9C

Nothing makes you feel more like a local than hanging in a bar that has absolutely no right existing. 9C is that kind of bar. Standing in what amounts to a studio apartment with a decent sound system, one could look out on dreary Avenue C and think it a lonely block in an industrial section of Pittsburgh, Buffalo or Detroit. The decor of the bar itself doesn’t help with the feeling of misery, and ordering anything besides a Bud or an Iron City may bring a blush to the bartender’s face. Of course the live bluegrass music certainly adds to the sense of drunkenness, pickup trucks, jail and mesh caps. But what this bar lacks in size and grace, it certainly makes up in character. [MF]

700 E 9th St.
212/358-0048