Metro Mix
If you haven’t been to Hell’s Kitchen’s definitive dive, chances are you’ve heard all about it—although some might say it’s not quite what it used to be. True, the steady cast of questionable characters and career-drinkers has grown to include requisite hipsters, students, and the occasional buttoned-up blue shirt, but a dive is more than the crowd it draws. The booze is dirt cheap, and most of the 12 brews on tap decent. The house beer, Rudy’s Red, is a watered-down sudsy concoction, but at less than $3 a pint, it’ll do. Chill at the bar and sample the endless gratis hot dogs that accompany each drink purchase, or abstain at a booth—whose upholstery is literally held together by duct tape. If the indoor crowd gets to be too much, head to the heated, tented concrete space they call a “backyard.