Making the scene upstairs at Movida.   (Photo: Mark Peterson)

• Movida

  28 Seventh Ave. S., 212-206-9600

  The door policy at this post-post-punk dance club is egalitarian, which means the line doesn’t start forming until 1 a.m., but the crowd self-selects for downtown taste and style. The indie kids who come here to hear D.J.’s mix from the Strokes to the Cult to the Human League in the space of a minute mostly skip the upstairs VIP balcony in favor of the dance floor below, which is packed with downtown types in calculated Morphine Generation and À La Disposition outfits they “just threw on.” This is one of the few clubs making a stand against the formulas of 27th Street and the meatpacking district.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine