by Avery Krome on geeEEEzus... after nearly seven years of living in new york, i finally went to hiro after some out of town friends wanted to meet up with their peeps there. wtf, people. 1. $20 cover. hello, do you think you're vegas? for $20 i better get an extremely attractive, tanned young man fanning me with palm fronds as i walk in the freakin' door. (no, this didn't happen). i mean damn. 2. is it necessary for every freakin' employee of the club to treat every freakin' customer like we're about to either barf, cause a riot, or both? granted, it appeared from the clientele that this was actually quite possible from a decent number of sketchies, but still. being a generally courteous, on this occasion completely sober individual, i was miffed by the aggressive herding, yelling, and general disrespect. 3. the music blew. 4. the club appears to be full of people who are not interested in meeting each other, for those of you who are interested, but rather have come instead with people they have pre-identified as their hookup for the night and this is the venue in which to let down your shy, giggling guard (ladies) or be an impressive, gelled hair macho man (men). 5. the drinks we did order (mercifully i forgot which drinks) were so bad that even my plebeian friend, who will drink anything, tried to foist it off on his friends, such as myself. i'm curious as to what management strategy results in using leftover bathroom cleaner as cocktails. part of the economic downturn cost savings plan? i'd say the girls dangling from the ceiling in the cloth streamers was probably the most intriguing part of the night.
by Ivey Everleth on My friend's dad is a D.C. lawyer who spent his law school student days wandering Greenwich Village and listening to Joni Mitchell play open mics at The Bitter End. This is the downtown scene Mr. Hiebert told me he longed for on a recent visit to NY and the Back Fence is where he brought us. Warning if you have a peanut allergy - they do give out complimentary peanuts (no, not the kind that tells you you look beautiful) and the shells line the floor (I thought it was sand at first.) So to avoid anaphalactic shock, don't come by. But everyone else can frequent this dive bar for cheap(ish) drinks. Suggestion: Come by on Monday nights. It's slightly quieter than the rest of the week. Open Mic Night means you may discover the next folk talent and the duo we saw this week was mellow and enjoyable.
by Mark D. on It's like going to a house party with good friends whom you've never met. Definitely not a meat market scene. International music (not just Senegalese when I went), diverse crowd, and great ginger based drinks.
