kickassNYC

A hookah lounge/restaurant/bar/dance club that is also a reproduction of a Roman cave.

Conceived by two readers and artists calling themselves the House of Screwball, the Tarot Society is an art gallery, alternative performance space, and divination room in Brooklyn. They combine special events with Tarot, Astrology, and Palmistry readings in their unique space, as well as appearing at other events around town.

4 Charles Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11221

Gallery hours & walk-in readings: 12-8 Wed – Sat / 12-6 Sunday

Hell Phone is a retro-chic cocktail bar and crêperie that you get to by entering through, you guessed it, a phone booth. Specifically, a red phone booth inside of the Ange Noir Cafe in Bushwick.

247 Varet St, Brooklyn, NY 11206

American & French Fusion, Live Music

A “secret” restaurant. Fine dining. At Bloomingdale’s. Inside of a recreated train car of the 19th-century luxury French night express train, the Calais-Mediterranée Express.

1000 3rd Ave, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10022

Lunch, Brunch, & Dinner. ~$30

An artist-run venue, the Slipper Room was the first space built to showcase performers in the burgeoning Burlesque and neo-Vaudeville scene. Oh, and it’s traditional to take a picture in the gutter outside.

167 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Tickets $5 to $30, 21+

Catland aims to be THE destination for Brooklyn witches, mystics, yogis, and otherwise occult-minded. The storefront boutique specializes in talismanic texts, spell supplies, and related esoterica. Spellworkers, diviners, and occult teachers can be consulted in the shop. The connected event space and backyard garden play host to a variety of events, including rituals, workshops, and parties.

987 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206

Free to visit! Prices of events, workshops, and readings vary.

“Part workshop, part cabaret, part madhouse.”

This uniquely New York event takes place approximately every two months in the back room of Jimmy’s No. 43, a cozy pub in the East Village. Expect strange new theatre pieces, comedians’ least-vetted sets, adventurous musical numbers, and every other flavor of artist taking risks and honing their talents on this small stage curated by Sam Reisman and Matt Herzfeld.

43 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

$4 at the door, no drink minimum.

Kenny Shopsin first set up shop in the Village, operating an eclectic neighborhood deli and grocery on Bedford & Morton Streets. Nowadays, Shopsin’s is a tiny diner counter / restaurant in the corner of the Essex Street Market. His family helps run it and everyone in the place swears like a sailor. And they have some firm rules. No parties larger than four. No additions, no substitutions, and no special requests. But you shouldn’t need any, since the menu is over 900 items long.

120 Essex St, Stall No. 16, New York, NY 10002

If you sit down, order food. Don’t expect to be mollycoddled.

An old steakhouse with a “legendary” mutton chop and the largest collection of churchwarden pipes in the world. The pipes that cover its ceiling have been smoked by notable people such as Theodore Roosevelt, Buffalo Bill Cody, Herbert Hoover, Albert Einstein, and Babe Ruth.

Like the name might suggest, the walls of this bar are covered in – who guessed it? – gold. The most famous part is the glowing “ossuary” of gold skulls, but everything from the paintings to the tables are gilt with the precious metal.