You can rail against it, you can refuse to go, you can call everyone who accepts it stupid: thing is, there are always going to be places where someone is willing to pay $14 for a cocktail.

Oh, and they'll try and justify, too, and even do a good job of it. Every specialty cocktail here at Bernard's (on the second floor of the Elysian Hotel) is prepared with the finest, freshest ingredients. That sound you're not hearing is most definitely not a months old can of orange juice concentrate being tossed onto a trash can overflowing with those plastic bottles of Bud Light. You're also not standing next to anyone making any sort of noise that's a variation on "Woooo!"

No. Instead, you're in a luxuriously decorated, intimate room with dark brown furniture, draped in velvet, candle-lit tables spread across the hardwood floor, in a finer space than which 99 percent of the world gets to live, and you're thinking "This is where I'd hang out if I were dating a model."

If you and your model are going to want more $14 cocktails, $20 glasses of wine, and some of finest local craft beers, there are small plates available as well. They're mostly desserts, and they're pretty high end themselves. The bartenders will be more than happy to help you match a creme brulee or lemon tart to a particular glass of wine or cocktail.

Average cost: $21-$30