Best Spots in NYC: Intern Edition

~To all my fellow monkeys-in-training finding their legs in the concrete jungle:

Just wrapping up my summer internship in NYC and thought I'd share a list of all the coolest spots I've found so far in NYC from an interns perspective. Someone on here has done a "best bars in NYC period" type post and I thought it'd be cool to compile a list for the younger crowd. This internship wasn't too demanding for me and left me with plenty of time to really explore and enjoy the city. That being said, I've come away realizing why this is probably the best city in the world, and the food/bars/nightlife/girls are a huge part of that. I've had some crazy nights out here, including one where I left my group to go gallivanting around the city with a Mongolian princess til 4am and practically fell in love only to never see her again. I saw a legitimate South Park Broadway Bro Down interaction happen start to finish between some BB IB interns and HF interns. Managed to somehow end up on some random guys yacht on the Hudson for the 4th of July fireworks, literally right under them. List goes on and on - the serendipitous shit you'll experience here is so cool.

My main tip: save up a decent chunk of change for nightlife leading up to the internship, going out here is very expensive and if you have the money to blow you'll just have more fun. We managed to find a couple places where we had friends/people's girlfriend working there and were able to start the night with 50% off shots/drinks, but expect to pay like 10-16 bucks per beer/cocktail/shot.

Another tip: Generally you don't want to make your firm look bad ever, so if a private party of bankers shows up and you're already having too much fun or if you feel a friend/intern is getting too rowdy, we made it a point to cheers a bunch of times to the names of other firms so people think you're from there and there's less chance of you getting in trouble at your yet to be secured career. Not sure if this is a good thing to do, but we found it hilarious. To Morgan Stanley!!!

I'm 100% certain I'm missing/forgetting a ton of places, and also rating some places too highly based on how deep into the night we were when we got there. Feel free to add to the list and I'll update over time as I still have tons of time and exploring NYC to go, albeit likely with less time moving forward. *Side note, I didn't include irish pubs and places that are right on the main strip in midtown which are also very good, but a dime a dozen tbh.

Happy Hour

• JG Melons
• Maxwells
• Biergarten (west village)
• Stumble Inn
• The Penrose
• Brass Monkey
• The Dead Rabbit
• The Malt House
• Alley Cat

Rooftops

• Monarch Hotel
• Magic Hour
• The Refinery
• The Broken Shaker
• The Jimmy
• PhD
• Hotel Hugo

Noteworthy drinks

• Mezetto (the best moscow mule variation I've ever had)
• Raines Law Room (there's an off-the-menu vodka based drink you have to ask for that's stupidly good. Whiskey Business is a must try)
• The Tippler (get the lychee martini)
• Liberty House (their cocktail the Dry Vibe is one of the most unique cocktails I've had and there's a good bit of absinthe in it)

Date Spot$

• GMT Tavern
• Boucherie - Park
• Doekbi Bar & Grill
• Ippudo
• Cellar 355
• Liberty House

Get Rowdy

• The Jane Hotel
• Le Bain
• Lady Stardust
• Lavo
• Pianos
• Turtle Bay
• 13th Step
• No Fun
• Hair of the Dog
• The Public Hotel
• The Good Room
• Gem Saloon
• Pretty much anywhere in Bushwick/Lower East Side

Dives/Cheaper drinks

• Mood Ring
• Boobie Trap
• Birdy's
• The Library
• Old Man Hustle
• Red Lion (there's a ton of other spots on the same street, won't name them all)

Miscellaneous

• MoMA
• The volume of free top-notch concerts here is insane, just google it when you're here
• Union Pool in Brooklyn has an 8 man jam band that performs a ridiculously good free concert every Monday, its a must see
• Go for a run in central park and see Strawberry Fields
• Was at a french bar when they won the world cup...complete zoo. Obviously you won't be able to do the same thing but considering the diversity of the city there's always a 'main spot' for all the die-hard fans of whatever team is playing in any major sporting event and it's just cool to experience that atmosphere
• Plan a night bar-hopping around the Washington Square Park area, lotta fun

My goal is to update this during my future internships and once I start full-time, hopefully pass it onto the next generation. If I'm ever in a position where I have an intern-class under me, 100% creating a scavenger-hunt type thing they'll have to complete by summers end. Definitely study, definitely network, definitely push yourself intellectually and professionally - but do realize you're in the greatest city on earth and thoroughly take advantage of whatever free time you have here.