New York Nights

The best thing about New York is that there are things to do around every corner that are something out of the ordinary.  Or maybe they are ordinary but being in New York makes them feel special?

Well whatever holds true, my Friday night was quite fun and here is a 'how-to' guide so you can have your own New York night.

When warm weather rolls around, it's time for drinking those icy cold drinks that we have shelved for the winter.  White/Rose wine, mojitos, Pimms, and my personal favorite:  sangria.

 Our first stop was for this particular beverage at the 'Olive Tree Cafe' in which the tables are chalkboards so you can play tic-tac-toe and the sangria comes cold and boozy.  Perfect.  We polished off a few pitchers, okay I polished off a few pitchers with some help.  I couldn't help it!  

The sangria here is delicious and is filled with cherries - a nice twist.  Plus it has substance, no watering down here.  The Olive Tree serves Mediterranean fare as well as melted cheese and a few nachos (I always run out of cheese before nachos, but not this plate, this plate was all cheese).  The Olive Tree is also home to a great comedy club - so you can have your sangria and laugh the night away. Nice combo right?  http://www.comedycellar.com/

Then it was off for Peking duck.  As we were with two German girls who don't have everyday access to this particular dish, we cabbed over to Chinatown and found ourselves under fluorescent lighting in a hospital green restaurant called:  Nice Green Bo Restaurant.  The fare was cheap, the duck crispy, and the noodles contained unknown meat products that I started to suspect might be old chicken or Mr. Mop's cousin.  But, avoiding that, the rest was delicious.  

Check it out at Mott and Bayard. 

Don't go too late though, when it's time to close the staff sees no problem in putting the chairs on the tables surrounding you, grabbing plates out of hands from people eating their noodles (this happened at the table next to us), and sitting next to you and staring at you with exasperated expressions. Take a hint already and LEAVE.

Finally, we capped the night off at the coolest lounge in the LES:  The Back Room.  Which is literally, down the stairs and in a back room.  It was once a hopping speakeasy that did a roaring trade during the Prohibition era.  To live up to their history, TBR serves cocktails in tea cups, beer covered in paper bags, and one exit is through a bookshelf!  Great atmosphere and DELICIOUS cocktails - mine was called 'Bees Knees' and it was made with honey vodka!  YUM-O!!!  

It's located at 102 Norfolk but is not really visible from the sidewalk.  It is nestled between two small bars and behind a white gate with a bouncer who will let you in, if you ask nicely.

This is why I love New York:  you can start your evening off in an establishment that started the careers of Dave Chapelle and Darrell Hammond and end up at a piece of history that used to house flapper dancers and the mob.