Ernest & Olivia (CLOSED)

Aside from no-frills chop shops that churn out bowl cuts and bobs, hair salons tend to remain pretty split between the sexes. But at Ernest & Olivia, a barber shop and a beauty parlor manage to coexist, reminding us of a simple truth: Everyone likes to be pampered. With vintage decor (including portraits of two greats—Ernests Hemingway and Shackleton) and big windows looking out on Greenwich Avenue, the dude’s side of the shop is fashioned as a gentleman’s clubhouse. Play backgammon, sip a cappuccino or a Scotch (for free), watch a little SportsCenter, and then eventually, sit down for a cut ($40) or hot-towel shave with a face massage ($30). Through a hallway—or accessible via a second, more discreet door on Perry Street—is the more intimate, Victorian-style ladies’ lair, where two leather salon chairs sit in front of hulking full-length mirrors. The rotating team of stylists includes curly hair specialists from Soho’s Devachan Salon (haircuts run $90–$110, and coloring starts at $100). If you need some fresh air or want to have a smoke, head to the private patio in back—you never know who you might bump into.