New York

Boat is a secret bar patronized by secretive sorts who stare seething into their drinkin' bowls, chortle, cough and then castigate their fellows violently, intelligibly and with much ado. Boat is the kind of bar that bears no sign; its location is a mystery. Its primary wall-bedecked color is red. Its je ne sais quoi is messy, not dirty (dust, not dirt). I've been drinkin' in the front, I've been drinkin' in the back. I've been appreciative of the moderately-priced well liquor, but less appreciative of the sassy barmaids. But aren't they always sassy, those life-impoverished barmaids with their bars and their power and their dirndls? I have had enough of those wenches, but I have not had enough of Boat. It will not sink, so long as I am in it. For my patronage is airy and free.

Photo:  Rebecca Katherine Hirsch