The team behind absinthe-centric Chinatown lounge Apotheke just got cleared to open Pulqueria, a taco and margarita joint next door on Doyers Street. Pulqueria might seem like an affront on the area’s innumerable dumpling holes-in-the-wall and noodle shops. But it’s really just another instance of NYC bars, restaurants and clandestine strip clubs operating in unexpected places. Some of the spots below are stubborn holdouts. Others are examples of neighborhood imperialism. But all make for pleasant detours from the scenes that surround them…. More»

Orchard Street rock bar The Annex is dead and buried. Although the place had gone downhill, its closure still qualifies as a footnote to the ever-expanding obit of Lower East Side cool. But maybe it shouldn’t. In its heyday, The Annex threw some great parties: Ruff Club (a VERY sweaty electro bash), tiswas (an indie rock affair) and, briefly, LESS (for the techno heads). But it also had dapper doormen charging a cover to get beyond a velvet rope and into the self-consciously dumpy venue. Despite its musical cred (secured once and for all when Taylor Momsen’s band played there), More»

Sometimes it seems like you can divide downtown bars into two categories: those that thrive on celebrities and those that shun them. The trendy spots are pretty obvious, although in constant flux. The Box, Beatrice Inn and Jane Ballroom are all recent Page 6 magnets. But what happens when the Botox-and-Restylane set leaves its comfort zone and mingles with the proles? More»

Noise complaints. Smoking violations. Drug raids. Illegal dancing. As soon as a New York nightclub generates buzz these days, the fuzz isn’t far behind. So if your night out at one of the below hotspots is interrupted by the cops, cantankerous neighbors or the Department of Health, it’s good to have a Plan B in mind with some like-minded alternatives:

If you like the Jane Ballroom, you’ll love the Bowery Ballroom:

The Bowery Ballroom’s crowd might not be as swank as the Jane’s, but its gorgeous interior–including, like the Jane, a swell balcony and giant disco ball– is. The rock-centric music institution has some of the best bookings in town. Also, you can dance inside without worrying about Footloose-style repercussions (seriously, when will NYC’s ludicrous cabaret laws be overturned?) and the Jane’s neighbors who actually started a blog to chronicle their complaints about the endangered venue.

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[Disco mans the door at Bungalow 8] Last fall, when Southside first opened, we wondered if Anthony Martignetti’s newest role was channeling Amy Sacco. After giving the basement of his Center and Broome St. “Bar Martignetti’s” from “Bellas” into “Southside” we noticed quite a few similarities from another hotspot…Bungalow 8.First Anthony swiped Amy’s palm trees and black tiles. Now he’s stealing her doorman, Disco. Sacco’s Bungalow 8, rumored to be closed last week but actually just renovating, has lent its imposing gatekeeper to Martignetti’s Harvard-friendly SoHo lounge.

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[The Guest of a Guest Holiday '08 Party at Bungalow 8]

Update: It Ain’t So. Phew! Say it ‘aint so! Today, CityFile reports that Bungalow 8, the nightclub that opened in 2001 and was the inspiration for this very site, was laid to rest last week. While nothing is official yet, (the last we heard, Amy Sacco resigned a 15 year lease in ‘07) the club, and the street it started, have been dead for quite some time.  In it’s honor, we decided to take a look back on some of our favorite Bungalow memories…. More»

If there’s one thing New Yorkers love more than New York, it’s complaining about it. Those weary of the city’s gentrified sheen often fix their rose-colored glasses on the vibrant ‘80s—artists! music! cheap rent!—while forgetting the decades’s woes. Berlin recaptures the frenetic cultural vitality of 1980s New York better than any other city. Broke artists squat in abandoned buildings. Graffiti proliferates. Music wails. The city’s 24/7 club culture is a democracy uncompromised by bottle service. In Berlin, nightlife is a church. And techno is its choir.

There are signs that things are coming full circle. The following parties, clubs and promoters replicate Berlin’s underground, afterhours club culture in New York, all to a techno beat: More»

What do you get when you mix the crazy acts from the Box with a mega tri-level interactive theatre in the heart of times square? Definitely not heaven, but maybe not as bad as hell (?)…no, you get “Purgatorio” care of Simon Hammerstein and company. Technically, it’s a haunted house from the same minds that brought you the acts at the box. And, “If 30 percent of the people are so frightened they run out on opening night, I’ll consider it a smashing success.” -says Hammerstein. Read more below… More»

Getting bored with your social options lately? With the Jane Ballroom currently closed, the nightclubs too rowdy for you, and getting bombed at the Boom Boom Room quickly becoming old news, where is a Manhattan social to turn?  Introducing the Parlor Club. This very secret club, set to open at 330 Spring (at Washington) has a certain circle of socials already talking. But getting passed the door may be difficult.  The chosen individuals that have been selected to become members have already received their invites (photo below) to this project that is rumored to be funded by a backer of 1Oak, Butter, La Esquina and Cain.  The Operations Team includes a former Soho House NY executive and the restaurant director of a boutique hotel in South Beach. The team also includes prior members of eating and final clubs. (hint: there are sure to be Ivy spotting inside). More»

[Cisco Adler, Shwayze, Zev Norotsky] Want to know what all those people who weren’t sleeping and thus getting ready for the work week on Sunday night were doing? They were partying with Cisco Adler and Shwayze (and Zev Norotsky, apparently) at Tenjune. Well, those who could get in, that is. The occasion was in honor of their “Get U Home” Tour, but we have a feeling these guys don’t really need much of a reason to party. More»

Tuesday night, The Studio at Webster Hall celebrated the French electro-thrash producer The Toxic Avenger’s, Scion CD sampler.  With the help of Mixhell and Frankie Chan, Alex English and rekLES, it got pretty intense.  Check out the pics from the scene courtesy of Nicky Digital complete with some of the requisite hand gestures. More»