No one touches or even goes near them, but still, just the sight of the rows of books in the back of Hudson Bar & Books makes for a more elevated experience than you'll find at the usual beer hall. This is far from some low-rent drinking dive where the fanciest thing on display is some businessman's after-hours whore. It's a softly lit, living room–type swankfest, where well-dressed people order whiskies, brandies, and premium cigars culled from swanky places all over the world. It's so not us, but an occasional drop-in makes for a sci-fi adventure of real fascination. And if you find yourself cottoning to the sight of the dusty tomes, check out their two other branches—Beekman Bar & Books and Lexington Bar & Books—which operate on the same literate-den-with-amenities principle. By the way, what are those books on the shelves? Damned if we know. We've never looked at them, either.