There’s plenty of reason to fear a new bar— no cracks in the upholstery, no graffiti in the bathroom, and often not a soul in the house. But when they’re opened by owners we know and love, they can feel like hallowed haunts from day one.

Thursday is the night to roll out.

Chelsea’s Eighth Avenue may be today’s gay man’s main drag, but the West Village’s Christopher Street still holds its own. The home stretch for the LGBT Pride Parade has plenty of bars that range from the downright historic to the historically seedy.

A gay bar or club for every taste/fetish/curiosity out there.

Ever since the days of 2B, 9C, and The 5 Spot, drinking in the East Village has been like swimming in an alcoholic alphabet soup: you'd have to be the Count from Sesame Street to make sense of all the bar names that play on their street addresses. To clear things up, here's an algebraic approach to the classic east-side trawl.

In celebration of New York City’s hearty appetite for the spirits of life (as wee see it, now’s as good a time for this as any), here our list of the top five historic bars that have been and are still worth writing about.

No house on Fire Island or even a fire escape where you can barbecue? At these 10 bars, the weekends can still be about grilling and chilling.

Three new bars vie for three downtown scenes—shaggy-haired rockers, girls who like girls, and brandy afficionados. Plus, a heavy-metal outpost migrates to Brooklyn, a hangover squelcher compliments of Schiller's Liquor Bar, and a bartender reveals the secrets of your holiday office party.

Coarse and utilitarian Houston is looking a bit shinier these days, if a little more coldly corporate. Joining the luxury apartments and soon-to-open Whole Foods at Avalon Chrystie Place are a handful of new bars that are almost upscale.

As Harold Hill sang in The Music Man, “that game with the fifteen numbered balls is the devil’s tool.” Anyone who has ever had his or her drink knocked over by some aspiring Fast Eddie Felson's pool stick will agree. There are, however, a few bars in town where you can find classic table games that don’t involve sinking the “fat lady.”