White Slab Palace (CLOSED)

In a city where 19th-century saloon style has a choke hold on bar design, the Slab’s spare, industrial look is refreshing. And while latter-day cocktail wizardry tends to hinge on liquors like gin and whiskey, here the spirit of choice is near-flavorless Scandinavian aquavit, which makes an appearance in the Berzerker, a sensory challenge with flavors like caraway, cucumber and dill. Other cocktails—like the overwhelmingly salty, anchovy-garnished, vodka-and-Sambuca-based Moby Dick—make it clear why the hipster crowd favors the beer menu: a well-curated list of 46 foreign and domestic microbrews.