Please Don't Tell

Even in the internet age, finding much about Please Don’t Tell (PDT), a speakeasy on St. Mark’s Place, can be a bit difficult. Its website is one page with only a phone number to make reservations. Despite sharing space with Crif Dogs, a late night fried hot dog joint, its menu is unknown until entering (although there are still fried hot dogs that you can order from the adjacent restaurant). More importantly, just to get in, one must know the number to dial in the nondescript telephone booth.

Of course, Yelp can provide all the answers, but that goes against the whole idea of the place. Find a friend (or a friend of a friend) who has been there and knows what to expect. That’s part of the experience. Hoops (and lines) aside, PDT is a pretty cool experience: a sanguine bite of New York glamour at its most self-aware.