30 to Midnight

30toMidnight is the entertainment source for everyone over-30

We tell you Where to go, Who you'll find there (How old they are), What they say to us, and When to leave. Plus, we tell a good story whenever possible. Check out our Glossary to understand our parlance, and read More About Us to get to know your guides.

The Back Fence, Greenwich Village

Wednesday, 11:00pm

The Back Fence
155 Bleecker St. (Thompson St.), Manhattan

You're expecting us to tell you The Back Fence is Age InAppropriate, but we've been there many times to see bands and maybe it's just our friends and musical tastes but we find the bar to be surprisingly, well, not terrible. We're going AABM because of weekends. 

They have poetry readings every Sunday afternoon. Anyone who isn't stoned can participate. Sara's grandmother calls drunk 'stoned' but these guys are talking about medical marijuana. Really. 

Reader Says: Star Lounge at the Ritz Carlton, when Norman's working

Thanks to Steve Skulnik for writing in...

I have just found your site. I have been age appropriate since 1989.
You do have one glaring error. You do not cover Norman (Bukofzer, head bartender at the Ritz-Carlton's Star Lounge). Martinis and Manhattans his specialty. But the experience is much better than the booze.
Norman does not work on Fridays and Saturdays and some Mondays. It's a completely different experience when he's not there.

Star Lounge
Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New York, Central Park
50 Central Park South (6th Ave.), Manhattan
11:30am toMidnight

Knave, Parker Meridien, Midtown West

Thursday, 8pm

Knave Cafe & Bar at Le Parker Meridien Hotel
118 West 57th St. (6th AVe.), Manhattan

"Excuse me," Sara asked a concierge in the lobby while pointing, "What's the name of this bar?"
Concierge 1: The Knave.
Sara: Knave? Like chess?
Concierge 1: That's knight.
Concierge 2: Like a church, because it looks like a nave.
Sara: N-A-V-E?
Concierge 2: Yes, but we spell it K-N-A-V-E for the, you know, person.
Sara: Like in Chaucer?
Blank Stares
Sara: Canterbury Tales? Wasn't there a Knave's Tale?
Blank Stares, still
Sara: Or what that a knight too? The Knight, The Reeve, The Nuns Priest...
Donna: Let's just get a drink.
Sara: The Miller...maybe there wasn't a knave.
Concierge 2: Get a card and you'll see it on the logo.

The logo, incidentally, shaped so the figure makes a sort of "K", looks like kokopelli, just to add to the confusion at the prime meridian. 

The Knave (the bar) is surprisingly welcome in its narrowness. Age Appropriates, mostly the male version, sit, drinking cocktails, coffees, and beer. We're into it. And, if you haven't yet realized that Burger Joint isn't half the burger joint it used to be, (tear), you can have one sent to you.

The Facebook Breakup, Part 5

The Facebook Breakup, Part 5

More Foul Language Here. Continued from Part 4...She didn’t come all the way in. She stood by the door in my long narrow hall, part blocked by my bike and part blocked by her lack of recognition.

I put on a coat, put my wallet in my pocket, grabbed two bottles of water and her bag.
“Here’s your bag,” I said, handing it to her. “And a water.”

Marea, Midtown West

Friday, 7:25pm

Marea
240 Central Park South (B'Way / Columbus Circle), Manhattan

We heard the bar food was fantastic at Marea (it does come from the same kitchen) so we planned a happy hour, which started a little late. Or, actually, didn't start at all since the bar here, especially on weekends say the staff, is really just additional seating for diners sans reservations. Not including two men waiting for a table, the entire bar (12 seats? maybe 14) was twosomes with big plates and bowls in front of them.

We waited to see if anyone was getting up anytime soon. A mixed-gender couple stood with us, hesitating to order a drink because of the difficulty and akwardness of leaning over the diners. Friendly bartender helped them. Really, though, what makes the bar not a bar is the fact that the space is library quiet. "You just want a drink?" as hostess practically whispered to us. "You might want to try a weeknight."

All this said, Marea makes our 'Best' list because the crowd is undeniably AA. And the bar itself is attractive. But we don't recommend it unless food is your priority.

Italian Wine in NYC, Happening Now

It's Italian Wine Week in NYC.
30toMidnight is going to start an education column, everything from Art to Wine. While we work on that we have to tell you about a variety -pun! get it, varietal? funny because it sort of means the opposite thing. hmm- of wine promotions at bars, restaurants and shops throughout Manhattan, until February 10th: Flights, Pairings, By-The-Glass specials on wines from Apulia, Calabria, Tuscany and Veneto here:

Bull & Bear Steakhouse (Lexington Ave at 49th St., Manhattan)
Le Cirque (Bloomberg Building, 151 East 58th St., Lexington Ave., Manhattan)
SD26 (19 East 26th St., Madison Square Park, Manhattan)
Salumeria Rosi (283 Amsterdam Ave., 74th St., Manhattan)
Serafina (29 East 61st St., Madison Ave., Manhattan)

Click to check out the complete Vino 2010 list.

NYC's Best Bars and Lounges for 30's Birthday

We continually have readers asking us for advice on where to have a birthday party. We're not in the business of party-planning but we can offer some suggestions, which we're doing today in honor of Sara's brother's upcoming 35th birthday. Happy. But first, what are 30-somethings seeking in a venue?

• An absence of 20-somethings
• An absence of clamor (aka the ability to converse at semi-regular volume)
• A presence of space (in the form of floor or seating)
• A presence of quality drinks (be they beer or cocktails)
• A presence of, or proximity to, food

Cascabel Taqueria, Upper East Side

Wednesday, 3:30pm

Cascabel Taqueria
1542 2nd Ave. (81st St.), Manhattan

Three blocks north of the restaurant that inspired Sam Sifton to compare the Upper East Side to a second-tier city where residents have mediocre palates - MXco would be the second-best date-night restaurant in a second-tier city, a perennial readers-poll winner for best guacamole in the regional glossy magazine. On upper Second Avenue in New York City, it may do just fine. - you'll find Cascabel and what may be the City's best tacos south of Spanish Harlem. But rely on us for food judgement because Sara, the philistine, lives in the E. 80's.

Since we brought SpaHa into this discussion we should mention that pricewise Cascabel is considerably more expensive than, say, Taco Mix on 116th, but their tacos are a decent value (note: it's not really fair to A-B these two since they're not wholly the same genre). Add in a couple beers and some guacamole, however, and you'll quickly exceed $25...for tacos, per person. Gorgeous, delicious tacos, yes, but we want you to be fully prepared.

You should also be prepared to wait, not because service is slow, but because this place gets busy. With whom, you ask? Mixed Ages. We're deeming it AABM because that's our middle-ground designation and because if you do have the chance to linger here and drink through their beer list (as a little sidewalk chalkboard suggests), it's likely early enough that the place will be more AA than AI. We're also going to talk about Cascabel on ScoreboardGourmet because they have a Mexican wrestling theme and a TV showing soccer. And because we're going back.

Reader Says: What are u putting in there?

A reader just informed me that 30toMidnight is blocked at her workplace because of an error message that reads something like: the website you have attempted has been ID’d as containing content that could pose a risk to the firm and its policies. You know you're someone when you're being banned.

Cougar Town

You know how we feel about Cougar. But that's not why we never watched Cougar Town. We never watched Cougar Town because we had no idea when it was on. We blame it on Wednesday pool class (showtime is 9:30pm, ABC).

Anyway, we've caught a couple episodes and have to say it's funny. Funny enough to make the DVR roster. Kevin Biegel and Bill Lawrence, we like you. Those are the writers. You can't find them on the About The Show tab because, apparently, ABC thinks actors just make up their own lines. Oh the world is always giving credit to the wrong people. And we are not not not criticizing the actors. Not at all. We like the Felicity-Drew Carey reunion. We think you will too. Watch it tomorrow and let us know what you think.

I like that your ex-husband lives on a boat, there is no possible way I can let you down. -Jeff (aka Noel)

The Facebook Breakup, Part 4

The Facebook Breakup, Part 4

Foul Language Alert (not kidding). Continued from Part 3...I looked at the empty chair; the sleeping bag momentarily held her imprint.
“That’s odd,” I said out loud to try to make sense of it.
I stood up.
I was unsure what to do.
I looked for my phone, remembering we’d exchanged numbers.
She’d just called me.
It was 8:35pm. At 8:01pm I’d sent my brother a text message that said “drunk happy good”. We were still in the bar at that time.