Florent Restaurant   

Florent is quintessentially New York. Open 24 hours, it serves cheeseburgers, filet mignon au poivre, eggs, martinis and more to patrons gay and straight, in suits or white vinyl nurse's outfits. It's the anchor establishment in the gritty (formerly much grittier) Meat Packing District and, having opened in the dodgy days of 1985, it's certainly paid its dues. The annual Bastille Day celebration is famous and gets more involved every year, with can-can dancers, lots of drinkin', burlesque and staff and others in full French 1780s regalia. The music is always appropriate for the mood, the staff is always hip (even if occasionally too hip for its own good) and the diversity of the crowd makes you feel like a member of the big freaky family that is New York. Not dysfunctional, just freaky; it's places like this where you see why New York actually functions so well. And if you drank all your money, pick up some cash before coming. The place doesn't take credit. -- Dan Glass