What is a good drinking bar in NY. Not a trnedy hang out but a cool place to hoist a few with real locals

Get out of Manhattan. Go to the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens and find one on nearly any corner.

There's a great Irish bar near the Royal Rhiga hotel in midtown. Sorry I can't remember the name.

Since you'll probably be in midtown, if you want to be with REAL locals I'm tempted to send you over to Smith's (on 8th Avenue around 43rd Street) or the Blarney Stone (a little further up 8th), where you could grab a beer at 8 a.m. with the graveyard shift who just got off work. No tourists in those places, but I'll be nice: try McGees, on 55th off Broadway, or the Irish Pub on 7th b/w 54th & 55th, for no holds barred, nothing fancy drinking with "locals".

Try dba on 1st Avenue between 2nd & 3rd Streets. Great beer, single malt scotch and tequila menu. Cool place and it has a nice beer garden in the back. Happy hour has good prices. There are lots of other good hanging out bars in the East Village too, and most are small neighborhood places.

Another vote for DBA! Also, around the corner is my personal favorite, Swift. They have a great selection of taps. As the previous poster said, there are a lot of really cool bars in the Village.
Burp Castle is fun, and Brewsky's (right next door) is nothing to write home about, but has good beers.
We like the Slaughtered Lamb, Blind Tiger, and Chumley's for a bite between brews!

NYC Sucks!

i really like the KGB Bar on the lower east side, its on east 4th st. its on the 2nd floor, its very low key, but with some hip intellectuals, and great music. no cover charge, and cheap drinks!!