Beauty Bar on East 14th Street in the East Village opened in 1995 inside an actual 1930s beauty salon, and the original fixtures are still there: chrome helmet hair dryers, vintage barber chairs, salon mirrors behind the bar. The front room is the bar itself; the back has a full dance floor that hosts DJs, comedy nights, burlesque performances, and occasional Fashion Week after-parties.

The thing people talk about most is the Martini and Manicure. From five to ten every evening, you can get a complimentary manicure with any cocktail purchase. It sounds like a gimmick but people return for it regularly. The cocktails are well-priced for the neighborhood and the combination works because the space was already half salon to begin with.

It's a bar that figured out its identity in 1995 and has not needed to reconsider it since.