NEW YORK, NY – We stumbled into The Emerald as an unplanned stopover on my husband’s birthday, between dinner in TriBeCa and a planned trip to the Meatpacking District for live music.  It was a hot, muggy night and a quick mid-trip pint seemed in order.  The Emerald was a never-before-visited, random choice for our pit stop, but the sign [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I almost didn’t write a piece on McSorley’s.  I assumed that a place trading so heavily on its longevity (more on that below) through the medium of extensive verbiage on its windows would be a horrible tourist trap.  And, indeed there are quite a few tourists at McSorley’s.   But there is also a [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – I love champagne so much I could cry.  Champagne bars, on the other hand, can frequently disappoint by either trying to hard, being too serious or just flat out not knowing what they’re doing.  The Bubble Lounge – while not completely perfect – is quite an agreeable place to gulp down the bubbly. [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – Tucked away on a quiet Tribeca street is New York Vintners, which calls itself “more than a wine shop.”  And, indeed it is. As the name implies there is wine for sale in the front-of-store shop, which offers a good selection of great wines.  But New York Vintners also wants to teach you [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – I stumbled across Raccoon Lodge while making the trek from the Financial District to the Tribeca Whole Foods.  Based solely on the name I was dying to try this place and – when I finally visited – I was rewarded with pure dive bar joy. I can’t say this is a strictly locals place [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – I’m somewhat bi-polar about my drinking and dining preferences.  On the one hand, I love dressing up (sort of) to go out to a classy cocktail lounge for an evening of dirty martini indulgence.  On the other hand, I equally love finding a fun scuzzy place for slumming away the evening.  The thing that [...]

By MONICA BYERS NEW YORK – I’m just going to put it out there – while I love Rolf’s any time of year, I really, really adore this German bar/restaurant during the Christmas season.  I’d never heard of Rolf’s until a friend described it as being a place where “Santa threw up.”  Beginning right around the 2nd week of November [...]

BY MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – New York City’s Stone Street dates back to the 1660s; it got its current moniker sometime later on due to its cobblestone paving (so the name is based in history, not irony).  I want to love this short artery because it’s old and cute.  In reality, though, the establishments that line it are largely [...]

BY MONICA BYERS NEW YORK, NY – For months, I’d hang out with my friend and fellow Zenster Gary and – sometime after the 3rd or 4th martini – he’d say “Let’s go to Arthur’s in the West Village.”  To which I’d say “There is no way I’m travelling all the way to the West Village at this time of [...]

  BY: MONICA BYERS NEW YORK –   11th Street Bar is a locals joint in the East Village that, among NYC football aficionados, is known as a  Liverpool Football Club fans’ bar.  As a card-carrying Liverpool supporter, I felt compelled to check it out.  I didn’t quite get my ass into gear during the league season, so I checked out [...]