Armchair Pub Crawler

It seems I never again have to leave my beloved Brooklyn to have sophisticated cocktails. Which is a good thing, since cab fare from lower Manhattan can add as much as $30 to an already pricey evening out. In my little four-block radius, I now count four bars—a fine ratio of walk to drink. There's Flatbush Farm (a personal favorite—try the Mo' Stormy), Soda (a good selection of Irish whiskey and the best burgers in Brooklyn), Barette (burlesque every Tuesday and Friday night) and the newest of them all, Weather Up, which is owned by Kathryn Weatherup and has the Sasha Petraske (Milk & Honey and East Side Company Bar) imprint. It's a good thing Brooklynites are a laid-back people, though, as it took nearly 45 minutes and a whopping $55 to get four drinks at Weather Up—but if you deduct the cab fare, it's worth it in the end.