Nightlife
Chinatown
Tropical 128
Located on a block rarely trafficked by night, this pool hall seems to be known primarily to local Korean and Chinese kids despite its over-the-top wildlife décor. In the front barroom, a deer head peeps out among fake rock walls, tree trunks, bamboo vines, and burbling water; exotic fish meanwhile swim in an illuminated tank. The real sport here, though, is billiards, and business is conducted in a stark back room stocked with four regulation tables. Those who tire of watching from the elevated church pews lining the walls head for the bar to play dice and flirt with bar girls serving giant, flaming volcano bowls, sake bombs, and fruity cocktails in glasses tall enough to double as vases. — Daniel Maurer
1 2 NYCGO 3 4