BY JENNY ADAMS
Special to the Herald
NYC BAR INFO
• Marquee, 289 10th Ave., 646-473-0202; www.marqueeny.com. Open 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Entry: $20. Premium vodka martini: $14.
• Pink Elephant, 527 W. 27th St., 212-463-0000; www.pinkelephantclub.com. Open 11 p.m.-4 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday. Entry: $25. Premium vodka martini: $16.
• Flatiron Lounge, 37 W. 19th St., 212-727-7741; www.flatironlounge.com. Open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 5 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $13.
• Pegu Club, 77 W. Houston St., 212-473-7348; www.peguclub.com. Open 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Wednesday, 5 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $15.
• Welcome to the Johnson's, 123 Rivington St., 212-420-9911. Open 3 p.m.-4 a.m. Sunday-Thursday; 1 p.m.-4 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $7.
• Galapagos Art Space, 70 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn, 718-782-5188; www.galapagosartspace.com. Open 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Sunday-Thursday, 6 p.m.-4 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $12.
• Moonshine, 317 Columbia St., Brooklyn, 718-852-8057; www.brooklynmoonshine.com. Open 4 p.m.-4 a.m. daily. Entry: free. Premium vodka martini: $7.
When it comes to choosing a nightlife setting, most of us find sanctuary in one of three categories: nightclubs, cocktail lounges or dive bars. It's a rare city that hosts the three categories in abundance -- and rarer still that can also honestly claim its offerings among the world's best. New York sets the bar for bars -- no matter which type you personally prefer.
Here are some of our picks:
FOR THE VELVET ROPE CELEBRITY SEEKER: Renowned club owner/designer Callin Fortis (creator of Crobar New York and Crobar Miami) once explained nightclubs to me as ``spaces for social hierarchy to flow together to the point where the boundaries are transparent and people no longer feel separated.''
So true. Whether you're out for your fave DJ's playground, the late-night diva martini scene or a Sunday drag dance party, New York's high-tech nightclub choices are a social experiment. And if you're looking for celebrities mixing vodka and Red Bull like the common man, the city is more than capable of appeasing your flashbulb fixation.
Try Marquee and Pink Elephant, both in Chelsea.
Marquee is posh beyond words. The space offers three separate environments to lounge, ogle and dance; a stunning wishbone staircase separating the mezzanine from the first floor; lighting that accentuates and envelopes the constant action; and the world's top DJs on the turntables.
But it's the service that lands Marquee on my ''must visit'' list. Co-owner Noah Tepperberg (he also owns Tao in Las Vegas) wrote a 20-point manual of service for his staff. I pause at a price tag of $375 for a bottle of Grey Goose vodka like everyone else, but at Marquee, you actually receive extreme service. The servers know your name, take your coat, discuss exotic flavor combinations for each liquor, mix fabulous drinks, befriend and blend in with your group of revelers, carefully replenish your ice as if on cue and leave you feeling as though you have left a few new friends behind with your MasterCard slip. From Stevie Wonder in the DJ booth on occasion to Paris Hilton on the dance floor, Marquee is a celebrity haven, but the staff treats each and every visitor as though they all stepped out of the same limo.
Pink Elephant is my other nightclub darling. It shares that philosophy towards extreme service, but this playful pachyderm has a whimsical side as well. The venue is intimate for a nightclub, and because of the circular layout, it's possible to have a casual conversation -- a rare nightclub treat. When I arrive, I always glance up at the ceiling -- a massive wooden sculpture with arched beams of cherry and lacquer wood, its shadows swimming in puddles of red light on polished timber. The careful construction of the rafters is both art and function, because the Pink Elephant's skeleton also conceals lasers, disco balls and smoke machines. When the crowd arrives at that perfect moment of intoxicated frenzied crescendo, the machines descend and the party ascends to a Carnival-like atmosphere with giant bottles of Champagne carried out on cushioned chariots as the theme song to Star Wars erupts on the air.
As if dancing your heart out to the Star Wars melody under twirling disco balls while sipping Veuve Clicquot wasn't enough, the Pink Elephant owners promise each patron a sensory level above taste, sight or sound. It is the best smelling bar in the world. Co-owner David Graziano says that the inspiration for the scent machine came from watching a room periodically erupt and trying to enhance that moment. The machine can produce over 30,000 smells including fresh cut grass, citrus, pheromones and a whiff of Krispy Kreme.
FOR THE CALM, COLLECTED COCKTAIL CONNOISSEUR: Perch atop a chair in either Flatiron Lounge on West 19th Street or Pegu Club in Soho, and you will be treated to succulent fruit, narratives of vintage cocktail history and the best darn drink you ever tasted. Master mixologists and co-owners Julie Reiner and Audrey Saunders can be found often at their respective locations, sometimes switching since each lady has a vested interest in both venues.
Flatiron -- a bar whose ancestral patronage included members of the Rat Pack -- combines an early 1900s ambience with a cocktail list that changes seasonally. You can choose a Martini Flight, a Flight Back in Time (think Sazeracs and Sidecars) or simply converse over a single cocktail with the nearest stranger under the hues of stained glass lights.
The same rules apply at Pegu -- hand-squeezed juices five-seconds-fresh, infusions, tinctures, bitters and syrups. Spend a few minutes and you will notice they use tiny bottles of soda instead of guns. Spend an hour and you will leave with an understanding that bartending was once an apothecary-esque art form and is becoming so again.
FOR THE LOVERS OF THE DARK, DARK DIVE BARS: If you long for a place to ''curl up on a couch and consume'' far away from skull-thumping beats but still harboring entertainment beyond a mere cocktail, my suggestions include checking out dives such as Welcome to the Johnson's on the Lower East Side, decorated to resemble your parent's basement if you were around in the late '70s, complete with Ms. Pac Man, plastic-covered couches and David Bowie tunes; and Brooklyn's Moonshine Barn & Grill, where you can bring your own food, play a game of Jenga and horse around with owner Nick Forlano's pet bulldogs.
But my absolute top choice is Galapagos Art Space, also in Brooklyn, a performance art space with a drinking solution devised to help pay the bills. Many of the installations -- such as the Monday night burlesque show -- are not for the prudish or faint-of-heart. They are, however, great for those faint-of-funds. Most of Galapagos' performances are free or under $10.
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