"Bibliophiles and whisky connoisseurs will be hard-pressed to find a better destination for a night out than Rare Books Bar. The Frisco speakeasy carries a head-spinning array of rare whiskies from around the world — including Highland Park 17 Year Ice Edition, which offers notes of fresh pineapple, ripe mango, and ginger root along with the familiar warmth of peat smoke — for patrons to savor neat or in an Old Fashioned (rightly the bar’s specialty). Come for dinner and enjoy your drinks alongside an order of seared salmon with asparagus risotto or braised short rib gnocchi, and let the live jazz set the mood for the evening. First, though, you’ll have to get in: Step into the phone booth located at the entrance and dial up the librarian — the passcode is always a classic literary title, so brush up on your Austen and Dickens." - Susie Oszustowicz