Cafe Metropolitain   

If you can't afford a Grand Tour of the Continent, instead spend an evening in this unusual bar -- unusual even by the neighborhood's left-of-center standards. It's got a touch of Paris (the Vegas version), a hint of Disneyland, and the joie de vivre is infectious. Decor evokes a European town square, with the attendant Old-World conviviality: It's the kind of venue where old and young, Mohawks and Manolos, sit side by side, where strangers become fast friends, and women on their own feel completely at ease (yet offers of bought drinks are frequently tendered and accepted). The most popular space is The Red Room, a cozy salon with fireplace, board games, and plushy velvet upholstery, irresistible for conversation ... and more. Next room over, there's free pool, foos-ball and darts. Food is inexpensive and well exceeds standard bar fare, ranging from cheese or hummus plates to fresh grilled panini. There's a long wine list, specialty cocktails galore, plenty of beers on tap and in bottle, but the bar's fin-de-siecle flavor virtually necessitates the ''green fairy,'' absinthe. Traditionally served, it's refined (i.e. ''legal'' -- minus the hallucinogenic wormwood, alas!) so you can conjure up your own ''l'heure verte.''