Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar

"Blue Ribbon Sushi & Sake, run by Tetsu Yagi, offers a la carte and omakase options at reasonable prices. The menu includes lobster miso soup ($15), sunomono offerings like kyuri cucumber ($11), appetizers such as toro tartare ($38), seven- to 12-piece nigiri ($36, $52), and hand rolls ($10 to $18). (Omakase is around $145.) The cozy room is terrific; it’s small, with only 12 seats at the bar and a handful of booths. Sake by the glass, box, and bottle is available in several variations, with its house Blue Ribbon versions among every category. Open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner." - Robert Sietsema

"Shared wine knowledge is kind of like relationship insurance. You’ll always have an excuse to hang out and drink together, and you’ll also have plenty of topics for conversation when you’re done venting about loud-chewing friends and your coworker who whisper-narrates every single email that comes through her inbox. Blue Ribbon’s bar in the West Village is a 15-seat space ideal for dates, and the long wine list has a bunch of half-bottles, as well as tasting flights with groupings like chilled reds and white Burgundy." - Matt Tervooren