Looking for a certain sort of nightclub in NYC

April 20, 2005 7:35 PM

I'm getting a group together on Friday night to go out for my birthday in NYC. But I'm having trouble figuring out where to go. I have a dream idea in my head. Help me figure out if it actually exists.

In my dreams, we go to a laid-back club, where there is room for dancing to cheesy pop music from the 70s-90s, but also room for sitting down or just standing around. There's people, but it's not totally packed. No cover. The closer to the NYU area, the better. Does such a place exist? The group is mixed sex, mixed sexual orientation, and anything goes. Please help me have a fun birthday celebration, because my actual birthday has been very boring.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero to society & culture (6 comments total)

A longshot, perhaps, but have you read the reviews from the guy doing the 1000 bar crawl in NYC? There's a page on it somewhere in the blue (too lazy to find it) but his blog is located here. Give that a shot, he does a pretty good job of reviewing places and describing the atmosphere.
posted by kuperman at 8:22 PM on April 20, 2005

Try Lit, on 2nd ave and 6th st... great music, as you described, close-ish to NYU, and no cover after midnight on weekends and during most weekdays.
posted by yonation at 9:16 PM on April 20, 2005

I second Lit. I was actually going to suggest it but couldn't quite remember the name... and it's in East Village so that's pretty close.

Damn! To be in NYC again. Happy birthday.
posted by rkent at 10:06 PM on April 20, 2005

I personally wouldn't recommend Lit, but don't let me be a party pooper. I have never felt overly comfortable there and certainly wouldn't call it laid-back.

This is a good question, though. Here are some places that I've DJ'ed at that fit the bill size-wise (no idea what music goes on there on a Friday night, though . . . sorry).

Sapphire Lounge (Houston and Eldridge): Smallish club that's not quite LES, not quite East Village, not quite SoHo

OpenAir (St. Marks btwn 1st and A): Nice size (although I don't love the railroad design or the location of the DJ booth). The music is generally pretty good and the drink prices aren't bad.

Plan B (10th and B): Fairly large dancefloor with two additional rooms for chilling. Drink prices aren't terrible. Also, it's right around the corner from the photobooth at Lakeside Lounge, so you can take some pictures when you're done there.

And now for my choice:

Antarctica (Hudson and Spring): This doesn't fit the bill so well, although it's where I had my bday this year and I had a blast. If you call them up they'll do a two hour, $20 drink deal for you and your friends. There's no DJ, but there's a pretty good jukebox, plenty of room to dance and a pool table. It's a great place to make your own dance party.
posted by nbrier at 7:31 AM on April 21, 2005

Lots of cool ideas... thanks gang!

Hey nbrier, do you know which of those places have a cover charge?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:06 PM on April 21, 2005 [1 favorite]

As for cover charges, I'm not positive about lots but here it goes.

Sapphire: Used to be something like $5, check the site for more details.

OpenAir: Sorry, no clue. Can't find their site either.

Plan B: Again, no clue.

Wow, I'm really not being overly helpful.

Antarctica: No cover. If you're going to do the $20 deal you need to let them know and then you need to tell them when you want it to start (from when to when). At that point everyone in your party doing the deal will give the bartender $20 and get a bracelet.
posted by nbrier at 7:10 PM on April 21, 2005