PubNight #322 (10/23/02) - 7:30pm at Ava Lounge

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This week we're trying a brand new bar, Ava Lounge, which is supposed to have spectacular views of the city, and is still in previews. Please try to show up vaguely on time, because the manager, Mitchell, is going to put a few tables aside for us, so the sooner we fill them the better. That means you, you Hell's Kitchen boys!

Shecky's has this to say:
This brand new duplex, penthouse/hotel bar located in the Woodward Hotel is straight out of a Rat pack Movie. The retro-modern decor mixed with breathtaking penthouse views (The top terrance is to die for) are the perfect back-drop for a sophisticated date or a night out with your Rat Pack. Drinks hover around $9, which is a bargain for the scenery and the food starting in Oct. will be Indian and spicey. Although there has been very little buzz as of yet, this place will surely make its mark on the nightlife scene in no time. Just make sure you're dressed to kill, otherwise you might stand out like Gary Coleman in the Knicks locker room. Ava officially opens at the end of October (they are open for biz right now), however, you can still grab a drink before the celebs and models find out about it.

Don't worry too much about the being "dressed to kill" part. You'll be there with the Pubnight Rat Pack. :)

As a contrast, here's a review of the backup bar from Citysearch:
Shandon Star is the city's true litmus test of dive-bar aficionados. Quite frankly, nobody does dingy better than this cheap midtown Irish watering hole. Upon entering the spacious Shandon (or, as youthful regulars like to call it, the Shand-own), you're affronted by a row of OTB-types lined up at the bar on the left and a yucky-looking hot buffet behind plexiglass on the right. Turns out the food is quite edible (cheap, too! three bucks for roast beef, mashies, and beans!) and the stool pigeons are more than happy to strike up a conversation as you wait on your drinks. The jukebox is crammed with what you'd expect at such an establishment (U2, Neil Diamond, Springsteen, Billy Joel), the booze becomes on the house around round three, and there's always enough space for everyone, even on Saturday nights. Yet the Shandon never has that air of pathos that plagues most dives; it's actually the scene for many a rollicking good time.

But the absolute best thing about Shandon Star - so terrific that he merits his own paragraph here - is Pasquale, the somewhat senile old fogie who acts as nightly busboy/barkeep. Pasquale keeps you in pretzels and sliced dill pickles until your mouth puckers and is one of the gentlest personalities you'll ever find emptying out ashtrays. Rudy should throw him a ticker tape.

We may have to go to the backup at a later date, 'cause it sounds like something we shouldn't miss.

See you there!
     -Kris, Petro, Jay, and TK

www.pubnight.com/nyc