Thrillist New York
Emailed in a LIST on: Wednesday September 3, 2008The List
Food: Hea
From the Friend House guy, Hea's a softly-lit, two-floor lounge (back-lit marble frescoes, glowing marble stairs, pebbled walls) plating SE Asian/Japanese fusion like coconut and galangal soup w/ organic chicken, and grilled prawns w/ shaved coconut. Downstairs sports a full bar (flanked by a semi-private, indoor wicker gazebo), while up top's a large dining room sporting 300yr-old Chinese furniture, a private smoker's balcony, and New York's best views of 3rd Ave, Bar None.
Drink Quite A Lot:: 2008 Martini Challenge
Drop a paltry $15 (w/ Thrillist discount -- see below) for 3hrs of open martini bar, during which you'll guzzle throat-schelacking interpretations of the classic martini prepped by top mixologists (Michael Cecconi from Savoy, Charlotte Voisey from Hendrick's), plus take blind taste tests of 18+ gin brands, including Martin Millers, Blue Coat, Plymouth, and Zuidam -- like saying "Shazam!", but the only thing you turn into is a guy with another drink.
Enter code Thrill0908 for 40% off tickets at AstorCenterNYC.com
Food: Rock-N-Sake
The first NYC outpost from a Long Island-via-N'Orleans standby, this massive sushi joint's decked out w/ white columns, geisha photos, glass-lit floors, and a 15-seat marble-top bar. Grub's traditional Nipponese (calamari steak, tempura, sushi, sashimi), plus sakes, accompanied by music allegedly matching the overall mood of the patrons, from hip-hop for revelers, to lounge for subdued diners, to "soft rock" for Toto-ly subdued diners.
Drink: The Hill
From the Dune and Honey guys (and unrelated to MTV's The Hills), this two-floor, dual-barred, 30-screened "sports lounge" serves up noshing staples (mozzarella sticks, burgers, etc), but the real deal's the beer: beyond typical domestics/imports, the owners promise they'll offer the specific brands drank by collegiate fans when celebrating their team (so...Natty Light for everyone).
Gear: Rag & Bone Boutique
Decked in frontier natty (wood floors, pressed tin ceilings, vintage gewgaws, etc), the NY label's first-ever boutique's hawking vintage-inspired threads from Victorian rainwear (the double-breasted Macintosh), to Edwardian outerwear (ash wool cutaway coats, black wool double-breasted waistcoats), to cashmere great coats, made popular during the Crimean War by the machinations of the military-sartorial complex.
Grooming: Martial Vivot's Salon Pour Hommes
Stashed in a townhouse, the first salon from the award-winning tonsorialist offers the full range of services (hot towel shave, haircut, facial trim, shoe shine, etc) from stylists whose clients include everyone from Liam Neeson, to Harrison Ford, to Kevin Bacon -- whose immaculate coif you couldn't possibly remember from Hollow Man. Because he was invisible. You didn't see Hollow Man?
