Empire Hotel is finally finished with their renovations. The rooftop bar and lounge debuted this summer; last week Center Cut, Jeffery Chodorow's eco-steakhouse opened to great fanfare. The iconic Upper West Side hotel, with its signature giant red neon sign, was a hot property from the 1920s through the 1960s; proprietors hope that the renovations will help the hotel reclaim its place as a New York institution.

It's easy enough to ignore the avalanche of press releases one receives on a daily basis, but there are often gemstones among the rough. For example -- a branded "hot list" collection of summer cocktails may be refined and expanded, since it happens to include some our favorite places (and beverages) in four cities nationwide. Check it out, and chillax.

Hennessy Fire-Five, Rooftop Lounge of the Empire Hotel
Manhattanites can sip the Hennessy Fire-Five martini while absorbing floor-to-ceiling views of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Central Park, and Lincoln Center. With alleged frequenters such as Kim Cattrall, Kelly Ripa, Jimmy Fallon, Teri Hatcher, A-Rod, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price, the luxurious rooftop lounge and outdoor patio is the perfect setting to watch a summer evening sunset while sipping perfection.

A sign (and party) for all seasons.

New York City, like no other, shines through its constant state of flux, through the destruction of historical monuments and the erection of new edifices. This modernist tendency subsides only infrequently under the pitiless pressures of development. Thus the massive neon red-light signs gleaming proudly upon the roof-deck lounge of the Empire Hotel gift the urban dweller with history from the sidewalk and recreation from the bar. (See our gallery of the altitudinous scene.) An express lobby elevator sweeps revelers up to a cascade of interlocking support frames permitting a cultured view of Lincoln Center across the way.