• Corner Billiards

  85 Fourth Avenue, 212-995-1314

  Somehow, shooting pool still conjures up images of (a) smoky dive bars with leering regulars and beer-stained felt, or (b) Tom Cruise’s smarmy hustler in The Color of Money. We’re all for getting in touch with your seedy side, but really, the former places have pretty much gone the way of Times Square sleaze, and the latter have no place in New York whatsoever (or anywhere else). At Corner Billiards, you’ll find a clean-cut collegiate crowd that’s actually there to shoot some stick. Though the tables and cues are in excellent shape, the bring-your-own-cue crowd tends to avoid this place in favor of more “serious” haunts, so the intimidation factor is low. And the adjoining café eschews potato-chip and pretzel bowls for mushroom quesadillas and pizza. Rack ’em up.

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine