One of the few clubs that really feels like a house party, this club night houses an arty, laid-back crowd that's as multi-flavored and -hued as the rhythms on the decks.

Chocolate Bar has been going strong since 1997 (formerly at Gabah, now at The Echo), and that's largely due to its hosts Shakespeare and Aurelito, two Eastsiders with a lot of friends. Over the years their posse has grown with the help of their I&I Sound System—a converted ice-cream truck pumping out reggae jams—that they take to events around town. Still, Chocolate Bar remains the pair's home base, an unpretentious hang where peeps of every color get to know each other on the dance floor while vintage wax experts Daz, T-Lee and Higher spin everything from Bob Marley to A Tribe Called Quest to Stevie Wonder. Occasionally, there are even live visual art performances. As for the crowd? Some work the ethnic look with dreads and multicolored threads, others look like '70s soul bros and sistas—but most stay casual in jeans and tees. —Lina Lecaro