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12/28/09
Oh, Nine
Everything That Was Important in 2009
As you may have heard a few times recently, sort of a rough year. Still, particularly in New York, it was also a year of progress. A year of beauty. A year of keg service. Below, we revisit nine favorites from 2009, from Ping-Pong social clubs and flammable cuff links to your new favorite iPhone app. On we go…
Ping-Pong Went Clubbing
SPiN New York
It's always cause for celebration when a new place punctures conventional nightlife wisdom. If this involves
ending the historic separation of Ping-Pong
and dry martinis, so much the better. This Susan Sarandon-backed Gramercy Ping-Pong club single-handedly
added 13,000 square feet of Olympic-quality surfaces to…however many square feet there were before.
- 411:
- SPiN, 48 E. 23rd St (near Park), 212-982-8802
Tequila Worship
Mayahuel
Variety is nice, but there's also a lot to be said for the passionate deployment of all resources toward
a single, glorious end. Mayahuel took the religious approach, with church pews, confessional booths and
tequila playing the part of the Almighty. The power of agave compels you.
- 411:
- Mayahuel, 304 E. 6th St (at 2nd Ave), 212-253-5888
Introducing Keg Service
Superdive
Of all 2009's iconic images, few can match that of the
kegerator-wheeling cocktail waitress blurrily approaching. We tipped you off to the special beer dojo
that is Superdive, and the legend grew from there. And grew some more, in the spirit of glorious
immoderation (and
pirate midget champagne butlers).
- 411:
- Superdive, 200 Avenue A (btwn 12th and 13th St), 646-448-4854
Dear Jane
The Jane Ballroom
The Jane Hotel Ballroom, 2009's
glittering nightlife debutante, opened its
(meticulously guarded) doors to reveal an opulent setting of mismatched couches, an oversize fireplace
and exotic taxidermy. And then, as quickly as it opened and ruled the scene, it closed. Not to worry, 2010
is the year of the comeback.
- 411:
- The Jane Ballroom, 113 Jane St (at West St), 212-924-6700
Summer of Beer Gardens
Standard, Berry Park
It's no secret that German beer and the great outdoors are a winning pair. But we officially took notice
when the Standard launched its sub-High Line Ping-Pong bar and Williamsburg got
its
massive rooftop Bavaria. While that's still one garden short of a trend, we're comfortable leaving it
in the "really good idea" category.
- 411:
- Standard, 848 Washington St, 212-645-4646; Berry Park, 4 Berry St, Brooklyn, 718-782-2829
The Standard's Penthouse
Boom Boom Room
We watched as the Boom Boom Room, André Balazs's
much-heralded white knight of New York nightlife, assumed its lordly perch atop the Standard Hotel. In
time, the celeb hive even outgrew its name, changing to QT. Remaining the same: tons of white leather,
stunning river views and the timeless pleasures of a triangle-shaped hot tub.
- 411:
- Penthouse at the Standard, 848 Washington St (at W. 13th St), 212-645-4646
Flammable Hardware
Vintage Lighter Cuff Links
We threw our support behind vintage lighter cuff links, the signature product (okay, the only product) from
the department of
functional but flammable accessories in 2009. You'll save precious seconds when setting aglow the
slender cigarettes of comely vixens. Just try not to light your blazer on fire.
- 411:
- Light up here
Pig Brother
The Breslin
Topping our list of restaurants that lived up to considerable hype is the Breslin,
the meat-obsessed younger sibling of the Spotted Pig. Lodged in the new Ace Hotel and outfitted like a
vintage British pub, the Breslin gave us the priceless gift of impressing a date by nonchalantly ordering
the beef shin.
- 411:
- The Breslin, 16 W. 29th St (btwn Broadway and 5th Ave), 212-679-2222
Portable Chic
The Next Move
Finally, 2009 will go down as the year that birthed
The Next Move, our iPhone app that allowed you to carry an advice-dispensing UD editor in your pocket at
any hour of any day. It meant real-time answers to your pressing questions—the best local post-brunch
champagne den, perhaps, or the nearest place to consume oysters with your mistress. Like all great leaps
forward, it made you wonder how you ever got along before.
- 411:
- This is your Next Move
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