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Avenue Bistro's most romantic boite should be rightfully compared not to the self-consciously hip spots on this strip but to an elegant Midtown hotel bar. Curvy banquettes line both sides of a narrow, amber-toned space lit with glowing wall sconces. A jazz combo plays in the back corner. Obliging bartenders mix first-rate mojitos, margaritas and other fanciful concoctions involving blood oranges and apples. And the open kitchen prepares phenomenal Continental munchies like panini and bruschetta. If this is gentrification, we'll take it —and another bottle of Chimay, please. — Jenifer Van Vleck

It doesn't just feel like a hotel bar. Those Art Deco banquettes belonged to the Stanhope Hotel back in the 1930s.