Yogis head here to relieve stress on their lunch breaks, weaving through greenmarket shoppers and trick-perfecting skateboarders along the way. Union Square, in the heart of downtown Manhattan, is one of the City's most bustling junctions. It may have started as a mere potter's field—that is, a burial site for the poor and unidentified—but the area has evolved into a meeting place for celebration and grief, protest and pride. If you're not there to hold up a sign—or to join the merrymakers doling out free hugs by the subway stop—you're probably there to shop, eat, drink or all of the above. In this neighborhood, even the most capricious friend shouldn't have much trouble fulfilling his whims—plates salvaged from old ships, French toast sprinkled with orange zest and private buzzers to alert cocktail servers, to name three. And for simpler tastes, there are always burgers and beers at a classic pub.

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