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Slipping into the underground gastropub Jimmy’s No. 43 is a bit like tumbling down Alice’s rabbit hole—and you just may lose your wits after downing goblets of beer ($7) or a glass of fruity Sangiovese ($10). Sufficiently stunned, crawl into a cave of a different sort: The lush crimson bordello of The Bourgeois Pig. It’s “an erotic place with a sexy crowd,” says owner Ravi DeRossi. Fear not, puritans: This ain’t no peep show, but the decadent, meant-to-be-shared, ten-cheese boards heaped with fruits, roasted peppers, artichokes, tapenades and bread ($20) and the half-price bottles of wine (Tuesdays only) do encourage people to let loose.
—Maria Longo