"Raines Law Room is down a set of stairs below a small building on 17th Street, and you have a ring a bell to get inside. It’s a dimly-lit cocktail lounge filled with couches and armchairs, it has around 40 drinks on the menu, and if you go all the way to the back, you’ll find an outdoor space with hanging vines and patio furniture. So if you need to sit somewhere quiet and drink a few excellent cocktails outside with someone, try this place. Request a seat on the low-key patio, and you can temporarily pretend that you don’t live in a city where outdoor bars tend to get as crowded as the L train at 9am on a Monday." - bryan kim