Lovers of Today is at 132 1/2 East 7th Street in Alphabet City, down a staircase through a gate into a basement bar that has the dimensions and character of the old East Village before the neighborhood changed into something else. Dim, snug, good for a date or a conversation, not good if you wanted to feel like you were somewhere fashionable.

The cocktail program makes its own syrups, including a lavender honey that shows up in several drinks. The Astral Plane, Hong Kong Garden, and Marquee Moon are regular features on the menu, with names that nod toward the bar's musical sensibilities. Happy hour runs daily until seven in the evening, with two-for-one cocktails during that window. The bar is open until four in the morning every night.

A half-address on East 7th for a bar that stays open until four is doing something right.