Spiegeltent

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This venue is closed.

A red-and-white canvas tent rimmed with stained glass windows and mirrored columns called Salon Perdu is the centerpiece of Spiegelworld, a traveling carnival that first came to New York for its August-through-September run in 2006. One of fourteen remaining spiegeltents (Flemish for "mirror tents") built in early-1900s Belgium as ornate entertainment venues that toured Europe, it sits on South Street Seaport's Pier 17 on the East River. Australian producer Ross Mollison originally conceived of bringing the spiegeltent here, an idea that attracted Vallejo Ganter, artistic director of PS 122. Together, they produce the space's seductive, comical cabarets, which are like Cirque du Soleil on a smaller scale and get sexier the later they show. A diverse range of music artists—like Martha Wainwright, Lady Sovereign, and Jose Gonzalez—have made appearances as well. None of the 350 seats are more than 20 feet away from the small, circular stage, and booths line the circumference. — Caroline Kinneberg

Frozen margaritas on the boardwalk are no longer your only South Street Seaport option. You may have to pay a cover to enter after 9 p.m., so our advice is to head there after work for Heartland Brewery drafts. Should you find yourself in need of sobering after a few too many kiwi-and-absinthe cocktails, there's a Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee stand doling out shade-grown fair-trade coffee mixed with Hudson Valley milk. Look for it next to the fortune-teller’s table and the dance tent sponsored by “silent dance party” Headphone Disco. In addition to stand-up tables near the bar and a few seats next to a waste-of-space Boucheron jewelry exhibit (um?), there’s a tented waitress-service area that offers prime viewing of the illuminated waterfalls. — Daniel Maurer