Don't expect to see GAP-garbed wannabes or even Hot Topic-clad teeny boppers at this decadent hangout. The long-running night, with live bands on its atmospheric courtyard and DJs spinning a dark-minded (but diverse) dance mix, attracts a more sophisticated and sexy gloom set.

Proprietor Tricia La Belle is not only the grand dame of the highly successful Saturday night Sinister, she's the belle of Boardner's. After purchasing the venue, she transformed it from a rocker dive into a stylish multipurpose space for clubs of all kinds. Still, no crowd on another night can match Sinister's elaborately attired regulars, who sip absinthe and flirt fiendishly among the cavernous club's crevices (which include an upstairs S&M lair) in corsets, rubber, velvet and vinyl. There's a dress code for admittance: "Gaultier goth, fabulously fetish, or outrageously alternative," so looky-loos not willing to work the look should take heed. —Lina Lecaro