Bama's List » Bars/Nightlife

Your New Regal Rumpus Room

Bama — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:48:10 +0000

August is a time of casual diversions, lazy Sundays and even lazier Mondays.

But when Tuesday becomes even more languid, well, that’s a sign that all this summer casualness is approaching a dangerous crescendo.

The only possible antidote we can think of: a crisp gin martini, preferably in a handsomely appointed lounge of a slightly formal persuasion.

Introducing Salon Millesime, a glossy new vintage hotel lounge, opening tonight in NoMad for your cocktailing, sultry live music and late-night lounging needs.

Designed as a regal rumpus room for Sinatra and Fitzgerald types, Millesime (French for vintage) is decked out in tiger-printed chairs, ebony and bronze tables and a retro cocktail list to match: sidecars, Last Words and martinis on top of martinis.

It’s the sort of dark, seductive space where you might find yourself getting a little comfortable with a French 75-loving date, and all the while not realizing that an alluring chanteuse in a red dress has taken the low-slung stage at the center of the lounge.

Her job is to make you forget all about the pork belly lollipops and croque-monsieurs you’ve been snacking on, and descend deeper and deeper into the quiet, gin-bathed haze of an old school evening as a master piano man tickles the ivories on the salon’s grand Steinway.

Just to clear up any confusion, that’s a piano.

Salon Millesime
92 Madison Avenue
(at 29th Street)
New York, NY 10016
212-889-7100

FiDi’s New Futuristic Lounge

Bama — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:46:30 +0000

Downtown.

It’s changing.

Finally.

Only took a decade, but the most controversial 16 acres in America has a Freedom Tower going up and a Deutsche Bank building coming down.

But today we bring you a different reason to visit those grounds: the new Living Room Bar and Terrace at the W Downtown, opening today as your go-to for breezy, post-office rendezvous.

Among the new hotel’s 58 floors, you’ll want to concern yourself primarily with the fifth, which looks like where Judy Jetson would go for astro-cocktails if she worked at a galactic bond trading office: everything is shiny, white, metallic and glowing. Just like the future should be.

Stepping off the elevator, you’ll be dwarfed by the undulating ribbed ceiling, a strange organic shape pulsing with the heartbeat of thousands of recessed LED lights. Glide over to the bar, where you’ll find a more familiar take on downtown in the form of cocktails like the Brooklyn Bridge, Five Points and Dutch Courage, a jenever and tonic take on the English gin version.

But to really appreciate your locale, step onto the sprawling wraparound terrace, with the canyons of FiDi rising up all around, not to mention the Freedom Tower itself. Consider this your front row seat to the rise of New York’s next icon.

Because Lady Gaga can’t last forever.

Living Room Bar and Terrace
at the W Downtown
123 Washington St
New York, NY 10006
646-826-8646
official website

A Plush New Lounge on Kenmare

Bama — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:43:35 +0000

The fall of Rome was quite a party.

Wine flowed like water, indulgent feasts lasted all day, and there’s a reason it’s still called the Roman orgy.

Well, it’s only been 1,500 years, but we have a feeling Rome is finally ready to fall again…

Introducing XIX, a new lounge deep underneath Nolita Italian date spot Travertine, now open for select guests.

Like all the best dens of iniquity, the numerically named XIX is completely hidden from passersby. Yet once you suss out the unmarked door and descend the steep staircase, you’ll be surrounded by a dim, candlelit, plush little chamber decked with lipstick-red leather couches ringing the room and a series of 1,000-pound slabs of etched marble hanging on the walls. Each slab tells part of the story of a young Roman warrior, scorned by his love, who plunges into combat to prove himself to her. (Not unlike the story of your senior prom.)

Since no food is served here, you can’t actually have someone drop peeled grapes into your mouth (unless you supply the grapes and the grape-servant). So we’d advise focusing your attention instead on the wine, the DJ and finding the hidden room behind the red velvet curtain at the DJ booth, where young warriors can find other ways to prove themselves to their loves.

We’d start with grapes.

XIX
19 Kenmare St
(below Travertine)
New York, NY 10012
212-966-1810



Note:	XIX, open now for select guest list Tue-Thu, opening fully after Labor Day, 212-966-1810, see the slideshow

Sex & Dating Great dates…

Bama — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:31:50 +0000

Hangover date
Curious about the person you brought home last night? Learn each other’s names at SideBAR’s Sunday Funday brunch, where you can do further damage to your liver with all-you-can-drink Bloody Marys and mimosas. 120 E 15th St at Irving Pl (212-677-2900, sidebarny.com). Sun 22 noon–4am; $20.

Exotic date
Bump it to bhangra at the Indian-themed edition of the Queens Museum of Art’s Target Passport Fridays at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. You’ll shake it to the sounds of Bollywood performers, then cuddle on a picnic blanket during a screening of Joseph Mathew’s Bombay Summer. FREE Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, enter on 111th St at 56th Ave, Flushing, Queens (718-592-9700, queensmuseum.org). Fri 20 6:30–10pm.

Cabaret date
Lady Rizo sizzles at Joe’s Pub with her sexy vocals, lavishly long lashes and comic interpretations of pop songs from all eras. 425 Lafayette St between Astor Pl and E 4th St (212-967-7555, joespub.com). Fri 20 at 9:30pm; $15–$20.

Trivia date
Mosey on over to Southern Hospitality for its final Monday-night installment of 25-cent wings and trivia. Sponsored by the New-York Historical Society, the competition awards a one-hour open bar for ten, a $25 bar tab, a free appetizer, free shots and more. FREE 1460 Second Ave between 76th and 77th Sts (212-249-1001, southernhospitalitybbq.com). Mon 23 at 8–10pm.

Starry date
Squint through the city lights with the Amateur Astronomers Association and the Friends of the High Line under the Standard Hotel, where you’ll stargaze with high-powered telescopes and chat with space experts. FREE The High Line, enter at W 14th St between Tenth Ave and Washington St (212-206-9922, aaa.org/highline). Tue dusk–9:30pm.

Tasting date
Wind down your Wednesday with wine at Hudson Terrace. Swirl, sniff and sip six selected wines with the sommelier hosts. 621 W 46th St between Eleventh and Twelfth Aves (212-315-9400, hudsonterracenyc.com). Wed 25 at 5pm; $25.

Spooky date
It doesn’t matter if you’re on Team Vampire or Team Werewolf as long as you show your fangs at the Cyclone. Vampires and werewolves suck $2 off the roller coaster’s ticket price on Tuesday 24. 834 Surf Ave at 8th St, Coney Island, Brooklyn Brooklyn (718-265-2100, coneyislandcyclone.com). 7pm–midnight; $8, in costume $6.—Melanie Wallner

Your New Private Party Roof

Bama — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:17:38 +0000

Unmarked doors are dangerous propositions, best often avoided.

But from time to time, an unremarkable-looking door opens onto a world of untold riches, barely legal soirees and the kind of company that just doesn’t congregate in known locations.

And sometimes, they just lead you… up.

Introducing the Silkstone Rooftop, a secret rooftop garden open now for the stream of open-air dates and anything-goes private parties you usually refer to as August.

To access the roof, you’ll have to look for a single light burning above a black metal door. Identify yourself, and a kindly butler will show you into a dark hallway, through a bustling kitchen and into an elevator bound for the sky. And then…

Arriving on the seventh floor is like stepping into a postcard of unobstructed views and flickering candlelight, where you’ll host the kind of date that will likely crack your all-time top five (right after the great Niagara Falls sashimi incident of ’08), or else entertain friends around a communal table with an herb garden growing in the center. (Should your pasta require more basil, just grab some.)

And if you’re less interested in dining at altitude and more interested in alfresco fetes, the roof can also accommodate movie screenings, Arabian rug-festooned hookah parties, co-ed naked Twister tournaments, karaoke marathons and the kind of photo shoots that will get your account blacklisted by Facebook.

At the very least, Ms. Klum will have to de-tag herself.



Note:	Silkstone Rooftop, available to rent now, 17 Orchard St (at Canal St), call 646-861-1545 or email here

High Above the Fashion Hotel

Bama — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:48:39 +0000

You’re back.

Welcome. And don’t worry. It’s natural to be feeling some nostalgia for the past.

Even if the past was just yesterday.

But we’re here to remind you that your summer in the sun has only just begun. Exhibit One: the new Rare View rooftop lounge.

Opening this week atop Chelsea’s Fashion 26, a crash pad for overworked models, Rare View is your newest vista for ice-cold cocktails and panoramic scene making, opening this Friday.

Stepping onto the wraparound roof for after-work cocktails in the sun, the first thing you’ll notice—other than the preponderance of sun—is the deep smell of cedar. That would be the bar, designed like a sauna if saunas were draped in hanging foliage, dangling lightbulbs and impromptu sunset photo shoots. It’s here where you’ll be carrying an entire watermelon, honeydew or pineapple back to your table, weighed down with an infusion of pure booze and icy sorbet (sort of like rooftop air-conditioning, but sweeter).

And if the sweeping views of the city are a little too… sweeping for you, the roof has two old-school viewfinder telescopes to help you zoom in on surrounding buildings, the distant Hudson River and the street below.

Don’t drop the watermelon.

Rare View
at Fashion 26
152 W 26th St
(between Sixth and Seventh Ave)
New York, NY 10001
212-807-7273
official website



Note:	Rare View, opening Friday at Fashion 26, 212-807-7273, see the cocktail menu

A Secret Rum Bar in the East Village

Bama — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:17:31 +0000

A Secret Rum Bar in the East Village


	VITALS

	Cienfuegos 443 E Sixth St (between First Ave and Ave A) New York, NY 10009 212-614-6818 official website

A Strategic New Midtown Lounge

Bama — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:47:38 +0000

If you have trouble reading this email, go to the online version

April 07, 2010

Pleasure Cove

A Strategic New Midtown Lounge


	VITALS

	Covet 137 E 55th St (between Lexington and Third Ave) New York, NY 10022

Introducing Betel

Bama — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:25:44 +0000

Today is a taste.

A hint. A look forward.

A reminder that the weather is finally breaking, and a few short weeks from now, birds will be chirping, skin will be peeking from behind sundresses and the long, cold, nightmarish hibernation will be over.

At which point, you’ll remember that you like going out. On dates. With people.

And you’ll quietly wonder if there are any sexy new date spots to add to your stable.

To which we’ll respond, “Yes, yes there are.”

Introducing Betel, a sleek little upscale Thai street-food joint, just now opened in time for your spring awakening in the West Village.

Walking into the unmarked door of Betel, you’ll quickly realize the Aussie owners have consulted the courtship oracle—the front room is decked in dark wood, bathed in candlelight and set up with dark corners (not to mention a small back lounge) for canoodling and cocktailing.

You’ll want to opt out of a private table (trust us) and take a seat at the long communal table that runs the length of the main room (built at a narrower 18 inches for closer conversations). Here, you can get lost in the din of the room, dig into some Wagyu Brisket and Crispy Skin Duck and sup a rotating cast of muddled concoctions (try the Blackberry Passionfruit Caipiroska) and citrusy whiskey drinks (like the rye-based Sarang Manhattan).

And when spring finally hits for good, they’ll be unleashing a private back patio and front sidewalk section for your outdoor dining needs.

Which are much more significant than your regular dining needs.



Note:	Betel, now open, 212-352-0460, see the menu and the slideshow Betel 51 Grove St (between Bleecker St and Seventh Ave) New York, NY 10014 212-352-0460 official website

Absinthe on Fire at Apotheke

Bama — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:32:10 +0000

Absinthe on Fire at Apotheke

The Heat: Imported herbs from the South of France, soaked in house-pressed sugar cane juice, fermented with Artemisia absinthia essence, all ignited on the surface of the bar, before your eyes in a feat of blue-flamed showmanship.
The Heat Index: Face-Melting


411:	Apotheke, 9 Doyers St (near Pell), 212-406-0400