Sinanation

At first the idea of going through a random black door, taking the scary, endless stairs through a restaurant kitchen to party seemed like a cool idea. Like many other New Yorkers, I felt like I was making my way through an adventure to finally reach my destination: a regular night out at a popular NYC nightclub. I felt special for exploring sights only a few other insiders were aware of (or so I thought). Nowadays this idea has gotten out of hand. Many adventurers realize that the “secret” entrances they went through actually became as obvious and famous as the gates to Disneyland. Everywhere we go to party seem to have a single entrance, stairs too narrow to have two rows and a claustrophobic low ceiling. The places are beyond ordinary in terms of decoration, but seem to make the quota just because they have a “hidden” entrance. They are all packed without any extra room to move around: no signs of secrecy or exclusivity other than a disrespectful bouncer. Here are a few of those infamous spots I know about:

• Bijoux (Should now be closed)
  57 Gansevoort St. Used to be the “secret” lounge of Merkato 55’s owner, right below the restaurant and right next to its kitchen. The almost-too-difficult-to-locate street entrance would take you through the black stairs lit with tiny candles. Once you made it to the short corridor, you would pass by the kitchen to reach a plain white door that finally opened up to the black interior of Bijoux.
• Southside
  1 Cleveland Place. Run by the Martignetti Brothers, Southside has the most unexpected entrance that opens up to narrow, shady stairs leading to a black & white marbled dungeon dressed almost like Bettle Juice.
• Philippe Downstairs
  33 E. 60th St. One of the famous creators of the Mr. Chow brand in New York, Philippe Chow, took things into his own hands by opening Philippe on the Upper East Side. The place is just another cool, too-black-to-criticize restaurant if you are not close enough with the managers to try the tiny mafia’s room downstairs. Going inside the red velvet curtain, you make your way downstairs through the kitchen’s steep and narrow stairs  in between the huge copper casseroles and pans and confused waiters. You step into a tiny room with 3-4 tables and a low ceiling. Another set of curtains close behind you. At first, it is almost too shady to feel comfortable. Things only get better after the drinks come in and you hook up your own iPod to the sound system.
• Simyone Lounge
  409 W. 14th St. Guys from Tenjune took up the famous Lotus Lounge and turned it into the new gem of the Meatpacking district. Simyone Lounge or SL in short was carefully crafted underground with a mix of marble, wood, dimmed lights and x-ray documents. Like always  you take a long line of stairs to make it to the though-door lounge.
• Beatrice Inn (now closed)
• Cabin Down Below
  10 Ave. A. A few frequenters of Beatrice Inn felt so bad when it closed down that they decided to provide its crowd with another “secret” spot. The Cabin Down Below is hidden behind the East Village joint, Pizza Shop. Haven’t been to this one yet.
• BEast
  171 E. Broadway. Tucked below the restaurant, Broadway East, BEast comes with a secret buzzer and an impressive hallway. It is rated as one of the best with its great sound system. It has been in my list of to-go-tos.
• La Esquina Downstairs
  114 Kenmare St. You might wonder how a laid-back Mexican joint like this could quickly turn into a tough, stuck-up lounge after you run into the two bouncers in front of the “employees only” door. You should know better. You have to make a reservation weeks before to enjoy the “exclusive”, below the ground maze of this simple, comfort food downtown spot.
• RDV
  409 W. 13th St. Below the famous Bagatelle Restaurant and Kiss&Fly lies a very-well decorated lounge with a completely black and tight entrance. As usual, dark stairs take you below the ground into this unexpected luxury apartment packed with a large mix of frequenters from flashy Russians to models and throphy-wife-to-bes. The drinks are expensive enough to make you enjoy every single sip and the music is good enough to make you groove.