A few weeks ago we were thinking about doing a piece on bars that we wish existed in New York City, because if our years of art classes taught us anything, it was about the importance of understanding "negative space." Or something. The problem is we got stuck on THE DREAM: bringing shuffleboard into the New York City outdoor bar scene. And not that fake table shuffleboard like they have at Lucky Dog, we're talking about the real deal, the kind your grandparents play in Florida. more ›

While the weather outside is delightful, and as daytime drinking is now deemed un-frightful, there's only one place to go: Outside to drink. As we've been pointing out for years, New York City is chock full of bars with lovely outdoor spaces where you can tipple in the fresh air. Here are a few of our current favorites, share yours in the comments! more ›

Did you know that if you traverse a labyrinth of back alleys in Queenooklyn, pull the tree branch that looks most like a lever, descend the staircase into the catacombs, and rap six times on the metal door, you'll find a room of people DRINKING IN THE DAYTIME? It's true, people do in fact ingest alcoholic beverages from the hours of noon until 5 p.m. (some say it can happen before noon but we've never seen it), and we know it's true, because it's in the New York Times. more ›

The Lena Dunham-created, Judd Apatow-produced, highly anticipated HBO show Girls will premiere this coming Sunday, April 15th. We've seen the first three episodes, and can tell you it lives up to the intense amount of hype it's already been getting for months. more ›

When organizers cancelled this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hoboken, noting the city's "inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants," a few people decided to take matters into their own hands and organize the first Lepre-Con. The pub crawl is scheduled for this Saturday, March 3, but since some Hoboken bars aren't going to open until 11 a.m., there's a kick-off in Manhattan, where you can get drunk much earlier. more ›

Williamsburg hotspot Metropolitan's vine-tangled patio, scattered with picnic tables and lawn chairs, draws throngs of tank-top-wearing, chain-smoking, $2-PBR-swilling gays from across the city seven nights a week—and the neighbors have had enough. Members of Community Board 1 unanimously rejected a proposal to renew the establishment's liquor license. It isn't that the gays are too proud, they say, it's just that they're too damn loud! more ›

Raise a glass to the SLA's new interactive website, which features a map showing all the liquor licenses held by business owners in New York State, as well as all the pending liquor licenses and previous violations. The map, which also shows where churches and schools are located, lets users search active and pending licenses by address, company and business name. The FUTURE! Here's the link to the website, which is part of a major technology overhaul for the SLA, undertaken with $369,000 in funding secured by State Senator Daniel Squadron. more ›

Venerable East Village bar McSorley's Old Ale House turns 158 today! Or is it 150? A century and a half of beer sure can take its toll on the old memory, but certainly we can all agree the storied establishment is a NYC treasure. Eight years ago, Mayor Bloomberg officially declared today McSorley's Day, so let's all take a moment to disappear from work for an hour to knock back a celebratory pint. McSorley's, which is generally considered the oldest continuously-operating bar in NYC, was immortalized by New Yorker writer Joe Mitchell in his book McSorley's Wonderful Saloon. In the '40s, he found it to be: more ›

Neighborhood NIMBYs are about to get a new tool in their arsenal. DNAinfo reports that the New York State Liquor Authority is getting ready to launch an interactive map this month that will let you see what your local bars have been up to (along with any bar in the State). Better than having to file a FOIL-request just to find out if anyone else has been whining about that noisy bar on the block! more ›

Hell's Kitchen residents are up in arms over the decline of their neighborhood, which, despite its roots as a gang-and-hooker filled, ahem, hellhole, has been a perfectly nice place to raise your kids for the past few years. Until now, because dastardly legions of drunk twentysomethings are getting drunk and being loud and puking up mango-flavored vodka all over the sidewalk. more ›

The company that manufactures Skee-Ball—the dull, repetitive game beloved by children and inebriated simpletons—is going after the Skee-Ball themed Williamsburg bar Full Circle, filing a lawsuit against the owners for trademark infringement. Full Circle has three Skee-Ball games, and owners Eric Pavony and Evan Tobias also founded a "Brewskee-Ball" League in 2005, after obtaining verbal permission from Skee-Ball, Inc. during a meeting with the company's CEO in Pennsylvania. But now it seems Skee-Ball has had a change of heart. more ›

People are riding bicycles inside bars, and the NY Times is on it. Today the paper of record takes a look at the slightly zany subculture of bicycle roller racing, a pastime favored by competitive cyclists during the off-season. Earlier this month, NY Velocity and the Century Road Club Association held a fundraising race inside the Parkside Lounge, where cyclists competed to see who could pedal the fastest without going anywhere, by riding fixed-gear bikes on stationary rollers. As you can see spirited crowd turned out to drink and cheer on the cyclists as they rode in place (and sometimes crashed): more ›

If you've wandered up Bedford Avenue lately in search of a cheap oversized margarita in a Styrofoam to-go cup, you've probably noticed, and been bitterly disappointed, that perennial dive-bar favorite Turkey's Nest Tavern has been shuttered since last week. It's a real blow to the neighborhood's legions of drunk McCarren park picnickers, and the cranky old men who stare at them. more ›

Ladies above a certain age, be careful out there: the internet is watching you, awaiting your every move. A certain 28-year-old Reddit poster is looking for "bars or hangouts where older women / cougars are known to frequent. I'm not out to get a sugar momma or anything, but I'm just attracted to older women." So, anonymous cougar hunters of the web, what say you? more ›

New bars are always looking for new ways to drum up the finances to open, but one upcoming TriBeCa waterhole's scheme is a new one to us. Until it is fully funded, The Elevens is selling off a limited number of "seats" for $500 bucks. Those "seatholders" are then entitled to 25 percent off of everything they buy for life, the ability to make reservations, access to events and tastings and the promise of a warm welcome. The catch is that the bar will stop selling the "seatholders" once they are funded... more ›

Open those peepers wide, cowpokes, here's your first look at Flaming Saddles, the new "kick ass Country Western Gay Saloon" opening in Hell's Kitchen Monday night with a rootin' tootin' rodeo party. We could try to describe what awaits inside Flaming Saddles, but there's no way we can top the press release, which describes the establishment as a place "where the Bad to the Bone Bartenders strut their stuff (behind and on top of the bar) & always aim to please. Customers are advised that they best pull themselves up by your boot straps, put on their Tight Ass Jeans and boot scoot and boogie on over to the Wild Wild West Side of NYC. Saddle Up for a Yippee Ki Yay MotherTrucker of a Night!" Eat your heart out, Coyote Ugly. more ›

A group of 13 brave souls visited 200 bars in 10 hours, breaking the all-time pub crawl Guinness World Record of 170 set by a group in Chicago, the Daily News reports. Completely defeating the purpose of bar crawling, one member of the group drank a half-pint of beer at each establishment. No word on whether the Guinness World Record committee will acknowledge Randy Daufman, who yesterday consumed 200 beers in one bar, and whose ex-wife is apparently a "no good, thieving whore." more ›