Nightlife in Brooklyn

A firehouse-themed sports bar, Memphis Station offers tasty bar eats and a lengthy list of bottled and draft beer in a friendly neighborhood setting. A cast of signature homemade burgers, the undisputed stars of the menu, includes several options that arrive at the table slathered with cheese, layered with bacon, and loaded with Jack-in-the-box-puppets that spring down amused esophagi on first bite. The Hook and Ladder is treated with crumbled bleu cheese, bacon, pickles, an onion ring, and barbecue sauce ($8.50), and the Five Alarm melds pepper jack, jalapeño, spicy mayo, salsa, and hot sauce with cool ranch for dipping ($8.50). Patrons with daintier appetites can nibble basket appetizers while they play Picture Hunter or watch NFL Sunday Ticket on one of four flat-screen TVs. Adrift in a starchy potato-skin boat laden with cheddar, bacon, and sour cream ($7), eager eaters can sail to Asia with panko-breaded shrimp ($7), down to Baja with cheddar jalapeño quesadillas ($6.50), or off to the Emerald City by simply following the yellow brick road.

With this deal, movie buffs can scarf down popcorn while watching action-packed celluloid at one of seven different locales, including Cleveland Heights' Cedar Lee Theatre, which won a Scene magazine readers' poll for Best Movie Theater. Arty cinephiles can catch an independent or foreign film at this theatre, where the concession stand slings out tasty baked goods, sandwiches, specialty coffees, and more. Catch a flick at the historic Capitol Theatre, nestled in the Gordon Square Arts District, a renovated three-screen spot featuring Hollywood, specialty, and 3D films. Many of Cleveland Cinemas' other theaters boast multiple screens, digital sound, a Groucho Marx robot that quips one-liners from the balcony, and stadium seating for ideal movie gawking.

Over the years, Reddstone’s outdoor patio has earned it plenty of love. In 2011, CBS Cleveland named Reddstone among the best outdoor bars in the city, and Cleveland Scene magazine deemed it the top spot for patio drinking. Though the patio garners a lot of attention, especially during its weekly pig roasts over the summer, Reddstone slyly offers the Detroit Shoreway and Battery Park community a dining experience to match its patio’s growing legend. The chef keeps the kitchen open until midnight every night, whipping up signature burgers and small plates to accompany 20 craft beers on tap. Rather than playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on a squeaky chair, Reddstone’s management team keeps visitors thoroughly entertained by booking weekly live performances from acts that range from standup comedians to jazz musicians.

Cleveland Scene reviewed Stone Mad Pub, Restaurant and Bocce. Eighty-seven percent of more than 120 Urbanspooners recommend the restaurant. Yelpers give it a 3.5-star average.

As a typeface, the Helvetica font communicates with no flourishes; it's a bare-bones style where what you see is what you get. Striving for the same simplicity, Helvetica Juice Bar & Cafe, which is run by the same owner as the Latin-themed Burroco Grill, offers a culinary experience that comes off as similarly natural and elegant. Inside, rustic raw-wood tables, art installations, and exposed-brick walls welcome guests as they approach a chalkboard holding the café’s simple menu of sweets and savories, gourmet tacos, crepes, sandwiches, and Latin American–inspired dishes.

As cooks prepare guests’ orders, they work only with ripe fruits, fresh meats, and other ingredients that have never been canned, frozen, or preserved. Topping the list of sustenance is a selection of sweet crepes made with Nutella and ice cream, or studded with fruit and cookies. Savory options may include Latin-inspired eats, such as barbacoa tacos. The café’s signature smoothies boast bananas and mangos, and juice blends incorporate fruits from around the world, such as high-fiber curuba, vitamin-rich lulo, and Caribbean fruits such as maracuya, lulo, and guanabana, A BYOB establishment, customers often bring liquor to add to the juice drinks, turning them into specialty cocktails. As further show of the café’s conscientious offerings, Helvetica’s iced and hot coffee drinks are squeezed from direct-trade beans and served in biodegradable cups.

Voted 2010's 2nd Best Trendy Bar by the Fox 8 Hot List, The South Side dishes out a succulent menu of gourmet tavern fare overflowing with fresh takes on traditional pub mainstays. Quack for a small plate of chipotle barbecue duck pizza, featuring roasted tomatoes, scallions, provolone, mozzarella, and cilantro-lime vinaigrette ($9.50), or study a sandwich's delicious cheekbone muscles with the open-faced chorizo meatloaf topped onto sourdough and drizzled with rosemary cabernet gravy ($10). Grilled german bologna on a pretzel roll comes dressed with caramelized onions, spicy mustard, and horseradish havarti ($10), while hazelnut coffee-crusted sockeye salmon is served with seasonal squash purée and chocolate buerre blanc ($10) . Every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., diners just waking up after a long night of unsuccessfully building an egg-juggling robot can dine on a brunch menu heaped with zesty midmorning fare such as chicken and waffles, which layers tempura, airline breast, belgian waffles, cinnamon butter, Ohio maple syrup, and a side of hot sauce ($7).

Established as an Irish restaurant and bar in 1910, the Flat Iron has operated in a former four-story hotel dating from the late 1800s while continually dishing up authentic entrees from the motherland of limericks. Flip open Flat Iron's menu to find flavors imported from the tops of MacGillycuddy's Reeks, such as the Flat Iron potato skins ($6.25), six deep-fried ovals mingling with mixed cheese, crumbled bacon, and scallions. Pub specials include the tried-and-true fish and chips ($10.95) and the traditional shepherd's pie ($9.95), showcasing natural deposits of ground lamb under gravy and cheese bedrock. Flat Iron's burger and sandwich selections include regional inspirations from Dublin, Ireland, to Dublin, Ohio; the Irish Bend burger ($7.50) is festooned with sautéed mushrooms and swiss, while the Charlotte chicken ($7.95) arrives smothered with thousand-island dressing and crunchy bacon. Barley-and-yeast connoisseurs can choose an imported beer ($3.50–$7.50) to continue their Gaelic jaunt, or reward American-ale summoners by drinking a domestic beer on tap ($3.50–$5).