"Most places with live music are either date spots where you listen to jazz while sipping a $18 shot of whiskey with a giant ice cube, or they’re so loud that you just smile and nod when you think someone is speaking to you. In other words, they’re not great places to meet people. The Red Lion is an exception. The big Greenwich Village bar, which has three different bands every night, tends to be just crowded enough, with a dance floor that actually gets used, and a long bar where ordering a drink doesn’t feel like trying to hail a taxi in a rainstorm." - neha talreja, kenny yang, nikko duren, molly fitzpatrick