Editorial
The bars in every guidebook are fine. This is not that list. We've put together the places where New Yorkers — actual, rent-paying New Yorkers — go when they want a drink without performance. From Red Hook waterfront dives to Lower East Side wine bars that only opened two years ago and already have a regular crowd, these are the addresses that don't appear on tourist maps.
The outer boroughs contain some of New York's best drinking. Brooklyn in particular has a concentration of neighbourhood bars that the Manhattan scene can't match for authenticity or value.
The best local bars in New York are never on the main drag. They're on the cross street, or around the corner, or in a neighbourhood that requires three stops on the G train. If a bar is fully lit and has a doorman, locals aren't there. Follow the half-open doors and handwritten signs.