The Skinny Dive Bar / Lounge

Lower East Side, New York –

Obviously taking its name from its cramped digs, The Skinny is a long and narrow neighborhood bar that attracts one of the quirkiest crowds in town.

From sporty young professionals and downtown artists to fashion editors and aspiring musicians, patrons flock in to get wasted on strong, cheap drinks and specialty cocktails – served in plastic cups, no less – or to make their way up the rickety stairs to the tiny mezzanine for a game of pool or a make-out session.

The main attraction, however, is the arsenal of veteran DJs who show up four nights a week to spin hip-hop, new wave, disco, and rock from their ceiling perch, as go-go girls shake it down below on the main bar and hipsters shimmy alongside them.

A few cracked vinyl banquettes provide a place to chat, peruse the display of paintings by local artists, discuss the vintage movies projected on the wall, or just watch some sports on the TVs over the bar.

Not much more than a no-frills dive, The Skinny still boasts a loyal, fun-loving following and a devil-may-care attitude where prep and grunge can meet for raucous nights of drinking and flirting.