Metropolitan, Brooklyn

Metropolitan - Metropolitan attracts a brazen crowd. It’s the flagship gay bar in Williamsburg, a neighborhood that, even for New York, takes itself a little too seriously and where a monoculture of unabashedly hip can be found traveling the streets in packs. At Metropolitan, neighborhood folk are a little apprehensive toward outsiders, even as people from other boroughs are heading over in increasing numbers on the weekends. But perhaps this bar’s most alluring feature, besides the bearded and demure crop of boys, is the spacious rear garden which on Sunday afternoons during the summer hosts a free barbeque with drink specials drawing a crowd of gay men, lesbians, and even a few straights from all corners the city. Inside, there is a pool table and two fireplaces accompanied by couches, but before you nestle in be sure to freshen up on your art school jargon.