America’s Coolest Streets

Bourbon Street is getting a run for its booze money on Rainey, a collection of century-old bungalows-turned-bars. Prep for a night of debauchery with a locavore dinner at new restaurant Emmer & Rye (order the lamb leg with wasabi arugula), then head to Blackheart--the whiskey list is longer than a small town phonebook (18 year Yamazaki, anybody?)--and Lucille’s, where hammocks and a gin-slinging outdoor bar await.

Of all the hipper-than-thou streets in Gotham, Prince is our favorite—it stretches from the New Museum (where Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist is on view) to Andrew Carmellini’s restaurant The Dutch. Plenty of points in between are must-sees, including bibliophile mecca McNally Jackson Books and St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, a gothic revival 1809 church where part of _The Godfather _was filmed.

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Here’s why Brady Street is more than OK (get it?): As the center of the Brady Arts District, it’s home to the Woody Guthrie Center, where you can read the artists journals, see his hand-written original lyrics to This Land is Your Land, and check out his pal Kris Kristofferson’s Joplin and Cash-signed Martin guitar. After, head to The Tavern for chicken and dumplings with a side of duck fat brussel sprouts, and Chimera for a Sarsparilla Old Fashioned cocktail.

A street with more free museums and eye-popping sights than we can count—including the 555 foot-tall Washington Monument, the National Archives (home to some documents we’re hoping a few news-making politicians make time to re-read), and the brand-spanking new National Museum of African American History? It's basically an IRL version of American History 101.

You bet it's touristy. But it's touristy for a reason. Start with a caffeine jolt at the original Starbucks—well, a recreated version of the 1971 flagship—where tabletops were salvaged from a nearby farm and wall tapestries are actually burlap coffee bags. Then hit the 1907 Pike Place Market, where you can sit where Tom Hanks did during filming of _Sleepless in Seattle _while you tuck into New England clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at the Athenian.

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Art Deco-era architecture fiends traverse the globe to study the clean-lined hotels lining Ocean Drive, including Clark Gable’s old hangout, the Park Central Hotel, and the Colony Hotel, a 1935 stunner with an iconic blue neon sign. After perusing the grand dames (and taking a dip in the adjacent turquoise ocean), head straight to the 24-hour News Cafe (a favorite of Gianni Versace) for the best key lime pie you’ll ever taste.

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We’d like to petition the city of Savannah to rename this Carb-oholic Avenue, because our favorite things to do on Bull Street involve eating entire plum raspberry pies at Back in the Day Bakery and slurping down tagliatelli all carbonara at Hugh Acheson’s restaurant, The Florence. Afterwards, there’s shopping: don’t miss perusing the expertly curated graphic clothes and housewares at Nola Jane.

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This street in the Mile High City is beloved for its foodie offerings: as the old expression goes, you can throw a pot brownie and hit a restaurant you’d like to try here. Some of the best: Rioja, a James Beard semifinalist with dishes like octopus flatbread and bourbon braised lamb shank, and Bistro Vendome, where the bouillabaisse is so good you could squint and think you’re in Paris.

Edgar Allen Poe was actually here. That’s the feeling you get at The Horse You Came In On Saloon, because he was—this 1775 bar is purportedly the last one Poe visited before his death. Indeed, this part of Baltimore, known as Fell’s Point, teems with American history and lore. Stop by Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park Museum to explore the docks where the famous abolitionist lived and worked, before stopping in at Thames Street Oyster House for note-perfect Maryland Crab soup.