Maison Premiere compresses New Orleans — absinthe drips, oyster trays, waistcoated bartenders — into a corner of Williamsburg so convincingly that the James Beard Foundation named it the country's best bar program. The horseshoe marble bar and back garden are among Brooklyn's most transportive rooms.
Come for the weekday oyster happy hour, when selections run a dollar apiece at the bar, and graduate to a Sazerac or one of the city's deepest absinthe lists. The full dinner menu — crudo, lobster, caviar service — turns a drink stop into an occasion. The garden, wrapped in vines and string lights, is the seat worth waiting for.
