Pony Bar
637 Tenth Ave., at 45th St.; 212-586-2707
The Pony Bar, which opened last month in Hell’s Kitchen, was founded on two basic recessionary principles: Buy American, and buy cheap. Which doesn’t mean that the taps are flowing with all manner of spineless domestic lagers—to the contrary, all twenty beers on draft here come from small-craft breweries. And the real clincher: All sell for $5. Burrowing their way even further into beer lovers’ hearts, the bar’s owners organize field trips to local breweries and sell half-gallon “growlers” of all their suds to go.