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Nightlife

Review: Bar 82 and Sage Stand-Up Comedy

October 25, 2010 By Diamond Bradley 3 Comments

Cozy and comfortable, Bar 82 isn’t a place New Yorkers should skip if they’re in need of a drink and good conversation. The free stand-up comedy every Tuesday, only sweetens the deal!

Located in the tattoo parlor-flooded East Village, Bar 82 resembles an upscale cabin with a cool atmosphere. Wooden floors and brick walls give it that good old camping feel. A large projection screen a couple steps from the pool table gives you a great view of the Yankees getting yanked around by the Texas Rangers while alternative rock booms through the speakers.

The rotating backless seats also give it a 1950s burger joint feel. Plush black seats and couches are present in the house as well, and there is even a nice seasonal Halloween theme. Pumpkins and candles help the bar’s feng-shui, along with the dim red and yellow lights.

[caption id="attachment_5575" align="aligncenter" width="452" caption="The Cool and Cozy Bar 82 Forefront."][/caption]

The people are lively and the bartenders are open and prepared to cater to your tastes. My long island iced tea was perfect, setting me up for their Sage Stand-Up Comedy Show.

Once through the back door behind the pool table, the scene changes from dim-lit red to black. There are both high tables with high seats and small tables in the middle of the room, as well as a small stage. The lack of red lights is compensated by the spotlight that shines comics daring enough to step on stage and the Bar 82 audience laugh.

This is where Sage Stand-Up, formerly held at the Sage Theater in Times Square, have been holding their shows for the past three years.

Started by Harrison Greenbaum and Sam Morrill, it’s a show that you can’t go wrong checking out. The comics are great, and you have to commend them for being brave enough to go on stage.

[caption id="attachment_5588" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Harrison Greenabaum"]Harrison Greenbaum[/caption]

“It’s hard, but it’s fun,” said Greenbaum about performing. “There’s not really enough time to think about how hard it is while you’re on stage.”

A Peter Parker look-alike, Greenbaum is a grinder with a hectic schedule and maniacal work-ethic. He did 700 shows in 2009 alone.
Sage Stand-Up’s acts have been featured on Comedy Central and Last Comic Standing, so there’s no need to worry about their experience.

The atmosphere at Bar 82 is unlike any other. It’s intimate and compact. In a sense, the acts have no choice but to interact with the crowd, whether it’s tough or not. But hey, it’s New York, what do you expect?

A lot of pressure is put on the host to keep the crowd awake in between acts but bearded Baratunde Thurston enjoys the challenge, especially at Bar 82.

“I love performing. I also write and have done on-air work, but there’s nothing like performing,” said Thurston, clad in a gray sports coat and burgundy glasses. “Performing in front of people brings an energy that you can’t get on Twitter. This is like coming home. Even though I perform a lot of places, I don’t miss many shows here.”

Bar 82 is definitely worth a look-see. Their prices are reasonable for drinks and the Sage Comedy Show is free of charge with no drink minimum. Why wouldn’t you?

Photo Credits: SageStandUp.com, Harrison Greenbaum.com

Review: Gallery Bar

October 15, 2010 By Emily Marucci Leave a Comment
[caption id="attachment_5034" align="aligncenter" width="452" caption="*gallerybarnyc.com"][/caption]

A perfect addition to the Lower East Side, Gallery Bar is a bar that accommodates lovers of art and nightlife.  It combines visual experience with a party atmosphere, with its spacious showroom and welcoming ambiance.  By day, it is a gallery exhibiting works by contemporary artists on its walls.  By night, it turns into a lounge on the main floor, bringing in up to 150 people on a weekend night.  The atmosphere is dimly lit, dressed with leather couches, weathered wooden tables and lots of candles.  On the bottom floor, there’s a seperate bar that’s ideal for private parties and reserving tables.  The scene is upbeat, there’s a DJ that plays mostly hip hop inspired tunes.  The main floor is equipped with a photo booth in the back next to the DJ, serving for great fun while having a few
cocktails.

Where: 120 Orchard St.
Website: gallerybarnyc.com
Best Nights: Thursday and Saturday
Downfall: Crowded (If you see that as a problem)
Can wait in line, if filled to capacity

Watch out: You can’t find it easily; the sign in the front isn’t visible!

Review: Fashion 40 Lounge

October 15, 2010 By Ashley Nuñez Leave a Comment

Fashion 40 Lounge is definitely a “make it your own party” atmosphere. Outfitted with high ceilings and an elevated DJ, the shelving and lighting on the bar steal all the attention. Located on the Westside of Manhattan, there are large booth tables available for bottle service or food, a loft-like event space upstairs, and reserved seating next to the front door. If you happen to be walking down 40th street you may just miss it. The windows are shaded without any logos and the Fashion 40 banner is well above eye level. The only distinguishable clue that Fashion 40 exists is Big D standing outside the door next to a short velvet rope. The cover is $20 all night.

YNY Tip: Ask for the Fashion Addiction guestlist at the door for FREE entry before midnight.

Ideally, Fashion 40 is better suited for Friday after work happy hour events or for private parties in the upstairs loft space. The ambiance of the space seen on their website looses its magic once the crowd starts to fill in. The unisex bathrooms are sizeable and well kept due to the friendly male bathroom attendant outside. The mature crowd is predominately urban, mixed in age with fashion that contradicts their Fashion Addiction theme for Saturday nights. On the Saturday I went, the DJ spun mostly Hip-Hop, Reggae and R&B. Unfortunately there were two songs that sent me running to the dance floor. To give you an idea of what was in rotation, the DJ’s choice was hit songs from late 90’s to 2005. The staff was relatively nice, which I believe was only because I was with a group of five girls dressed in high heels and short dresses. There were no drink specials, and at $11-$13 a pop, the drinks were overpriced for the way they tasted.

To make the most of your night, your best bet is to come with a group of friends and as mentioned before, make your own party. If you’re interested in celebrating your birthday here call or check on their website for bottle packages. They do allow you to bring you own balloons and will store your cake for you until it’s time to blow out your candles. Don’t expect your own guestlist for those coming to celebrate with you. You’re allowed free entry for only four people with every bottle you purchase. It takes some time for the place to fill up so have a little patience if upon arrival it seems empty. The dress code is relaxed allowing men and women to show up neat and presentable; no casual wear. Coming from a theatre show or just looking for a laid back night in Midtown, check out Fashion 40 and let us know what you think.

Fashion 40 Lounge

202 W 40th St (btw 7th & 8th Ave)

New York, New York 10018

212.221.3628

Review: The Ninth Ward

October 1, 2010 By Andrew Jordan Leave a Comment

The Ninth Ward is a new bar that I discovered recently when I was walking around the East Village. An odd, stylish little place that apparently is supposed to mimic a dark, southern New Orleans vibe, it was a great little place to drink very nice beers for reasonable prices—at least, reasonable New York prices.

The Ninth Ward has a good selection of fancy beers on tap—including pints of Arrogant Bastard for $7 (two for one at happy hour). The ambience is ridiculously swanky and dark, and the curtained-off tables along the side are really sweet. And the backyard patio is great for summer days.

The happy hour at The Ninth Ward is crazy cheap, especially considering the quality of beers sold, but after it ends the place is somewhat pricey—as I said, it’s cheap considering the quality of some of the beers sold, but the beers sold are still pretty expensive. It’s packed on weekends, so unless you want to sit outside, expect it to be pretty loud.

The Ninth Ward

180 2nd Avenue (b/w 11th and 12th)
New York, New York, 10003

Review: Zum Schneider Restaurant and Beer Garden

September 15, 2010 By Andrew Jordan Leave a Comment

American beer culture is one of extremes: the most celebrated beers tend to be incredibly high in alcohol content, and overwhelmingly bitter or sweet. Lighter, more subtle beers tend to be ignored – lagers in particular have a bad reputation in America. Budweiser, Coors, Miller – these are all American lagers, and they’re all terrible. Beer snobs tend to consider them light and flavorless, instead preferring the intense hoppiness of double IPAs or the sweet, overpowering richness of imperial stouts.

Germans, however, have been brewing lagers for years. A trip to Germany rocked my appreciation of the beer world – I was entranced by the German lager: it was light but rich, a clean bitterness mixed with a light, bready maltiness. I came back talking about Augustiner, Paulaner, and the Munich Hofbrauhaus as the pinnacles of German beer.

But recently I’ve discovered Alphabet City’s Zum Schneider restaurant and beer hall – on – Avenue C between 7th and 8th – and have realized just how much of German beer I am still yet to experience.

The building itself is incredibly reminiscent of the beer halls in Munich, with their wooden tables and floors, and loud, open, atmosphere. On the weekends the place can be so packed as to make conversations nearly impossible. The best time to go is for an after-dinner drink outside the front door on a summer day – and always make sure to ask what the special draft beers are.

On one of my most recent trips, after talking beer with the bartender, he recommended a brewery they currently had on tap called Hofbrauhaus Traunstein – brewed in a small town in southern Germany, in the very heart of Bavaria. For seven dollars I got a half-liter their helles lager – one of the best beers I have ever had, and easily the superior to all the other German lagers I’ve tried. It is lightly sweet, rich, and incredibly drinkable. I’ve tried their helles, unfiltered lager, and pilsener, and they were all superb – the unfiltered lager probably being their best.

Zum Schneider food offerings are not quite as superb – German food in general has never been world-renowned, and Zum Schneider’s offerings tend to be over-priced and over-large. But they do have spätzle, a German dish of egg noodles fried in butter, which is extremely simple and incredibly tasty, but oddly hard to find in the States.

But for ambience and – more importantly – beer, Zum Schneider is one of the best bars I’ve discovered in the city, and a must for those curious about German beers. Their selection is impressive, their staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and the outdoor seating is great on a summer day. Be careful on weekends though – as I said, Zum Schneider can be very loud.