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on 49th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues). But even here, depending on the day’s guests, and especially if the special musical guest is going to be performing outdoors, you had better plan to show up waaaay early. This is no exception.
NEW YORK NIGHTLIFE
I F YO U ’ D L I K E TO B E A N AC T I V E PA RT I C I PA N T in your evening’s
events as opposed to an audience member, then you’ll need to do a bit of baror club-hopping. This can be fun or tiresome depending on the distances between your chosen destinations, but you’re bound to have some sort of an adventure—on foot, in a taxi, or on the subway—between venues. Consider doing a little research before you get to town if you’d like to see a performance at a bar or club; Time Out magazine (newyork.timeout.com) has the most comprehensive listings; www.sheckys.com is a good supplementary resource.
To wet your whistle, we suggest places that offer good beer, sake, sumptuous cocktails, jazz, rock, cabaret, country, alternative sounds, comedy, cigars, hookah pipes, and literary discussions. It’s just a taste of the possibilities, but a good place to start.
For those who still smoke and aren’t quite sure how to drink and puff simultaneously in public since the New York smoking ban of 2003, we offer a few options: If you’d like something stronger than a hookah pipe at Kush (see page 444), then you can opt for cigars at
Club Macanudo (see page 438) and the Velvet Cigar Lounge (80 East Seventh Street; # 212-533-5582; www.velvetcigars.com). For cigarettes and a taste of Art Deco, try Circa Tabac (32 Watts Street; # 212-941- 1781; www.circatabac.com).
We hope that with this bit of insider advice you’ll be motivated to do some regular New York City night-owl exploration. We look forward to seeing you on the dark side. . . .
J A Z Z
JA Z Z M AY H AV E O R I G I N AT E D I N N E W O R L E A N S , but for decades
New York has been the center of the jazz universe. If you have even the slightest interest in this style, you’ll want to check out one or two of the following clubs; be prepared to stay up late, especially if you’d like to catch a jam session.
See profiles for Village Vanguard, Smoke, Blue Note, and Smalls.
CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE (2485 Broadway at 92nd Street; # 212-769- 6969; www.cleopatrasneedleny.com) has live music nightly and jam sessions Wednesday through Saturday, 11:30 p.m. or midnight until 2:30 or 3 a.m.; $10 minimum per person.
55 BAR (55 Christopher Street; # 212-929-9883; www.55bar.com) is a no-nonsense Greenwich Village joint with music that’s often surprisingly good. Two-drink minimum. Open daily until 4 a.m.
N E W Y O R K N I G H T L I F E 4 2 1
(75 Christopher Street; # 212-675-6056; www
.fatcatmusic.org) offers jazz, pool, Ping-Pong, and chess. Jam sessions nightly at 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and 1:30 a.m. on weekends.
IRIDIUM (1650 Broadway at 51st Street; # 212-582-2121; www.iridium jazzclub.com), with its over-the-top ultra-modern decor, is a trippy exception to the rule that jazz is often played in drab spaces.
(88 Seventh Avenue South; # 212-255-3626; www
.sweetrhythmny.com) was formerly the jazz-only Sweet Basil, but it now hosts world music with a bit of jazz thrown in.
ZINC BAR (82 West Third Street; # 212-477-9462; www.zincbar.com) is a great place to watch some amazing musicians in an intimate setting. Occasional impromptu audience participation occurs during performances. It’s also cozy for a tête-à-tête with drinks. Open very late!
R O C K A N D A L T E R N A T I V E
RO C K C L U B S I N M A N H AT TA N fit mostly into three categories. There are the bar venues that host big-name acts for big cover charges— places such as The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza (17 Irving Place; # 212-777-6800; www.irvingplaza.com), The Bowery Ballroom
(6 Delancey Street; # 212-533-2111; www.boweryballroom.com), Ter- (610 West 56th Street; # 212-665-3832; www.terminal5nyc (239 West 52nd Street; # 212-247-
0200; www.roselandballroom.com). Then there are the showcase places where newly signed bands preen for industry insiders—like Southpaw (125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn; # 718-230-0236; www.spsounds.com) and Mercury Lounge (see page 446). At the bottom of the ladder are the vanity clubs, such as Kenny’s Castaways (157 Bleecker Street;
# 212-979-9762; www.kennyscastaways.net), where amateurish weekend warriors and ambitious start-ups play short sets.
The country’s best bar bands have long played their hearts out in nearby New Jersey and Long Island (remember the origins of South-
side Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, the Rascals, and |
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hanging out in a bar.
If you don’t mind your rock filtered through other influences, Rodeo Bar (see page 448) presents good, professional rockabilly and alt-country bands. Hank’s Saloon (46 Third Avenue at Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn; # 347-227-8495; www.hankssaloon.com) offers country music and a divey saloon vibe. Here are some other venues:
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ARLENE’S GROCERY (95 Stanton Street; # 212-995-1652; www.arlenes grocery.net) has cover charges on Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday; price is dependent on the event. Considered a prestigious showcase for indie bands; medium to heavy rock; rock karaoke on Mondays at 10 p.m. and open mic on Saturday afternoons.
THE BITTER END (147 Bleecker Street; # 212-673-7030; www.bitterend
.com) has been around for decades, hosting some great and not-so- good music. Worth a visit just for the tradition it represents.
(199 Bowery; # 212-982-0740; www.crashmansion
.com) hosts “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” a showcase of hip young bands on Friday nights in a basement club that avoids the grunge of typical rock venues.
KNITTING FACTORY (361 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn; # 347-529- 6696; ny.knittingfactory.com) was a legendary downtown club for alternative music, featuring everything from klezmer to thrash. Rents skyrocketed, and relocation to Brooklyn was inevitable. It’s still a nice venue for seeing eclectic bands, but nostalgists complain.
(154 Ludlow Street; # 212-533-7237; www.living roomny.com) charges no cover; one-drink minimum. Medium rock to folk with focus on singer-songwriters.
MAXWELL’S (1039 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey; # 201- 653-1703; www.maxwellsnj.com) may be in (gasp!) New Jersey, but it’s one of the area’s finest rock clubs. Take the 15-minute ride on the 126 bus from Port Authority to Hoboken, and get off at 12th Street, a block from the stage where Bruce Springsteen’s Glory Days video was filmed and REM, Nirvana, and Beck all cut their teeth. Today, indie-rock fans thrill to see their favorites up close in a venue that barely holds 200. There’s a menu of decent comfort food.
SIDEWALK CAFE (94 Avenue A; # 212-473-7373; www.sidewalkmusic
.net) no cover, two-drink minimum. The premier venue for anti-folk music, a mutating genre which combines the sensibilities of folk, punk, and rock. Avoid Monday’s open-mic night.
South of Houston Street, the music is often edgier and more experimental.
D A N C I N G
D E S P I T E W E I R D C A B A R E T L AW S prohibiting dancing in bars unless they’re licensed, dancing is alive and well in NYC. Clubs, both underground and mainstream, abound and satisfy all musical and stylistic tastes. Herein lies the rub—some of the best beats are spun by DJs who travel and host club parties at various venues; some stationary clubs have nonstop style, but not always the best music, as hip takes precedence over harmonics. We won’t list the DJ parties, because they often change, but Time Out magazine (newyork
.timeout.com) has a good weekly clubs section listing. As for the
N E W Y O R K N I G H T L I F E 4 2 3
trendy clubs, we’ll give you an intro, but blink and they may already be passé.
Cielo (18 Little West 12th Street; # 212-645-5700; www.cieloclub
.com), in the still-hot Meatpacking District, takes dancing and DJs seriously, but this you can appreciate only once you get past the bouncers. Love (179 MacDougal Street; # 212-477-5683; www.music islove.net) lives up to its name by virtue of its sound system, which dancers absolutely adore, though this is not a glitzy place by any stretch of the imagination. The recently renovated Sullivan Room (218 Sullivan Street; # 212-252-2151; www.sullivanroom.com) bills itself as one of New York’s few showcases for “underground” DJs, and that’s not just because it’s located in a dark and sultry basement.
Other clubs include the African-themed Cain (544 West 27th Street; # 212-947-8000; www.cainnyc.com) and Pacha (618 West 46th Street; # 212-209-7500; www.pachanyc.com), the import from partyweary Ibiza. Also try Element (225 East Houston; # 212-254-2200; www.elementny.com) and Hiro (371 West 16th Street; # 212-242- 4300; www.hiroballroom.com) at The Maritime Hotel.
For salsa dancing in a setting more down-home than glossy, choices include nightspots such as S.O.B.’s (see page 452); or warm, artsy Nuyorican Poets Cafe (236 East Third Street; # 212-780-3286; www.nuyorican.org). There’s also LQ (511 Lexington Avenue in the Radisson Lexington Hotel; # 212-593-7575; www.lqny.com). Yet another option is Swing 46 (see page 452).
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Feinstein’s at Loews Regency (540 Park Avenue; |
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other legends. Old standbys (and we mean old; some of the following have been in operation for decades) include The Duplex (61 Christopher Street at Seventh Avenue; # 212-255-5438; www.theduplex
.com), the Oak Room (see “Hotel Bars,” page 426), Don’t Tell Mama (343 West 46th Street; # 212-757-0788; www.donttellmamanyc.com), and Café Carlyle (see page 436).
I R I S H
I R I S H P U B S A R E A S A F E B E T for finding good beer, pub grub, and fine cráic. You may even get some live music, complete with a fiddle or two. The following are of particular interest:
AN BEAL BOCHT CAFE (445 West 238th Street; Riverdale, Bronx;
# 718-884-7127; www.anbealbochtcafe.com) offers great music from Wednesday through Saturday; it’s a trek to get to, but it serves the best Guinness of all (warm fire, too).
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M O N A’S (224 Avenue B; # 212-353-3780), an ultra-dive, serves cheap beer and hosts Monday-night jam sessions starting at 10:30 p.m.
(63 Carmine Street; # 212-414-1223; www.mr dennehys.com) has a relaxed atmosphere, a fine menu of pub grub, and plenty of “footie” (soccer) on the telly.
PADDY REILLY’S (519 Second Avenue; # 212-686-1210) has music nightly.
SWIFT HIBERNIAN LOUNGE (34 East Fourth Street; # 212-227-9438; www.swiftnycbar.com) has music on Tuesdays, poetry readings on the fourth Monday of the month, and great beer to boot.
F I N E D R I N K S
O N E O F T H E B E S T |
T H I N G S A B O U T N E W YO R K is the substan- |
tial number of people who seek out the best food and drink with |
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an obsessive zeal and passion. Mind you, the city has a plethora of |
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unofficial T I P |
corner bars where Bud Light is drunk unrepen- |
tantly. But for those on a mission to enjoy only |
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The New York City Beer |
the finest drinks, there are zillions of places |
Guide provides exhaus- |
whose selections will astound. And for those |
tive annotated listings of |
who aren’t professional bon vivants, the true |
pubs, tastings, and local |
believers populating these bars will gladly help |
microbrews online at |
clueless novices. New Yorkers may be rude and |
www.nycbeer.org. |
blasé, but once they start enthusing, it’s hard to |
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keep ’em down. |
The best bars and restaurants for good beer:
BLIND TIGER ALE HOUSE (281 Bleecker Street at Jones Street; # 212- 462-4682; www.blindtigeralehouse.com) has the most beers on tap per square foot in the city, in addition to two hand-pumps, a gravity cask, and an impressive collection of bottles.
(79 North 11th Street; # 718-486-7422; www.brooklynbrewery.com) in Williamsburg offers free brewery tours on Saturday at 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m. Worth a visit.
(41 East Seventh Street; # 212-982-4576; burpcastlenyc
.wordpress.com) is all about beer, and the bartenders are dressed in monks’ robes to ensure a reverential feeling toward the brew.
(118 Greenwich Avenue; # 212-206-1830; www
.cafebruxellesonline.com) fries great pommes frites and offers a small but smart selection of Belgian bottles.
d.b.a.: See page 439.
EAR INN (326 Spring Street; # 212-226-9060; www.earinn.com) is one of the city’s oldest bars and a nice little bohemian cafe with especially good Guinness.
N E W Y O R K N I G H T L I F E 4 2 5
(321 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn; # 718-768-4329; thegate brooklyn.blogspot.com) has an extensive, ever-changing list of taps, outdoor seating, and a diverse clientele, and is just a few blocks from
Prospect Park.
THE GINGER MAN: See page 441.
McSORLEY’S OLD ALE HOUSE (15 East Seventh Street; # 212-474- 9148; www.mcsorleysnewyork.com) is a tourist fave with “old New York” ambience and mediocre beer swilled alongside rambunctious fraternity boys.
(145 Bleecker Street; # 212-353-1327; www.peculier pub.com) is expensive and incredibly mobbed with college kids on weekends, but the selection is amazing.
SPUYTEN DUYVIL (359 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn; # 718-963- 4140; www.spuytenduyvilnyc.com) offers a superb array of brews both bottled and on tap. The atmosphere is friendly and just a tad cool-kitsch.
(252 East 51st Street; # 212-888-2453; www
.thestagsheadnyc.com) focuses on American microbrews and pub grub.
(148 West Fourth Street; # 212-979-2616; www
.voldenuitbar.com) is tucked away inconspicuously just a block from Washington Square Park and features a full menu of Belgian beers, including a good selection from Trappist breweries.
(540 Second Avenue; # 212-696-4104; and 155 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn; # 718-522-3794; www.waterfront alehouse.com) has an excellent tap selection with some ultra-rare specials and good pub food.
HEARTLAND BREWERY’s many locations (35 Union Square West,
#212-645-3400; 127 West 43rd Street, # 646-366-0235; 350 Fifth Avenue (in the Empire State Building), # 212-563-3433; 93 South Street Seaport, # 646-572-2337; and 1285 Sixth Avenue at 51st Street,
#212-582-8244; www.heartlandbrewery.com) and Chelsea Brewing Company (Pier 59, Chelsea Piers; # 212-336-6440; www.chelseabrew ingco.com) are half-decent microbreweries but very popular.
J A P A N E S E A N D S A K E
T H E R E A R E T WO L O C I O F JA PA N E S E C U L T U R E in Manhattan: the
East Village, where hip bohemian Japanese kids live and hang out, and Midtown, where a more suit-and-tie crowd has its bars and restaurants, many private. In the East Village is Decibel (240 East Ninth Street; # 212-979-2733; www.sakebardecibel.com), a knickknack-filled
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haven in a very cool little basement space where you can talk and drink any of tons of sakes from your choice of unique cups. You can also try plum wine or a lychee martini. For other Japanese-flavored nightlife, see profiles for Angel’s Share and Sakagura (pages 429 and 449).
H O T E L B A R S
S O M E O F T H E M O S T E L E G A N T B A R S in town are in hotels. These
are places where beer takes a back seat to the gin, mojitos, and martini hybrids.
(59 West 44th Street; # 212-840-6800; www.algon quinhotel.com) was built in 1902 and was where the famed Algonquin Round Table was formed. Authors who met daily to drink and wax witty over lunch included Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley. The hotel is full of good drinking options: there’s the famous
scene of seasonal cabaret shows, as well as the elegant and relaxing lobby bar and the woody, clubby Blue Bar.
BAR 44 at the Royalton Hotel: See page 429.
(35 East 76th Street; # 212-744-1600; www.the carlyle.com) contains not only the famous Café Carlyle (see page 436) but also Bemelmans Bar, which features tinkling piano and a clubby atmosphere with watercolors on the walls. Bemelmans also offers Madeline’s tea on Saturday and Sunday, with seatings at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
GRAND BAR & LOUNGE at the Soho Grand Hotel (310 West Broadway;
# 212-965-3000; www.sohogrand.com) has a very atmospheric lounge area, all inside the hotel lobby; very hip.
See page 442.
MONKEY BAR at the Hotel Elysée (60 East 54th Street; # 212-308-2950; www.elyseehotel.com) is anything but restrained and stuffy; it attracts an exuberant crowd, and laughter—sometimes even singing, if you get there late enough—drowns out clinking glasses.
at Morgans hotel (237 Madison Avenue; # 212- 686-0300; www.morganshotel.com) serves up attitude, romantic atmosphere, and pricey but good mixed drinks below the hotel lobby. Alternatively, above on street level, Morgans hotel’s
(# 212-726-7755) has a very popular but small bar as well as a lively, stylish restaurant. Try the martinis.
TOP OF THE TOWER BAR & LOUNGE at the Beekman Tower Hotel: See
page 453.
THE VIEW RESTAURANT at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel (1535 Broadway; # 212-704-8900; www.theviewny.com) is the only revolving bar in New York, so there’s never a static vantage point. Don’t eat the food.
N E W Y O R K N I G H T L I F E 4 2 7
S E X
T H E B I G A P P L E O F F E R S M A N Y O P P O RT U N I T I E S to either sow your
wild oats or have a great time in places that don’t flaunt the pickup vibe. For those who want to try out some smooth moves on strangers, there are ample choices. Try Bounce Restaurant & Sports Lounge
(1403 Second Avenue; # 212-535-2183; www.bounceny.com); Asia de Cuba (see facing page); Tao (42 East 58th Street; # 212-888-2288; www.taorestaurant.com); People Lounge (163 Allen Street; # 212- 254-2668; www.peoplelounge.com); Divine Bar (244 East 51st Street,
#212-319-9463; 236 West 54th Street, # 212-265-9463; divinebar
.ypguides.net); The Bubble Lounge (see page 435); and the chic and grown-up King Cole Bar at The St. Regis New York (2 East 55th Street;
#212-753-4500; www.stregis.com) for power pickups.
For those looking for something a little racier, fancy strip clubs
such as Scores (536 West 28th Street; # 212-868-4900; www.scoresny
.com), Penthouse Executive Club (603 West 45th Street; # 212-245-0002; www.penthouseexecutiveclub.com) and VIP Club (20 West 20th Street;
#212-633-1199; www.thevipclubnyc.com) offer super examples of plastic surgery gone wild (and very steep bar tabs).
Beware of such clip joints as Legz Diamond (622 West 47th Street;
#212-977-3200; www.legzny.com), many of which pass out promotional flyers on Midtown streets; these are full-nudity places that bypass restrictions by serving no alcohol. Your cranberry juice will cost you dearly, and talkative women hired by the bar will attempt to pressure you into buying them even more outrageously priced drinks.
G A Y N I G H T L I F E
T H E L AT E S T S C E N E S C H A N G E AT A D I Z Z Y I N G PAC E ; widely avail-
able publications such as Time Out (newyork.timeout.com) and the New York Blade (www.nyblade.com) are good sources for information, as is the
(208 West 13th Street; # 212-620-7310; following are some spots with longevity.
The granddaddy of all piano bars is Don’t Tell Mama (343 West 46th Street; # 212-757-0788; www.donttellmamanyc.com). The Stone- still stands at 53 Christopher Street (it’s gone through several incarnations since the infamous 1969 riots; # 212-488-2705; www
.thestonewallinn.net). A walk down Christopher Street and environs will reveal a plethora of clubs and bars. The Monster (80 Grove Street;
# 212-924-3558; www.manhattan-monster.com) has an upstairs piano bar for an older crowd, plus a downstairs mirrored disco that’s more of a pickup joint. The crowd’s diverse, and while things can get silly, it’s always fairly tasteful and safe.
Barrage (401 West 47th Street; # 212-586-9390) and
New York (50 West 17th Street; # 212-691-0073; www.splashbar.com) have good pickup potential.
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On the Upper East Side: the Townhouse Bar of New York (236 East 58th Street; # 212-754-4649; www.townhouseny.com) is a place where Young Men Who Want to Meet Guys Who Wear Coats and Ties meet guys who wear coats and ties who want to meet Young Men Who Want to Meet Guys Who Wear Coats and Ties.
Eagle NYC (554 West 28th Street; # 646-473-1866; www.eaglenyc
.com) is the popular reincarnation of New York’s most famous leather bar. Lesbian hangout Henrietta Hudson (438 Hudson Street;
# 212-924-3347; www.henriettahudson.com) has live bands and DJs. (505 East Sixth Street; # 212-777-2555; www.eastern blocnyc.com) is small and draws a rowdy, beer-drinking, jeans-and-
T-shirt crowd.
Sugarland (221 North Ninth Street, Brooklyn; # 718-599-4044) is Williamsburg’s hottest new gay bar, with monthly lesbian parties and a varied clientele on most nights. Cubby Hole (281 West 12th Street;
# 212-243-9041; www.cubbyholebar.com) is a more intimate fixture on the lesbian scene that’s been around for more than 15 years.
Also outside Manhattan, check out Excelsior Bar (see page 440) and Ginger’s (see page 442), both in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
C O M E D Y
C O M E DY C L U B S A R E O F T E N L O O K E D D OW N U P O N by Manhattan-
ites as strictly for tourists (or worse, for “bridge-and-tunnelers”—the derisive name for suburbanites drawn to the island for weekend entertainment). But if you must indulge in such shamefully uncosmopolitan pleasures, there are a few nationally known clubs, plus some intriguing cutting-edge comedy venues, where you can both yuk it up and feel hip.
The best mainstream clubs are Carolines (see page 437), Gotham (208 West 23rd Street; # 212-367-9000; www.gotham comedyclub.com), and the Comic Strip Live (1568 Second Avenue;
# 212-861-9386; www.comicstriplive.com). Gotham feels serious and intimate—upscale but no baloney or showbiz touches, just a room with mic and audience. The Comic Strip, best on weekends, is even less slick. Celebs are fairly common at the Monday-night showcase at the Comic Strip, but otherwise the show’s very hit- or-miss. Those three get the best-known acts and have the most upscale ambience. Beware of “new talent nights” at the big clubs: audiences paying a hefty cover with a two-drink minimum often see not the brightest young talent but those newcomers who’ve promised club owners they’ll pack the club (and thus its coffers) with friends and family. (151 Essex Street; # 212- 614-2500; www.laughloungenyc.com) is a relative newcomer and boasts that it’s the only comedy club on the Lower East Side.
(117 MacDougal Street; # 212-254-3480; www.comedy cellar.com) and Stand-Up NY (236 West 78th Street; # 212-595-0850; www.standupny.com) are also worth visiting.