National Features

  • Phoenix New Times
    Canine Crusaders

    That drug-sniffing dog up ahead? He may not be your best friend.

    By Ray Stern
  • Broward-Palm Beach New Times
    The Muscle Men

    Thanks to a string of Florida "anti-aging clinics," baseball's steroid scandal isn't limited to superstars.

    By Michael J. Mooney
  • Miami New Times
    Picked On

    Farm workers earn nada in America's green-bean capital.

    By Janine Zeitlin
  • Village Voice
    "Why I'm No Longer a Brain-Dead Liberal"

    An election-season essay from one of America's greatest playwrights.

    By David Mamet

There's a great line in last year's screen gem Roger Dodger, when Campbell Scott's obnoxiously misanthropic Roger orders his hesitant sixteen-year-old nephew Nick to "drink that drink" at a trendy Manhattan bar, offering the rationale: "Drinking has been a social lubricant for hundreds of years. You think you're going to reinvent the wheel?" Well put. And what situation requires more lubrication than a first date? Ergo, coffee, the zoo and lunch are bad ideas when it comes to leaving a first impression that could lead to a second rendezvous. While normal wine bars are a bit on the cheesy side for this sort of venture, Nik's Wine Bar & Hookah Lounge defies conventional wisdom. More rock and reggae than quiet clinks and cabernet, Nik's doesn't stop at wine. The tequila-shot sampler, for instance, is sure to get conversation cooking. From there, of course, it's up to the two of you.

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