Imagine all the diversity of design you get in Williamsburg cafes without them being completely cooked and booked up by new age yuppies and influencers. Well this is, unfortunately, Ridgewood. Read that again. It's not unfortunately Ridgewood, rather it's unfortunate that the world is about to discover all about the wonderful Ridgewood. With neighborly indy book stores that double as wine bars and triple as cafes (shoutout Topos & Topos II - even if you did get rid of your wifi).

Come to Ridgewood for the Jermey Allen White fan-club, but stay for the Happy Hours. There's something about the intentionally designed, neighborly, and affordable bars of Ridgewood that make them feel super approachable. Sure, these bars' interior designs could go toe-to-toe with Williamsburg but they're 2x as enjoyable and 1.5x the size of East Village prospects. Oh, and they've some pretty bangin' Happy Hours. Here are the best: