New York’s Coolest Shit Is Hidden Inside These Bars and Restaurants

New York is a city of limitless possibilities.

Whether you want to rage in a ball pit filled to the brim with Furbies or eat iguana with a gentlemanly group of adventurers, New York City has got you covered. It's not just the ability to buy some Brandy de Jerez at 4 AM that makes the city stand head and shoulders above the rest: It's the near limitless amount of cool shit to do and see.

But in a city with as many scenes and subcultures as there are Orange Juliuses in Barbra Streisand's mall basement, navigating through all the cool shit that New York has to offer can be a struggle to say the least. Hell, even Woody Allen probably needed to be told where to go to buy the best turtlenecks and clarinet reeds.

That's where we come in.

Want to get your Travis Bickle on and and sip chai with taxi drivers at a Punjabi deli? Maybe you do a killer Steve Buscemi impression and you'd like to start giving unauthorized tours of Brooklyn's oldest whiskey distillery. Our brand new MUNCHIES Guide to New York features a super-handy "Cool Shit" filter for you to find the spots that make the city great, whether they be weird and exciting places with amazing atmospheres, or shitty ones with amazing food.

Be sure to check out our city guide page, of course, but here's just a teaser of all of the cool shit New York has to offer.

Saint Vitus: Dead flowers, stained glass, and inverted crosses make up the decor at this Greenpoint bar that many describe as a "metalhead" hangout. But order a tall boy and get in line for weekend karaoke, or come see one of the shows that takes place throughout the week. Either way, this place allows you to be whatever and whomever you'd like to be—and it's too dark in here for anyone to remember your face tomorrow.

Bamonte's: This old-school Italian red sauce joint boasts some of the best people watching in Williamsburg. Bamonte's has true mafia glamour from the tuxedoed waiters, ladies with big bleached hair, and men who like they've been smoking cigars on the porch for 30 years. Order the lasagna.

Julius: Opened in 1864, this historic West Village gay bar and flashpoint for gay rights civil disobedience should be a place of pilgrimage for anyone with an interest in LGBT history. And anyone who loves hamburgers. Order a beer and a bacon cheeseburger from the food station. We shouldn't be writing this, but this burger might be just as good as Corner Bistro's without that bullshit line that wraps around the block.

Superiority Burger: Del Posto alum Brooks Headley's unexpected left turn from fine dining to veggie burgers represented a seachange in New York dining. Though ridiculously cheap, and pleasantly casual, Superiority Burger pulled down a two-star review in the New York Times for its chef-pleasing, always delicious veggie fare.

Golden Shopping Mall: Eating mall food will typically land you in some sort of Hepatitis A scare, but that is not the case at this legendary Flushing food court. Golden Mall is a rite of passage for New Yorkers and a very cramped, delicious experience that requires shuffling from stall to stall when it's crazy busy. Whether it's the lamb with squash and pork, shrimp, and chive dumplings at Tianjin Dumpling House or the freshly hand-pulled noodles from Xi'an Famous Foods, anticipate carving out a few hours to experience this place to the fullest.