The Accompanied Library: a classier private club. (Photo credit: Mark Peterson)

THE ACCOMPANIED LIBRARY IN THE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB
15 Gramercy Park S., Studio 6C
212-979-5313

It couldn’t be further from Soho House. Part lending library, part bar, the salon that Iris Brooks and Brooke Geahan, both 26, began running out of the century-old National Arts Club late last year feels more like a grand old home you somehow have the keys to than a velvet-roped inner sanctum. With its giant crystal chandelier, thick velvet drapes, and dark-wood bookshelves, the duplex apartment space looks like the living room of the rich, educated grandparents you always wished you had. But the old folks are downstairs in the Arts Club, dining on duck, while upstairs, downtown’s young creatives—including author Jonathan Ames and gallery owner Gavin Brown—smoke, play music, pour their own booze, and attend readings (Bono recently hosted).