traveldk.com

A Fort Point Channel underground bar that swaggers with rat pack retro ambience, right down to the lounge acts and the Frank Sinatra tribute nights.

ManRay’s face changes dramatically according to the day of the week. The minimal, quasi-industrial layout works perfectly for Wednesday night’s “Crypt,” when DJs spin Goth and Industrial. Thursday brings the club’s most popular party, Campus, which caters to the city’s queer student body with ’80s New Wave and Britpop. And Fetish Fridays beckons an outrageous crowd.

Matt Murphy’s is the rarest of stateside Irish pubs. Unlike most of its Boston brethren, which rely on bar mirrors and Guinness signage to create Irish atmosphere, Murphy’s allows its hearty stews, sharp-witted publicans, rustic furnishings, and perfectly-drawn pints to do the talking.

Having offered its stage to rockabilly, punk, swing, reggae, and hip-hop acts since 1987, the Midway Café is partially responsible for the youth-driven renaissance in Jamaica Plain (see Samuel Adams Brewery) in recent years. Most nights bring an eclectic, edgy mix of music lovers, both gay and straight. The club’s Thursday Dyke Night is the most popular lesbian club night in town.

Latinos and Jamaica Plain hipsters rub shoulders at the Milky Way for the dancing, the latest local live bands, the cosmopolitans, and bowling under the dim blue Christmas lights.

MIT students’ favorite watering hole boasts one of the city’s most original decorative concepts. How many bars display the day’s menu items and on-tap beers on a periodic table, serve salad dressing in a test tube, or claim Einstein as a patron saint?

Although it’s no longer in its original downtown location, the Paradise is the oldest name among Boston rock venues. Icons Van Halen, the Police, and Blondie from the ’70s and ’80s first put the club on the map. Today, the Paradise remains true to its rock ’n’ roll roots, welcoming nationally recognized acts that favor volume levels north of ten.

It’s posh, it’s civilized, and it’s expensive. Relax in a brocade chair, sip a single malt, and light up a cigar without the high-octane haze found elsewhere downtown.

By day, enjoy pints of Guinness and excellent pub grub at the mahogany bar. By night, cut loose to an ever-changing roster of hip-hop, jungle, and notable dub DJs.