Lobby bars are for waiting with a well drink. At Vesper, the wait is about the craft. Going off-menu is encouraged, so people-watch while your bartender wields easy wit, a tiny torch and ingredients like violet sugar and cinnamon-fig vermouth. Watching him snap lemon zest over a martini is almost as fun as drinking one. Or three. Cosmopolitan, 698-7000. Open 24/7.

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