There's no place better than D.C.'s Fox and Hounds. I've never received a better deal for a drink in any city in the world that I've visited. For $4 (at any time of the day; this is not a happy-hour price), you get any mixed drink--vodka tonic, gin and tonic, whiskey soda--for $4. And, the key--you receive a glassful of vodka and a small bottle of tonic on the side. To even add the tonic to the glass, you have to have a sip of vodka first. This place is made for people who like stiff drinks. In the summer, they have a terrace out front that closes at midnight, when you can move inside. In winter, you can go inside and sit in one of the booths and pick tunes on the jukebox.

The crowd here: young neighborhood Dupont Circle residents, dressed in flip-flops and T-shirts, looking to enjoy a drink or a few. The Fox & Hounds isn't the kind of place you make a night of on a Friday or Saturday night--it's more the place where you end up for one more drink before going home--but it is a place to make a night of any other day of the week. It's busy, but never overflowing. The waiters and waitresses are friendly and understand that you're there to enjoy the big drinks and the company of your friends--they're un-intrusive but friendly. Pretension is never a word used to describe this neighborhood joint--amid the 20-somethings that frequent the terrace and the bar, there's always an older crowd (residents in their 40s who lived in Dupont when it wasn't as trendy) sitting at the bar, sipping beers and watching the sports games playing up front.

There is a lamp hanging from the center with a Fox & Hounds figure in it, hence the bar's name, and a somewhat dank feel to the inside, but it's a great place. Go with the expectation that you're going to get the best bang for your buck on drinks in a bar that feels like it's been around for years.