The Lafayette Bar

$15

Believe it or not, you can spend a night out, come home with your hands full and not have to spend an entire yuppie food stamp (that’s a $20 bill). First, peruse the nearly 5,000 items on offer at A Dollar Store (88 Mulberry St between Bayard and Canal Sts, 212-227-4727), but snap up no more than two trinkets each. Wander north to The Lafayette Bar (161 Lafayette St between Grand and Howard Sts, 212-334-7114, thelafayettebar.com), change in hand, where a whole passel of drinks—beers, cocktails, shots—are $3 each all day, every day. “We’re small, but it’s a place for good conversations,” says the bartender. “Some nights people are dancing on the tables to Latin music—you know how it gets after a few drinks!” Especially ones this cheap.—Allison Williams