Just another night with the beautiful people at Marquee. (Photo credit: Mark Peterson)
Sugar Daddy
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BAR
57 E. 57th St.
212-758-5700
After work is a little scary—women in tight, cleavage-baring designer clothes prance around, looking to pounce on thick, watch-wearing suits—but late night, the real-deal moguls and heiresses come out to play.
Model
MARQUEE
289 Tenth Ave.
646-473-0202
You’ll have to fight for attention with the guys flashing black AmEx cards, but the models are top shelf: Gisele, Karolina Kurkova, Natalia Vodianova & Co. hang out in the back room.
Musician
DARKROOM
165 Ludlow St.
212-353-0536
Bands like the Libertines and Interpol have been throwing after-parties at this basement-level bar since it opened late last year. The narrow layout ensures that stars rub elbows with their hangers-on—and they seem more than happy to do so.
Stockbroker
ULYSSES
58 Stone St.
212-482-0400
Hip for a financial-district bar, with close Wall Street proximity and plenty of nooks and crannies to retire to. The action is thickest right after the market lets out on Thursdays, from 5 to 8.
Doctor
BELLA BLUE
967 Lexington Ave.
212-988-4624
This relaxed restaurant is blocks from Lenox Hill Hospital, New York Presbyterian, and every doctor’s office on the Upper East Side. On any given night, you’re likely to spot a well-known physician or surgeon.
Gay Man
THE SLIDE
356 Bowery
212-420-8885
Sometimes feisty, sometimes sleazy, but always foolproof, this is the fast food of hookups: no fuss, low-priced, and billions and billions served. The midweek crowd is graying; on weekends, shirtless, college-age barflies score free drinks and gyrate on the corner stage.
Lesbian
STARLIGHT BAR & LOUNGE
167 Ave. A
212-475-2172
Girl-on-girl options are often limited to humble neighborhood joints or overblown tourist traps. With its slinky house music, stiff cocktails, and seduction-inspiring sofas, “Starlette” on Sundays is an oasis packed with a wide mix of women.
Literary Type
HAPPY ENDING
302 Broome St.
212-334-9676
A young, attractive, inebriated bunch attends the 8 p.m. Wednesday reading series at this basement red-lit bar. Quietly pretending to pay attention leaves ample time to spot prey—fittingly, series director Amanda Stern fields requests for e-mail addresses the next day.
Hipster
FUN HOUSE
160 N. 4th St., Williamsburg
718-302-4300
A scruffy crowd arrives by bicycle and pays proper lack of attention to grooming. Look for starving filmmakers on screening nights; lavish praise is a surefire entrée. The man made of Barbie parts is a conversation-starter with starving artists.
Jock
BROTHER JIMMY’S BBQ
1485 Second Ave.
212-288-0999
Home to baseball-capped legions and tank-topped girls who’ve never met a table that didn’t need to be danced on. Challenge your targets to a drinking contest—try “Swamp Water,” a fishbowl full of vodka that comes with a grenadine-filled alligator figurine, and six straws.
Celeb
BUNGALOW 8
515 W. 27th St.
212-629-3333
The Energizer Bunny of celeb watering holes is still pulling boldfaced names from Colin to Mary-Kate into the VIP banquettes nearest the bar. Slip past the bouncer before 11 p.m., and pass the time before the stars come out.