the big apple.

Sunburnt Cow | Loisida, 137 Avenue C between E 8th St. & E 9th St. @thesunburntcow
Drink strength: 4 
Overall: 4.5

Their all-you-can-drink offer for brunch is really dangerous, but worth it.  Where else in Manhattan can you find a deal this sweet?  They don’t “kick you out” but they will ask you to move to the bar to allow others to have a table.

The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is electric but laid back - just what to expect from an Australian spot.  Don’t cross the bartender and make friends with your neighbors, you’ll be there a while!

Beware:  CASH ONLY, get there before they open or you’ll be waiting a while, don’t drink too much - you still have to get through the rest of the day

The Porch | Loisida, 115 Avenue C between E 7th St. & E 8th St.
Drink strength: 3 
Overall: 3.5

While this bar is in a strange neighborhood, it has some personality.  Grab a drink at the bar downstairs and trek up the stairs for comfy couches and a real fire.  The music is fantastic - I was moved to dance when I was there.

Zum Schneider Restaurant and Biergarten | Loisida, 107 Avenue C at E 7th St.
Drink strength: n/a
Overall: 3

“ZUMSCHNEIDER” was our call on the walk to this banker beer bar … but it must be said with a burly voice with a Bavarian accent or it’s no good.  No liquor here and they only take cash.  It was quite packed, too.  … and, dude, they have a foosball table.

Hundred Acres | SoHo, 38 MacDougal Street between Prince St. and W Houston St.
Drink strength: 3.5 
Overall: 4

Don’t get the oyster in your bloody mary - they don’t shuck them well and shooting it turned out to be a very unenjoyable experience because I didn’t want to swallow the shell that had joined the oyster in my mouth.  Definitely get the grilled cheese - everyone at my table was trying to steal it and for a good reason!  Make sure you request any appetizers come BEFORE the meal because this is apparently a tough concept to grasp for their wait staff.

Though this is more of a restaurant than a bar, you can easily meet the people sitting next to you who are drunk at 11 a.m. when they sing in your ear.

Max Brenner | Union Square, 841 Broadway between E 13th St and E 14th St.
Drink strength: 2.5 
Overall: 3

The food here is pretty good but it feels very commercial.  Expect to wait for a table for a while.  They have chocolate beer and really ridiculously good desserts.  Sadly, their chocolates are tres expensive so don’t even bother with them.

Angel’s Share | NoHo, 8 Stuyvesant St. between 3rd Ave and E 9th (it’s a small cross street)
Drink strength: 4 
Overall: 4

This place is a gem of a swanky bar.  Tucked inside a run-down restaurant, it is very small.  With a huge mural of angels above the bar, don’t be fooled, they have some ridiculously strict rules.

#1 - you can’t stand around waiting for a chair or table, you have to wait outside
#2 - everyone at the table has to order at least one drink
#3 - cash only (I think)

The Back Room | Lower East Side, 102 Norfolk St. between Delancey St. & Rivington St.

DO NOT WEAR FUR … they won’t let you in! I’d love to share more about my experience, but my friend had a fur collar and I had a coat with a LOT of feathers so we were turned away.  BUT I have heard that it is LITERALLY a back room and you travel through an underground tunnel of sorts to get in.  I look forward to trying to go back … fur and featherless.

Momofuku | Lower East Side

Drink strength: 4

Overall: 4.5

This place was bananas.  From the mind of David Chang to the streets of New York, this is some of the best food I’ve had in a while.  There was a really long wait but it was so worth it. You can order drinks while you wait - I recommend the ginger slushy drink (it was incredibly delicious and wasn’t like anything I’ve ever had).  Try the soy eggs and pork buns and leave the tamales.  Share the ramen - it’s huge.

It’s community seating so make sure you go in small groups.

Milk Bar | Lower East Side, 207 2nd Ave between E 12th St. & E 13th St.

Another David Chang creation, it is the home of the Compost Cookie and Crack Pie that have Anderson Cooper all a-twitter (pun intended).  After you wait in the line that goes out the door at all hours, grab a beer and a slice of the exorbitantly expensive (but worth it) pie, and grab a cookie to go.

You can also order food from Momofuku Ssam Bar for less than in the restaurant … and avoid the wait (somewhat).

Jadis | Lower East Side, 42 Rivington St. between Forsyth St. & Eldridge St.
Drink strength: n/a
Overall: 3

Cute wine bar with some interesting folks, we sat at a table with two older ladies on one side and two young people on the other with mohawks.  Definitely try the food - especially the truffle risotto bites and the bacon-wrapped scallops (sad to say, it’s frozen food, but still good).

Ippudo
Killer sangria, fun bartenders, and really great pork buns

Freeman’s | Lower East Side
Drink strength: 3 
Overall: 4.5

The.food.is.amazing.  Sadly, I don’t remember EXACTLY what I had due to my many drinks before dinner, but I remember that it was really DAMN good.

Verlaine | Lower East Side
Drink Strength: 4 
Overall: 4.2

Happy Hour until 10 p.m.  (I remember something about a lychee martini … maybe I should up the drink strength!)