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King Cole
Bar and Lounge |
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Both the King Cole Bar and Harry's New York Bar
in Paris lay claim to the Bloody Mary—but why quibble?
The signature St. Regis cocktail is spicy, smoky, and totally
worth every penny of its exorbinant price, what with the white-glove
service, clubby environs, and that multimillion dollar Maxfield
Parrish mural.
Plan B: If you find the St. Regis too stuffy, have the
bartender at the Tribeca Grand's Church
Lounge mix you up a Wasabi Bloody Mary, which mixologist
Sasha Petraske created for the hotel's now-defunct Sanctum. |
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• St. Regis Hotel, 2 E. 55th
St., between Fifth and Madison Aves., 212-753-4500 |
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Roof Garden
Cafe |
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Up on the romantic rooftop of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, sculpture, hot Italian tourists, frozen daiquiris,
and colossal Central Park views converge into one juggernaut
of a drinking experience. |
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• Metropolitan Museum of
Art, Fifth Ave. at 82nd St., 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org
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40/40 Club |
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Jay-Z's towering, two-level sports club—which
gridlocks a quiet Flatiron Street with stretch Expeditions and
frequent celebrity sightings—is a pillar of sophistication,
with cream-colored leather chairs, sleek Italian marble floors,
a collection of LCD flat-screen televisions, not to mention
a cigar lounge and two VIP rooms. |
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•6 W. 25th St., between Broadway
and Sixth Aves., 212-989-0040 |
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Bowery Ballroom |
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Superior sightlines and sound, a darkly swank,
well-stocked bar, and next-big-thing lineups mean Bowery Ballroom
has the title of best music club in New York pretty much locked
up.
Plan B: If the Bowery is sold-out, try rock club Sin-e
or burlesque boîte The
Slipper Room, both on the Lower East Side. |
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•6 Delancey St., between
Bowery and Chrystie Sts., 212-533-2111, boweryballroom.com
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Angel's Share |
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This elegant drink parlor's hideaway location—it's
tucked inside the second level of a Japanese restaurant—makes
it perfect for a tryst. Strictly enforced rules like "no
groups bigger than four" keep the environs hushed and the
cocktails are always expertly mixed. |
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• 8 Stuyvesant St., at 9th
St. and Third Ave., 212-777-5415 |
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S.O.B.'s |
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A genuinely mixed crowd of revelers flocks to S.O.B.'s for
polyrhythmic, south-of-the-equator beats. La Tropica, the club's
Monday-night Latin dance party, offers salsa lessons for novices.
Plan B: The classic Copacabana
hosts Latin music just about every night of the week. |
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• 204 Varick St., at W. Houston
St., 212-243-4940, sobs.com |
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Bull and
Bear |
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Watch the stock ticker from a cushioned seat
at the Waldorf=Astoria's mahogany bar, crowded with would-be
masters of the universe. If the market's up, there's a juicy
steak to be had in the adjacent dining room, otherwise, keep
diving into those bathtub martinis. |
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• Waldorf=Astoria Hotel,
301 Park Ave., between 49th and 50th Sts., 212-872-4900, waldorfastoria.com |
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Rudy's
Bar& Grill |
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Old-timers still drink themselves to death around
the bar, but local youngsters, businessmen and the ubiquitous
hipster element now rule the prime real-estate red-leather booths
at this West Side paean to dirt-cheap booze.
Plan B: Make a pitstop at Siberia
for a bona fide Hell's Kitchen dive crawl. |
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• 627 Ninth Ave., between
44th and 45th Sts., 212-974-9169, rudysbarandgrill.com
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Cafe Carlyle
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The incomparable Bobby Short has extended his run to 2005,
when this venerated cabaret spot celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Or catch Woody Allen with the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band
on Monday nights. |
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• Carlyle Hotel, 35 E. 76th
St., at Madison Ave., 212-744-1600, thecarlyle.com |
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Artisanal |
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More than 100 wines by the glass and 200 varieties of cheese
are available at this bustling midtown bistro, so novices might
want to request the menu of suggested pairings.
Plan B: Foodies stuck downtown should head to Clinton Street's
Punch & Judy. |
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• 182 Park Ave., at 32nd
St., 212-725-8585 |
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Bungalow
8 |
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Naughty Park Avenue princesses lounge with quasi-titled
Euros at Amy Sacco's private lounge inspired by the Beverly
Hills Hotel's infamous cottages. And if you don't have a Town
Car waiting outside, the concierge can arrange a helicopter.
Plan B: You don't need a membership to enjoy a drink
at Village celebrity magnet Da
Silvano. |
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• 515 W. 27th St., between
Tenth and Eleventh Aves., 212-629-3333 |
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Jazz Standard |
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The jazz club underneath Danny Meyer's BBQ restaurant Blue
Smoke features superlative booking, stellar sight lines, and
crystalline sound, not to mention classic cocktails like the
Dark & Stormy.
Plan B: Return to the Harlem Renaissance at Lenox
Lounge. |
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• 116 East 27th St., between
Park and Lexington Aves., 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net
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Ginger Man |
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This polished Murray Hill pub serves a mind-boggling 66 draught
beers, as well as 152 by the bottle, although the smoking
ban means stogies are no longer ceremoniously puffed. And
while the clientele is all business during the day, it loosens
its tie and kicks off its heels at night.
Plan B: Tour the
Brooklyn Brewery.
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• 11 E. 36th St., between
Madison and Fifth Aves., 212-532-3740 |
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High Bar
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The 18-floor terrace of the Gramercy Park Hotel
has wraparound views of the Manhattan skyline, including a striking
shot of the Chrysler building, and a spirited seasonal cocktail
menu—from a cooling High Bar Fizz to a hot buttered rum
to offset the meanest of winter chills. |
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• Gramercy Park Hotel, 2
Lexington Ave., at 21st St., 212-475-4320 |
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Circa Tabac
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This self-styled “cigarette bar” is exempt from
the smoking ban thanks to a loophole that that gives grandfather
status to establishments that can show that ten percent of their
business comes from the sale of tobacco products. |
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• 32 Watts St., between Thompson
St. and Sixth Ave., 212-941-1781 |
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Grand Central
Oyster Bar |
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Grab a stool at the actual oyster bar, meet friends in the
adjacent saloon, or eat an expensive but delicious meal in the
splendid restaurant area under the Rafael Guastavino–designed
tiled arched ceilings.
Plan B: If the Oyster Bar is closed (sorry, no seatings
after 9:30pm), check out Grand Central Station's classic Campbell
Apartment, the restored private office of early-20th-century
tycoon John W. Campbell. |
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• Grand Central Station,
lower level, at Vanderbilt Ave. and 42nd St., 212-490-6650,
oysterbarny.com |
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Corner Bistro
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The crowd isn't queuing up at this Village tavern just for
the $2 mugs of McSorley's or for the scruffy old bartenders
plying their trade with seen-it-all stoicism. What everyone's
really here for is the Bistro Burger: an eight-ounce slab
of juicy grilled beef that's one of the heftiest, messiest,
and cheapest chunks of cow you'll have in this town.
Plan B: If the lines are ridiculously long (a likely
occurrence), try that other Village classic, Cedar
Tavern.
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• 331 W. 4th St., at Jane
St., 212-242-9502 |
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Table 50
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The subterranean space may be swanky—think
exposed-brick archways, leather banquettes, and low tables—but
this intimate nightclub features a no-hassle door policy, a
roster of underground sounds, and a caberet license, meaning
it's actually legal to dance here. And these days, that's no
small feat. See
the Party List for more nightlife options. |
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• 643 Broadway, at Bleecker
St., 212-253-2560, table50.com |
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Bar Masa
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Indulge in Stefan Trummer's sake cocktails and Masa Takayama's
masterful sushi without the $300 sticker shock at this smaller,
more animated, comparatively economical version of the mother
ship. |
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• Time Warner Center, 10
Columbus Circle, at 60th St., 212-823-9800 |
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21 Club
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The tablecloths at this famous Prohibition-era speakeasy are
still red and white, toys still hang from the ceiling, Nixon's
wine is still in the vaults, and, in spite of the lunchtime
dress code, the crowd here doesn't have anything against neckties. |
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• 21 W. 52nd St., between
Fifth and Sixth Aves., 212-582-7200, 21club.com
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KGB
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KGB's reading series is legendary, drawing marquee
literati like Luc Sante, A.M. Homes, and Rick Moody, as well
as struggling writers hoping to get noticed by the Paris
Review editors in the crowd. |
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•85 E. 4th St., between Second
and Third Aves., 212-505-3360, kgbbar.com |
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Marquee
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Only the beautiful and the well-connected get
a free pass inside this thoughtfully designed and laid out two-story
space. Bottle service and plainclothes models boogying to hip
techno remixes add to the I'm-in-with-the-in-crowd effect. |
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• 189 East 3rd St., between
Avenues A and B, 212-223-0909 |
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Starlight
Bar & Lounge |
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A funky mix of Chelsea boys and East Village artistes provides
an unintimidating starter course in New York gay nightlife.
And the Sunday-night "Starlette" party is widely considered
one of the best lesbian nights in town. |
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•167 Ave. A, between 10th
and 11th Sts., 212-475-2172, starlightbarlounge.com
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Hi Fi
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Owner Mike Stuto’s one-of-a-kind El-DJ mp3 jukebox
takes center stage at this music-centric bar, with 2100 albums
and more than 31,000 songs, all surfable from a hard drive via
trackball. |
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•169 Ave. A, between 10th
and 11th Sts., 212-420-8392, browniesnyc.com |
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Bemelmans
Bar |
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The cocktail list showcases an appetite for innovation
as well as a deep-seated respect for the classics, while murals
of frolicking animals painted by bar namesake and former Carlyle
resident Ludwig Bemelmans offer a whimsical counterpoint.
Plan B: For a less stodgy setting, order from the list
of classics at the Flatiron
Lounge. |
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• Carlyle Hotel, 35 E. 76th
St., at Madison Ave., 212-744-1600, thecarlyle.com |
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Published August 19, 2004
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