In the Zon
Salsa Dancing and Tapas in Tribeca

Sometimes you just want to dance. (It's OK, we won't tell anyone.)
 
But as the weather starts to get a little balmy, Euro-techno parties probably aren't going to cut it (actually, they don't cut it in the dead of winter either). You're looking for a little passion, a few beads of sweat and something that feels a little more…tropical.
 
Welcome to Sazon, a new Latino salsa lounge and restaurant—and cousin to midtown standby Sofrito—opening Monday in Tribeca.
 
Think of Sazon as the wild salsa party you always wish you knew about, right around the time things start to get a little loose on a Saturday night. During the week things are relatively relaxed (think acoustic guitar and a few Cuba libres), but on the weekend, you'll find yourself in a colorful downstairs lounge complete with bright patterned-tile floor, chipped paint walls and green leather banquettes.
 
If you work up an appetite downstairs, head upstairs and fill up on the same Cuban and Puerto Rican fare you're used to from Sofrito—rice and beans, conch fritters and that infamous $1000 paella (you know, just a little recession-friendly bar snack).
 
Or just settle at the long, curvy, tiled bar that may remind you of the bottom of a swimming pool.
 
Remember: no diving.