Passenger Bar takes design cues from train stations (think the old Penn Station, not new), and on weekends, it’s just as packed with bearded and bespectacled locals as a commuter L. At the bar, bartenders serve a list of region-inspired Bloody Marys, craft beers, and upscale bar snacks, and once served, patrons have the option of heading upstairs to hang by vintage suitcases in a space made to look like a sleeper car, take to the high-ceilinged dance floor, or head to the backroom for a round of darts or a session with “The Self-Portrait Project”—a photo booth with a two-way mirror, letting you perfect the art of the selfie. Some of the best aspects of the railroad theme exist in the communal bathroom. Here, railroad spikes hold up the toilet paper and the walls are plastered with aged postcards, envelopes, and letters. Occasional live jam sessions from local and nationally recognized musicians recall the original inspiration behind the bar—the documentary Festival Express, in which Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, and the Band make a post-Woodstock sojourn across Canada by train. — Monica Burton

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