Wikipages Blog

I wasn’t so sure whether or not I wanted to share this home away from home with the world at large – or the world via Wikipages – but I have decided it’s good for business to share, and more business means more nights at Fresh Salt.

Fresh Salt is my all time favorite place to hang out in Manhattan. Just one block away from the maddening crowds on the South Street Seaport’s main drag, this bar and restaurant has yet to be discovered by tourists. The décor is sparse but includes several large comfy booths and outside seating is available in nice weather.

Happy Hour specials here include $3 beers on tap and the food menu is short but delicious. Sandwiches, soups, salads, and hummus platters are the mainstay and I’ve seen many a tear shed over the most perfect of perfect eggplant sandwiches.

As far as the crowd goes, on Thursdays and Fridays before 7PM you might have to battle your way through some suits from the AIG and Goldman locations down the block but the majority of the time you’ll run into locals and sailors from the Seaport Museum.

The music is never too loud, the bar staff are your friends, and you might learn a few knots or pick up knitting if you’re there at the right time of day. In short – show up, pull up a seat at the bar – get yourself a dark and stormy and settle down for a long quiet night full of good conversation. Just remember the corner bar stool doesn’t belong to you, it belongs to a sea captain, a first mate or Carter.

My friend Rose and I wanted to go dancing. But not the kind of dancing that involves a loud, vibrating beat or a disco ball. Swingdancing! I never technically learned how to swing dance. But having done musical theatre and attended college during the swing trend, I can fake it pretty well. Rose, on the other hand, has won swingdancing contests.

We chose Swing 46, a favorite of my old theatre crowd. It’s an upscale place in Midtown with expensive food and even more expensive drinks, but the music and the vibe always pay off. After paying the $10 cover, we sat down with a couple martinis (probably about $12 each). The band playing was Double Down, a fun band that combines Frank Sinatra and Big Bad Voodoo Daddies.

We decided more alcohol was necessary. The most cost-effective way to drink more was to get a bottle. We decided to get the cheapest bottle on the menu, whatever it was. It turned out to be a bottle of, not wine, but champagne! Though, to be accurate, it must have been sparkling wine since I am sure it did not come from the Champagne Province. Whatever! We ordered it and they brought it over, silver standing tray with ice and all! It attracted some attention and some middle-aged Bulgarian men came over, asking us to dance!

So there we were, drinking champagne, and dancing with slightly sketchy, middle-aged Bulgarians. They were decent dancers, actually. (Both Rose and I are in very happy relationships, so we weren’t looking for hotties to dance with, anyway).Then Double Down changed gears and performed a swing version of Thriller. The whole band even jumped off the stage and did the classic dance!

We stumbled out of the club well after 2 am, throwing out the business cards from the Bulgarians on our way down the block, and singing Double Down’s version of “Luck be a Lady”. All in all, a good night out.

I now work in the Financial District, not my favorite part of town. It’s such a cold, hard place full of corporate types marching and tall buildings towering. But one small place exists in this harsh climate that has a bit of heart.

Stone Street was formerly an abandoned street in disrepair. Then the city made it pedastrian only. First one cafe sprang up, then another, then another. Now the street is lined with outdoor bars and cafes, reminiscent of something in Europe. The place is packed on a Friday, but you can find a seat most other weeknights. Many of the bars host good happy hour deals, like $3 for a glass of wine. There’s also a Swedish place, Smorgas, in the area said to be very tasty!

Last night, I went to Stone Street bar Ulysses with some work friends to let off some steam. The place buzzed with the happy hour crowd, but we found a table all to ourselves. Just like at the Beer Garden, being outdoors added a carnival atmosphere, perfect for destressing after a long day’s work. Two cheap glasses of Savignon Blanc and good company made for a perfect week night out.

So if you want to escape from the coldness of the towering buildings and rushing suits, try this hidden street and enjoy.

I had one of the best night-outs in a long time. This bar has it all: gorgeous guys, great music, everyone dancing. Of course, the guys were all gay, the music was broadway showtunes, and the dancing involved jazz hands.

Splash, a gay bar in Chelsea (of course), holds “Musical Mondays” at which they play scenes from various musicals on their many tv screens and serve 2 for 1 drinks. After the second free drink, everyone there is belting Barbara and Liza. My voice was hoarse the next day from my performance. A highlight of the evening was when Julie Andrews appeared on the screen to begin My Favorite Things and the crowd of drunken gay men went wild.

The bar has nice atmosphere with decent seating, pretty lighting, and, of course, hot bartenders in their underwear. Splash also hosts other special events and deals for those not into the musical theatre geek thing. Ladies, just a warning - the bathrooms are unisex with non-functioning locks (not that most people there would care to peek in, anyway). Of course, Splash also lacks the sleezy men with cheesey lines that frequent most bars.

So if you’re in the mood, put on your Sunday clothes and get footloose to the sound of music at this wild party, below 42nd Street and above Avenue Q. Sorry. I couldn’t resist the puns. Anyway, Splash is definitely a good time and I recommend it to gays and breeders alike.

I ventured out into Brooklyn last weekend, a rare event since, as an Astorian, it’s quite a trek on the subway. We went to a place in Park Slope called the Cocoa Bar. The bar serves a wide selection of chocolates, coffees, and wine. They even included “Ice Wine” on the menu, which is utterly delicious. I hadn’t even seen ice wine anywhere since sampling it at a wine tasting in Germany. One taste. And I have longed for it since. Happily, the two (rather expensive) glasses of it were just as wonderful as I remembered.

Unfortunately, I could not taste the many chocolates they served since they “may contain traces of nuts”. So nut allergy-sufferers like myself beware. But I looked at them. Longingly. The white chocolate genache. The chocolate mousse cake. The dark chocolate truffles! I almost decided to tempt death and sample one, but my friends persuaded me that my life was not worth a taste of chocolate. Though with really good chocolate, I’m not too sure…

The Cocoa Bar has a decent deal of one glass of wine with two chocolate bonbons for $11. Not bad. The entrance area is a bit too bright and day-ish, but there’s a cosy room in the back and a lovely courtyard area. The bar was started by some young folk, so it’s worth the slight priciness to help those small business owners out. All in all, worth the journey into Brooklyn. Especially since a friend drove us home.

I always get a bit depressed when September comes around. It’s not as if I haven’t been working full time all summer or have to go back to school. But that sinking feeling comes every year around this time.

I decided to ward off the feeling in a place that always feels like summer. That’s right: The Beer Garden. Possibly my favorite bar in New York. I had a house guest from Australia staying with me, so I had to show off the local hangout. My favorite part of introducing others to the Beer Garden is seeing their face when they step out the bar door into the courtyard. That look of wonder.

Of course, the bar was packed as usual. Even though it was a Wednesday. It’s the unfortunate byproduct of the Beer Garden’s growing popularity. Now even Manhattanites make the trip out to Astoria (all ten minutes) to participate in the outdoor drunken merriment that is the Beer Garden. Meaning all summer, lines wrapped around the block. My Australian friend declared that there must be dozens of other Australians there, since it just seems like the sort of place Australians would be. We enjoyed a dinner of kielbasa and (for me, the vegetarian) barbecued portobello mushroom and fries. You really can’t go wrong with a huge courtyard, barbeque, and alcohol.

But as we were enjoying the drinks and food of the outdoor courtyard, something sad happened. I got cold. Yes, summer is over. Well, at least that means October Fest is on the way!