So after dinner at Lombardi’s, we headed across the street to a corner convenience store to pick up some portable libations (in the form of a can of Japanese imported beer, wrapped with a brown paper bag) for the walk to the first bar/lounge where we met up with 3 more willing participants in our Friday night Bar Crawl…

We made our way, in what seemed like a circle, to our first stop on our bar crawl, La Linea Bar-Lounge.  We didn’t really stay too long at this bar.  5 minutes tops.  It was already a bit packed.  The clientele seemed majority Hispanic.  Hip Hop and R& B music blaring from the speakers.  People seemed to be enjoying themselves there. The ladies room was fairly clean, but expected as it was still early in the evening.

From La Linea, we walked to our second stop, Karma, where we were able to secure the couches in the front room and stayed a bit… Most of our alcohol consumption occurred here in AA-alarming amounts.  The music thumped.  They know how to make a proper chilled SoCo-lime here, so I was happy. The drinks were strong enough.    Laughter insued.  High Fives were given way too much and what resulted was a huge bruise that spanned across 3 fingers on my right hand.  (Don’t ask me how, it was all a blur.)  Hookahs.  DJ.  Loungy.  Private back room.  No lines at the bar.  Friendly bartender.  Casual feel.  And an amazing group of friends to share it all with.

Around 11:00 pm, we split the party into 2 cabs and headed towards what should have been our highlight of the evening – Santos Party House where Q-Tip was the guest dj that night.  Now this is what I was really looking forward to.  And obviously, as evidenced by the line that snaked around the block, we weren’t the only ones who wanted to be in the presence of dj greatness.  I’ve been a fan of Q-Tip since he left his wallet in El Segundo.  Yup, before he branched off on his own and was a member of the awesome group, A Tribe Called Quest.  I think I even have “Left My Wallet in El Segundo” and/or “Bonita Applebum” on vinyl.  There was no way in hell we were getting in, even if I, or the other girls I was with, or dj Yellowjacket, had some sort of wardrobe malfunction in front of the doorman, there was not chance in getting in – not that night, anyway.

So what do we do?  It was still too early to call it a night and our buzz wore off during the short cab ride, so we walk over to Moomia, just  a half a block down the street.  I thought that this bar/club/hookah lounge or whatever you want to call it, was pretty strange.  It was Egyptian themed, like cheesy Egyptian themed.  There were heiroglyphics on the wall and everything.  There’s a decent bar area, small dancefloor and a comfortable seating area.  The clientele here, at least the night that we were there, seemed pretty mixed, with more Asians than I expected.  I thought I was in California for a brief moment.  The dj that night played obnoxiously loud trance music the entire time we were there – so loud that it made it difficult to talk to anyone over the noise.  It gave me a headache. I was so ready to leave… but not until the cocktail server came back with my drinks.

After we downed our drinks, we walked out of Moomia, flagged down a towncar and headed over to our last stop for the night, Sutra Lounge.  And though we didn’t stay long, and I wanted to, trust me, I really wanted to, it was by far my favorite.  The decor is warm and inviting.  There’s an amber glow the minute you step in, that ultimately sets the mood at this urban lounge.  Comfortable banquettes line the walls, with the dancefloor dominating the space in the center.  The music was blaring.  The crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves.  There was a strong urban vibe to this lounge that surpassed all of the other lounges that we dropped by that night.  I soaked it all in for a brief moment and truly  loved it.  You’ll need to check out the ladies room…  Overlook the fact that you feel like they crammed in one stall too many or that the floor is a bit slick,  and give your eyes a few seconds or so to adjust to the dim lighting.  Then focus on the “artwork” on the walls and on the stall door… colorful pages from the Kama Sutra itself. Ha!

What I enjoyed most about the bars/lounges that we went to that night was that they were so much more relaxed than the clubs here in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas clubs are so pretentious and basically a place for people to hook up.  It’s all “smoke and mirrors”.  Glitz, glamour and unwarranted hype.  The lounges in New York City are more relaxed and provided a comfortable setting to hang out with some friends and catch up on each other or to meet new people without  pretentiousness.   I’d take that over a Vegas club any day.

Happy Spooning and Forking (and Sipping and Chugging… )…

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It’s a great place to hang out with a small group of friends to enjoy a couple of cocktails and the view of the street from a wall of windows, while a mural of angelic figures stare at you from above the bar. It’s even a greater place to take that special someone you truly want to impress. It’ll seal the deal, so to speak.

Going with someone that speaks Japanese is also a major plus as the servers and bartenders (at least the ones that were there that night) speak very little English.

This is the view from the street. There’s no signage on the building to indicate the existence of a bar upstairs.

First, find this awning. It sits between the Around the Clock coffee shop and a Japanese grocery store.

Go through the glass doors and up the stairs. Once you’re at the top of the stairs, you will find yourself in a Japanese restaurant that serves izakaya (Japanese bar food).

Look to your left and you should see this door.

Read the rules that are posted on the wall next to the door as they are highly enforced.

(No more than 4 people. No standing. No screaming. No shouting.)

Above the bar you will find this cool, though somewhat disturbing, mural of angels

(with horns…I told you that it was somewhat disturbing…).

(Forgive the “night vision goggles” picture, but we were asked to turn off the flash on our cameras…)

One of the drinks that I ordered was my usual chilled Southern Comfort with lime juice. Talk about lost in translation… This is what I got. This was a shot of lime juice (freshly squeezed – not the sweetened kind that you find in a bottle) and no Southern Comfort.

With the help of our Japanese speaking dinner guest that introduced us to this wonderful bar, I was able to get this instead – a shot of lime juice with a splash of Southern Comfort. I was expecting my drink in a lowball glass, but got a shot instead… Close… but not quite. I gave up the fight, enjoyed my shot of lime juice with a hint of SoCo and anticipated the arrival of my specialty cocktail.

These are the cocktails that we ordered from their specialty drinks section. All were special in their own right. Can’t say that I can choose which one I liked better over the others as they were all quite delectable …

Angel’s Share was probably one of the many highlights of my entire trip. It was such an unexpected surprise. And definitely a place that I will surely stop by to visit on my next trip to New York City.

Cheers…. and

Happy Spooning and Forking….

Delirium Tremens & Framboise

I’m not a real big fan of beer, but I’ll drink it if 1) it’s icy cold or 2) it’s an icy cold Corona with Red Bull. But being that I was at the Yard House and they have a gazillion beers on tap, I just had to try something other than what readily available at any supermarket. So I decided to try the Framboise at the suggestion of a semi-beer-connoisseur friend that was with me.

The Framboise, served in a goblet at Yard House, embodies every essence of raspberries - its color, aroma and flavor. A light red, not quite pink, in color, it had the sweet-tartness of raspberries and at first seemed like cabonated raspberry juice. Kinda like a wine cooler, but without the cheap-wine-cooler-headache-after-effect. It is light, crisp and clean. Definitely refreshing! Perfect for summers in the desert!

This beer is sooooo addicting that I picked up a couple of bottles at BevMo! in Arizona when I was there (and I gladly shared – this time) and I also picked up a couple more bottles the other day at my neighborhood Lee’s Discount Liquor here in Las Vegas. At Yard House the Framboise costs $9.00 per goblet (half price during Happy Hour which is Monday through Friday from 4pm to 6pm). At BevMo! and Lee’s Discount Liquor it costs about $9.00 for a 750ml bottle or $6.00 for a 12 oz. bottle. The bottle that it comes in looks like a bottle of wine – it even has a cork!

I wonder how Framboise would taste like if it were FROZEN - like a granita…. or ice pops… Looks like I’ll be doing some experimenting….

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