When I visited Clo for the second time, I felt like I was showing off a treasure. Which to me, it is. The place isn’t cheap, and being inside the Time Warner Center doesn’t make it discreet — but for me, it’s a nice respite from the crazy that is New York in December.

Char No. 4 has this impressive wall of bourbon and whiskeys, but what I noticed the most was the smoky waft of bacon as we entered the bar.

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Tonight, everybody will be watching as states either light up as red or blue. I’ve put down my vote, so now it’s the wait.

This is what Friday afternoons (or, pre-Caturday afternoons) should always look like.

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d.b.a.
41 1st Ave
Drink: Sierra Nevada Summerfest

We walk out of the Second Ave. station Saturday afternoon; it’s a bit cloudy, and a lot humid. Two minutes later the sky opens up and it’s a tropical storm. We have one umbrella between us, so we run to the nearest bodega for shelter. We think the rain is starting to peter a bit, so we brave it again, only to get bombarded with more wind and rain. Run to the next awning, not realizing that we were standing just in front of the bar where we wanted to go.

d.b.a. is one of those bars where I get really overwhelmed by its beer selection. At one point, I think I was just sticking to one country at a time, but that also didn’t last too long. Even for a Saturday afternoon, it was comfortably crowded; maybe by neighborhood regulars, who knows. If it wasn’t raining, it would’ve been nice to sit out in their garden area.

Jeollado
116 E 4th St
Drink: Asahi

I needed sustenance after my first beer, so we passed by a Mexican place for a quick steak taco. Couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant, but it was a yummy fix for $5.50.

We passed by this place on our way to KGB, which was supposed to be our next stop. They were advertising $1 appetizers if you buy a drink, and really, that was too tempting to refuse. It’s a big space, with a huge party/karaoke room in the back (I’m actually v. tempted to have my 30th b-day party here, but I’m still thinking about it). We got drinks and the appetizers, and added an order of “Love at first sight,” one of their kooky-named sushi rolls. Mikhail and I had a laugh about that.

Jimmy’s No. 43
43 E 7th St
Drink: Christoffel, blond

We meet up with Jenn at this point. We decided to skip KGB entirely ’cause it was too crowded (there was a reading when we walked in).

Jimmy’s is in the sub-level of 41 1st Ave. It was decorated like an old-fashioned rathskeller, complete with the deer antlers and beer barrels. It didn’t feel kitschy though. They have a really fancy beer selection, and their food menu wasn’t shabby as well. I mean, they served my beer in a goblet, that’s the caliber of this joint. I think I would like to come back here another time and have a meal too.

Standings
43 E 7th St
Drink: Abita Purple Haze

Walked gingerly up the steps from Jimmy’s, and then another five steps to the left to Standings. If you’re a college student or graduate efrom anywhere outside NY and missing the fratboy camaraderie of watching sports, Standings is totally your place. They have pennants and banners from every big or well-known American college draped all over the place. As it was a Saturday pm, the bar wasn’t too loud or crowded, but I can see it becoming a den of rowdiness on game night. They have lots of interesting American beers on tap, and despite being warned that it was going to be sweet, the Purple Haze wasn’t too bad.

I just will not forget the graffiti in the ladies’ bathroom: “Marriage: where blowjobs go to die.” Heh.

Crooked Tree
110 St. Mark’s Place

Food break! I’m so glad that Mikhail agreed to do the bar crawl in this area. I love the fact that I can have any type of craving and it’s highly probable that the East Village will have a restaurant or hole-in-the-wall that will cater to that exact craving. I wanted something savory — Mikhail first suggested omelettes at Yaffa Cafe, but they weren’t serving those till past midnight.

So, savory crepes at Crooked Tree seemed like the next best choice.

My goat cheese crepe was simple and wonderful. Next time, I’m going for a sweet one.

Sake Bar Decibel
240 East 9th Street
Drink: Kaori ginjo sake

Our last stop, but it really capped off the night. Decibel is another bar where it’s easy to walk by and not realize you just passed by. It’s right off the Max Brenner chocolate place, marked only by a small placard, leading down a flight of metal steps. You step in, and at first impression, it looks like the bar is merely the five or six seats at the foyer. But no, the host will lead you down a small hallway where there’s a bigger room in the back, all filled with people drinking bottles and small casks of sake.

Sakegura in midtown is pretty awesome, but Decibel has its own level of cool.

The price of the sake isn’t cheap, but their selection is immense. I don’t think the servers will really help you out in choosing what’s good, but heck, I think everything pretty good here anyway. It’s a place where experimenting with various types of drinks is not a bad thing.

Mikhail also tried the Bloody Marikko, which is a bloody mary with shochu. God, that thing was dangerous. I couldn’t taste the booze in it all, it was that smooth.

On Saturday, I trekked out to Brooklyn to see the new Takashi Murakami exhibit on display at the Brooklyn Museum. You know, it’s weird, I’ve been to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens several times, but never made it next door to the museum till this past weekend. Which is a shame, since the BM is beautiful, and I’m sure I would have enjoyed the other exhibits as well if I had more time.

It was wonderful going to the museum with people who are smart AND snarky, who could spout commentary about the male gaze one minute, and the next minute giggle self-consciously about a sculpture of a boy (portrayed in anime style) gripping his penis.

Top that afternoon off with a luscious dinner at Cheryl’s Global Soul, and I’d say that you have the makings of a top-notch Brooklyn outing.

Address: 122 East 7th St (between 1st Avenue and Avenue A)
Type: Fondue
Price: $$

I admit that I have a list of NY restaurants that I put away, for future reference. This being New York, I really can’t hold on to this list for a long time, just in case the restaurant closes, changes hands, or is destroyed by a natural disaster. The places on my list aren’t the big-name four-star places — rather, they’re the small holes-in-the wall (generally frequented by hipsters, alas) that people visit for a few years before moving on to the next “cool” place.

The Bourgeois Pig is a perfect example. Located in the East Village, it’s really not that much bigger than an apartment in that neighborhood. It’s dark, littered with mismatching chairs and sofas, barely enough room to squeeze in.

Their specialty is fondue, so Sho and I had the raclette fondue as well as the brie wrapped in phyllo. Nothing on this earth will ever be as good as cheese. Even veggies dipped in melted gooey cheese will end up being delicious. A bottle of red wine, half-price natch, rounded up the evening.

A cool & dark place, great for a date but also nice with a good friend in tow.

Address: 17 West 32nd St, 14th Flr of La Quinta hotel
Type: Rooftop bar
Price: $

We spent most of Thursday being tourists in our own little small town of New York City. For whatever unknown reason though, I was in the mood to at least try to go to a rooftop bar at least once this summer. I read about Mé Bar in some website, so I figured it was worth checking out.

The bar is located on the 14th floor of the La Quinta hotel in Koreatown. The lobby didn’t have space for a bar, so why not the roof? In retrospect, this was probably their best idea, because while lobby bars are a dime a dozen, not every hotel could boast that you could drink and lounge and see the Empire State Bldg right there.

It would’ve been nicer if we had gone during dusk, but we took what we could get.

Cute place, but I guess that most everyone around the area also had the same idea that we did; we arrived around 6ish and could barely find seats. By the time we left, there was a line of people waiting to get drinks from the bar.

Address: Hackenstrasse 2, Munchen, Germany
Type: Asian/Italian Fusion
Website: http://www.prinzmyshkin.com/
Price: $$$

It was my last night in Munich and I wanted a change from the heavy pork and sausage dinners that I’ve been consuming for the past week. Frommer’s listed this place as a haven for vegetarians, so while not a diehard veggie-only eater, I’ve come to appreciate the appeal of a meatless menu, and that’s why this place was a must try.

Okay, first rule of travel dining: if a place is crowded and has a queue, it must be pretty darn good. Prinz Myshkin had a line of people waiting for a table when I walked in around 7:30 p, so yes, definitely a good sign. Since I was eating by myself, I really only waited 15 mins tops, which really wasn’t too much of a hassle considering the place was packed.

They had an English menu (luckily) but it still took me a while to make out my choice. Just ’cause the place is vegetarian didn’t mean that it was low-fat. There were soups, pizzas, Indian appetizers, Thai entrees, and pastas. If I ever go back here, I’m so trying the tofu stroganoff. In the end, I picked the Beetroot Coconut Ginger soup and the Tagliatelle Amanda (tagliatelle in a light tomato cream sauce with oyster mushrooms, hazelnuts, red wine, and fresh tarragon), with a Weiss beer. Everything was incredibly yummy — never would’ve thought it was vegetarian. Plus, my server was really cute and kind too.

Absolutely recommended if you’re ever in the area.

Address: 106 West 73rd St (between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues)
Type: Italian
Price: $$

It was our weekend, so we had planned to get Sunday brunch someplace nice. Arte Cafe kind of fit the bill, so we trekked out to the city on a blustery windy morn for their yummy omelettes. Mikhail had their mushroom and herb, and I tried the priscuitto, onion & potato combo.

Getting a table wasn’t hard even though most reviews of the place made it a point that the place does get crowded for weekend brunch — I wasn’t wholly crazy about being seated near the entrance (close to the bar) though. Our server also could use a hearing test — M needed to repeat his request for tea more than once.

Overall, the food and setup was good enough that we actually did enjoy ourselves. We were just glad we got there before the rush of people came in. Maybe next time I’ll try getting a mimosa or bellini with my eggs.

Address: 152 Spring St (between Wooster St & West Broadway)
Type: Italian, American
Price: $$ (good prices for the amount of food)

This is my department’s go-to destination each time we have a group lunch. It’s just a short walk from the office, and they have enough room to seat us all. The cuisine is Italian/American fusion — I’ve tried the pizza, the eggplant parmiagiana, and the lobster ravioli (which is my absolute favorite).

But nothing, and I repeat nothing, is better in Boom than their deserts. They have a warm chocolate cake that just oozes goodness. It comes with a scoop of their coffee ice cream, and seriously, I could live off that for the rest of my life.