Nightlife in Elizabeth

Every once in a while the muddled sounds of conversation, music, and cue balls clanking against pool tables spill onto the corner of 236th Street and Broadway. The source of the sounds is The Bridge Tavern, a neighborhood pub with an emphasis on the community. Its ceiling stretches over the establishment with a mural dedicated to Kingsbridge and another mural celebrating the Yankees. Amid a row of Bronx street signs and a wraparound bar, servers fuel the chatter with beer, wings, and half-pound burgers.

At Levity Live Comedy Club, renowned comedians such as Kevin Nealon and Susie Essman have graced the same stage as up-and-coming comics including Elliot Chang and Sam Morril. In addition to its live shows and a variety of pub grub and drinks, the club also offers classes through Manhattan Comedy School. Eight-week sessions help fledgling comedians with everything from developing a persona to lightening up a goldfish’s funeral.

Every weekend, two men stand before an audience to battle for their honor and the adoration of their onlookers. They stoically turn to one another and bow. The crowd erupts. “Play Billy Joel’s Piano Man,” yells a college kid. “_Enter Sandman_ by Metallica!” shouts a young woman. The men have a seat at the L-shaped dueling piano bar and commence in a key-pounding showdown of speed. As they face off, fans are urged to bark out requests and sing along with the tunes, which can range from ‘50s rock-and-roll hits to current numbers, such as that video of a cat meowing sea shanties. The eight on-staff performers draw from diverse backgrounds. Some honed their chops on Broadway while others cut their teeth in Las Vegas nightclubs opening for the likes of Ray Charles. The ivory-ticklers square off every Friday and Saturday evening from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and fans get a chance to show off their vocal talents during Monday-night karaoke.

To fuel the merriment, the cooks churn out a hearty menu of Irish-influenced upscale pub food. Black Angus-beef burgers and new york strip steaks satiate carnivorous cravings, and helpings of shepherd's pie, fish ‘n’ chips, and Guiness stew fill up even the biggest holes in legs.

Hanging baskets line Marty O'Brien's Social Club's front patio, contributing to a quiet sidewalk ambiance that contrasts with the pub’s convivial laid-back lounge. Regardless of where diners sit, they can expect tables brimming with plates of seafood, grilled chicken, and beef. Nearly every corner of the restaurant exudes an air of comforting americana, from the rugged blue-brick façade to its name, which invokes Frank Sinatra's father's boxing moniker and the pen name gracing Teddy Roosevelt’s fan fiction. As servers roll out entrees, guests toast to each other’s health with glasses of beer or wine and share appetizers of chicken skewers and mussels.

When he decided to open a hookah bar, Farrukh Pakal knew that one thing had to be perfect: the seating. “If my body is not relaxed,” he reasoned, “I cannot relax my mind.” So, within Silk Hookah Lounge's cherry-colored walls, guests’ backsides will not bounce into a single hard-backed chair. Couches and sofas sprawl throughout the space, inviting patrons to linger over teas imported from Pakistan or hot chocolates sprinkled with coconut, cinnamon, or vanilla. And, perhaps most importantly, the cushy seating cradles holders of Egyptian glass hookahs. Like anger over an incorrectly punctuated parking ticket, these slowly burn for up to three hours, releasing scents of chocolate, mint, lemon, apple, or other fresh fruits into the air.

While enjoying their hookahs, groups can grab cards, dominoes, or other games as LED lights splash a rainbow of colors overhead. On weekends, DJs infuse the flavorful airwaves with music.

Over the course of more than 200 years, happy shouts have ricocheted among the Palladian columns and bricks walls of what is now The Publick House. Working with expert architects, the brick building, which has served at different times as a hotel, a school, and an unnecessarily large paperweight, was carefully restored. The team rebuilt the original two-story porch and balcony, but also added modern touches such as a coffee bar with refrigerated glass display cases filled with fresh hazelnut, pistachio, and chocolate gelato. In the kitchen, chefs slide pizzas into the brick oven, melting pools of mozzarella and ricotta around toppings such as shrimp and arugula. Nearby, strip steaks crackle, and steam rises from pots of rose-colored vodka sauce. Glasses of martinis chirp together in toasts, punctuating the sounds of live music, and bartenders pour Orval ale, one of a small number of beers imported to United States from Trappist monasteries in Europe.