New yorks best hookup bars

NYC ranks worse than Fargo, North Dakota for finding love , the rom com and love song are shadows of their former selves, and swiping has devolved from a dopamine rush-inducing novelty to a yawn. Apathy and disconnectedness run rampant in this metropolis. Are New Yorkers post-horny? Maybe, but we have no reason to be. Go to a bar tonight.

For six weeks, the editors of New York Magazine and Grub Street are publishing a series of definitive lists that declare the absolute best versions of things to eat, drink, and do. Here are the best hookup bars — spots where you might head for some fun, flirtatious entanglement, or at least a bar-stool make-out session. Graham Ave. Night of Joy Lorimer, at Meeker St. Raines Law Room 48 W. Sixth Ave. This cocktail bar has private couches with curtains and a buzzer to call your waitress — a little on the nose, maybe, but it works.

Metallic, domed hair dryers and original salon-style chairs lined up against a wall make for a hyper-specific retro aesthetic. Sultry lighting and a robust drink menu, however, take Beauty Bar to the next level, making it an alluring destination for those looking to get it on. Or those looking to laugh it off—there are weekly free stand-up comedy shows with appealing drink specials. Mood Ring defies expectations.

When I was growing up, my recently-divorced mother had a group of recently-divorced friends who all used to go out and try to meet men together. All of them were looking for love — or whatever rough approximation of it that they could fit in between work, family, and some surprisingly contentious PTA meetings — but my mother had one friend who seemed to be looking a little harder than everyone else. Her name was Lydia, and her drive for companionship seemed to make her a bit of a pariah among the singles mixer crew all of whom were legit looking for second husbands like it was their second job. How could I tell that Lydia was "desperate," as my mom often described her? Because Lydia went to bars by herself.