Night 8: Asylum, Back Fence, Village Lantern, Onyx, Dove, Negril, Sullivan Room
Tonight I decided that I needed to make some quicker progress on my quest to drink at every bar in the central village so I acquired some degenerates to help me and set out to see what could be done in a full nights work. Orbital and I started off the evening at Asylum on Bleecker and were joined by Two swords Al later on. The front of the bar has a nice lounge area, but the rest of the decor is nothing special and I could live without the smell. The music was bad and the crowd didn't offer much to look at. Orbital got a $5 vodka tonic that was okay, so I was able to order a bourbon and water. The bartender asked me if I wanted Dewar's for my bourbon. I said no, since Dewar's isn't a bourbon and asked for Jim Bean. Basically nothing really here to make us want to come back.
(Let me take a moment here gripe about ordering bourbon and water one of my favorite drinks. Bourbon and water means a mixed drink of ice, one shot of bourbon and the rest of the rocks glass filled with water, not a shot of bourbon and a water back, nor a shot glass of bourbon with water in it. More importantly the whiskey used has to be bourbon, not a different whiskey like scotch. If I wanted a scotch and water I would order a scotch and water. Finally Jack Daniels is not a bourbon. A bourbon must be distilled from grain containing at least 51 percent corn, which Jack Daniels is, but then JD is charcoal-mellowed, which gives it it's characteristic sweet flavor. For more see Bourbon.)
Anyway, after Asylum we checked out the Back Fence also on Bleecker which had a lot more character then Asylum. A vodka tonic here was $6 and okay. The crowd was kind of working class and not very attractive, while the bartenders were just strange looking and a little scary. The live music was okay, but kind of loud if you wanted to have a conversation.
Our next stop was the Village Lantern also on Bleecker. This was by far our best stop for the bars on Bleecker. The atmosphere inside was nice, the music was good, the crowd was attractive and cool and the staff were friendly and very good looking. Orbital got a $5 vodka tonic that was weak, so I was able to get a Jameson's that cost a whopping $10. It looks like beer is your best bet here. This ended our exploring of the Bleecker street bars that night, because all the rest wanted a cover, so we moved on to Houston.
Onyx on the corner of Houston and Sullivan looked from the outside like it was pretentious, going for style over substance. Inside an okay $7 vodka tonic wasn't impressing me either, but then Orbital ordered a Long Island Ice Tea and everything changed. Our bartender Laura poured four bottles at the same time, a nifty trick, and nearly filled the pint glass before topping it off with triple sec, sour mix and a splash of coke. At $10 dollars this still represents the best non happy hour, liquor per dollar deal, I've seen on this tour. The drink was too strong for one person to have and still continue on our mission, so we shared it between the three of us and started realizing that Onyx was a pretty cool place. The crowd got progressively drunker and cuter as the night went on and the vibe was friendly and fun. Laura was so kind as to give us chocolate cake shots, and we would have been happy to stay and hang out, but duty called.
Before going on we took a brief brake to stop at Orbital's apartment to re-energize and watch some Family Guy clips ( I'm not entirely sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time).
Next we stopped in The Dove which was pretty quiet at this late hour, but a very welcoming space. The atmosphere inside was great going for the speak easy feel. The few patrons that were still out made the clientele seem promising. Our bartender, Henrietta, was friendly and cute, and made us feel welcome. My $7 vodka tonice was decent, but since Henrietta didn't charge me for it, it was great. This is among the best bars to chill out at and have a drink in the area.
Our next stop was Negril Village on West 3rd St., a caribbean restaurant by day, hip-hop dance club by night. When I told the them I wasn't going to pay the $10 cover they said we could go in as long as we were getting a drink. Downstairs was like entering a completely different world. First off, just about everybody was black and carribean hip-hop was beating on the dance floor. Girls were dancing up on their guys, rubbing their asses on them, like from an MTV video. My $7 vodka tonic was okay and we took a seat and watched the scene for a while. Negril Village is a different scene then anywhere else in this neighborhood, I stick out at it like a blind man at a strip club, but cool if you want to check out something different.
Lastly we headed to Sullivan Room just before closing. The bouncer was kind of a dick charging us $10 cover even though it was 3:50AM combined with the $8 vodka tonic, did not make this the cheapest stop of the evening. But Sullivan Room is a very cool spot. There were really beautiful ladies, great dance music (techno) and the vibe is just really friendly and cool (it may help that these are the people up past 4AM). The space is excellent, with a long wall of couches on one side and the small intimate dance space next to it. We stayed to about 5AM and then called it a very successful evening, night and morning.
(Let me take a moment here gripe about ordering bourbon and water one of my favorite drinks. Bourbon and water means a mixed drink of ice, one shot of bourbon and the rest of the rocks glass filled with water, not a shot of bourbon and a water back, nor a shot glass of bourbon with water in it. More importantly the whiskey used has to be bourbon, not a different whiskey like scotch. If I wanted a scotch and water I would order a scotch and water. Finally Jack Daniels is not a bourbon. A bourbon must be distilled from grain containing at least 51 percent corn, which Jack Daniels is, but then JD is charcoal-mellowed, which gives it it's characteristic sweet flavor. For more see Bourbon.)
Anyway, after Asylum we checked out the Back Fence also on Bleecker which had a lot more character then Asylum. A vodka tonic here was $6 and okay. The crowd was kind of working class and not very attractive, while the bartenders were just strange looking and a little scary. The live music was okay, but kind of loud if you wanted to have a conversation.
Our next stop was the Village Lantern also on Bleecker. This was by far our best stop for the bars on Bleecker. The atmosphere inside was nice, the music was good, the crowd was attractive and cool and the staff were friendly and very good looking. Orbital got a $5 vodka tonic that was weak, so I was able to get a Jameson's that cost a whopping $10. It looks like beer is your best bet here. This ended our exploring of the Bleecker street bars that night, because all the rest wanted a cover, so we moved on to Houston.
Onyx on the corner of Houston and Sullivan looked from the outside like it was pretentious, going for style over substance. Inside an okay $7 vodka tonic wasn't impressing me either, but then Orbital ordered a Long Island Ice Tea and everything changed. Our bartender Laura poured four bottles at the same time, a nifty trick, and nearly filled the pint glass before topping it off with triple sec, sour mix and a splash of coke. At $10 dollars this still represents the best non happy hour, liquor per dollar deal, I've seen on this tour. The drink was too strong for one person to have and still continue on our mission, so we shared it between the three of us and started realizing that Onyx was a pretty cool place. The crowd got progressively drunker and cuter as the night went on and the vibe was friendly and fun. Laura was so kind as to give us chocolate cake shots, and we would have been happy to stay and hang out, but duty called.
Before going on we took a brief brake to stop at Orbital's apartment to re-energize and watch some Family Guy clips ( I'm not entirely sure why, but it seemed like a good idea at the time).
Next we stopped in The Dove which was pretty quiet at this late hour, but a very welcoming space. The atmosphere inside was great going for the speak easy feel. The few patrons that were still out made the clientele seem promising. Our bartender, Henrietta, was friendly and cute, and made us feel welcome. My $7 vodka tonice was decent, but since Henrietta didn't charge me for it, it was great. This is among the best bars to chill out at and have a drink in the area.
Our next stop was Negril Village on West 3rd St., a caribbean restaurant by day, hip-hop dance club by night. When I told the them I wasn't going to pay the $10 cover they said we could go in as long as we were getting a drink. Downstairs was like entering a completely different world. First off, just about everybody was black and carribean hip-hop was beating on the dance floor. Girls were dancing up on their guys, rubbing their asses on them, like from an MTV video. My $7 vodka tonic was okay and we took a seat and watched the scene for a while. Negril Village is a different scene then anywhere else in this neighborhood, I stick out at it like a blind man at a strip club, but cool if you want to check out something different.
Lastly we headed to Sullivan Room just before closing. The bouncer was kind of a dick charging us $10 cover even though it was 3:50AM combined with the $8 vodka tonic, did not make this the cheapest stop of the evening. But Sullivan Room is a very cool spot. There were really beautiful ladies, great dance music (techno) and the vibe is just really friendly and cool (it may help that these are the people up past 4AM). The space is excellent, with a long wall of couches on one side and the small intimate dance space next to it. We stayed to about 5AM and then called it a very successful evening, night and morning.
posted by Danlo @ 3:12 PM
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