Exclusive | New York City: Where to Play/Meet Part Three

BEST 4: DIVERSITY
Chi Chiz (135 Christopher St., btwn Greenwich & Hudson Sts.; 212-462-0027) is the only West Village bar catering primarily to brothers (not actual brothers, numbskull -- men of color).

Escuelita (301 W. 39th St., at Eighth Ave.; 212-631-0588) is an always-busy Latin dance club and show palace with spicy go-go boys dancing to merengue and house music, plus sassy drag queens.

The Web (40 E. 58th St., at Madison Ave.; 212-308-1546) is Midtown's only dance club, and the only Asian one in New York City.

Krash NYC Freaky Fridays (see CLUBS/BEST 4: FRIDAYS below)

BEST 4: DIVES
Both the Boiler Room (86 E. 4th St., btwn First & Second Aves.; 212-254-7536) and some of its patrons have seen better days, but it's still a great East Village place to chill and shoot pool.

What a gay dive bar should be, Hell's Kitchen's 9th Avenue Saloon (656 Ninth Ave., btwn 45th & 46th Sts.; 212-307-1503) comes complete with what Next magazine brilliantly calls "rainbow-infused sass."

Down in the depths on the 90th, um, Street, the Tool Box (1742 Second Ave., btwn 90th & 91st Sts.; 212-348-1288) on the Upper East Side serves up disco music, porn vids and a basement of ill repute.

You can't dive much deeper than Dick's (192 Second Ave., at 12th St.; 212-475-2071), in the East Village where even the drugs don't seem to satisfy the dregs -- but, like a car crash, worth a look.

BEST 4: WOMEN
The West Village's Henrietta Hudson (438 Hudson St., at Morton St.; 212-924-3347) is on every NYC gal's night-out itinerary.

Mixed and friendly, and also in the Village, the Cubbyhole (281 W 12th St., btwn W. 4th & Greenwich Sts.; 212-243-9041) is, says New York magazine, the city's best lesbian bar of 2007.

From the creators of the legendary (and much missed) Meow Mix comes Cattyshack (249 Fourth Ave., at Carroll St., Brooklyn; 718-230-5740), two floors of bars and dancing, with an outdoor smoking deck and BBQ pit.

Lesbianas lounge at Chueca (69-04 Woodside Ave., at 69th St., Queens; 718-424-1171), Queens' only bar for Latina "L Word"ers.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six

Related Articles:
New York City: Introduction
New York City: Where to Stay
New York City: Where to Eat
New York City: What to See and Do
New York City: Where to Shop
New York City: Neighborhoods
New York City: Resources