30 to Midnight

The Smile, NoHo

Saturday, 4pm

The Smile
26 Bond St. (Lafayette), Manhattan

Hipsters, lots of hipsters, patrolling every inch of this, er, multi-use space (food, drink, soap, tattoos). Overheard: "I was thinking of getting that tat right here, over my tit (dramatic pause), what do you think?" Well, we think you better be damn sure about a tattoo, missy. Not that we're anti-ink; we're just old enough to know not even yellow disappears, though it does fade. It's not InAppropriate in here, but it is indefinable, which doesn't mean inapproachable or inappealing, but does give us pause.

Help Wanted

Sara Text to Annie: I need an intern to go around with me and take notes (can't read half of mine) and pictures (too much forgetting).

Reservoir Bar, West Village

Wednesday, 12:45am

Reservoir Bar
70 University Pl. (11th St.), Manhattan

After The Out of Town Visitor bummed a cigarette off two girls (after two other girls refused him), and he and Sara walked east. At that point, it suddenly seemed like a good idea to go to The Stoned Crow. But we got distracted by a movie filming, got yelled off the set, and landed at Reservoir where the bouncer asked us to show ID, which was ridiculous given we could have been a parent of half the other patrons. Nonetheless we ordered beers, wings (all Tabasco and fried skin), and, later, a Parrot's Bay on the rocks. We wanted to know if it was as disgusting as it sounded; it wasn't, not even with Kahlua. If you want to find Age Appropriates here, stay by the front window and avoid the Big Buck.

Diablo Royale, West Village

Tuesday, 10:30pm

Diablo Royale
189 West 10th St. (W. 4th), Manhattan

After dinner, the Night of Entertaining Age Appropriate Visitor continued at Diablo where we partook in the Rickie (pictured). Bartender who’s 33 and says he usually dates 22s but now he’s with "an older woman" (34)  says the clientele is “really varied" (28 to 33).

Er, more like 25, but those Rickies sure taste good.   

If you didn't click on the above dinner link, read about our Yakitori Totto meal now.

Yakitori Totto, Midtown West

Tuesday, 7:45pm

Yakitori Totto
251 W. 55th St., 2nd Fl (Broadway), Manhattan

We have a friend who is a food aficionado so we like to entertain him in restaurants unlike what he has at home. We're not saying there's nowhere interesting or delicious to eat in Denver, we're just saying we appreciate how spoiled we are. Yakitori Totto is a great reminder of that, even though on this night our waiter decided we were a bunch of hacks and recommended edamame and cheese wontons when we asked him about the appetizer menu. We sent him away.

OK, so the above picture sure doesn't do justice to the fried smelts (is that what they were?), seared tuna, bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms, sea cucumbers (we don't endorse those), grilled bits of chicken and pork and cold clay mugs full of Asahi beer, but we were obviously preoccupied.

But more importantly, is the restaurant Age Appropriate? Check. Did we take a cab downtown afterward for more fun? Check. Want to read about it all? Give us a minute to type it out...

Old Town Bar, Union Square

Wednesday, 6:45pm

Old Town Bar
45 East 18th St. (Broadway), Manhattan

Old Town is the kind of bar whose age you can practically taste in the tapping of every beer; it's delicious but can give you a tummy ache the following day, a consequence of Age, as you know. Their burgers are better if you're a beer or two in, which happens quickly here, something we enjoy (easy imbibing in lazy environs). Age Appropriates abound, weekends too, intermixed with the young and the gray. Consistent downfall: lack of toilet paper in the cramped, all-the-way-upstairs bathrooms (don't wait until the last minute to go).

Brass Monkey, Meatpacking District

Saturday, 7pm

Brass Monkey
55 Little West 12th St. (Washington St.), Manhattan

We were greeted by an encouragingly chill first-floor crowd in their 30's, eating and watching sports. On the roof deck, however, the party was in full swing. According to the 20-something server, these more boisterous ones had been at it for a couple hours already. Lucky for us, some early boozers bailed, abandoning their spots on the cushy bench—just in time for us to catch the sunset. At some point, our view was blocked by picture-posing girls in foofy dresses. It was obviously time for us to go.
-Amy B.

Verizon, ATT; It's All the Same

Sara Text to Jen: You know you're over-30 when your text message bill astounds you.

Reader Says: Bailey's Corner Pub, Upper East Side

New category: Reader Says. We'll post comments, questions, recommendations, compliments, complaints, and we encourage other readers to respond. Here's the first:.

Bailey's Corner Pub
1607 York Ave. (85th St.), Manhattan

First glance, it seems like it could be a dirty old man bar, but it's not. Its a nice, neighborhood crowd (plus some dogs) with chatty bartenders. The owner, Sean (a friend), has been a bartender there for about 10 years and took over two months ago. So the crowd never changed. There's a big row of tables if you bring a slew of friends, a thick book of menus to order in from for late night munchies. Just as relaxing for two at the bar. It can get busy on a Saturday, but never crowded.
Oh, and the first new ownership improvement (at my suggestion, albeit early in the year given my position as 'head of the Christmas decorating committee'): hooks.

Thanks for the tip, Elizabeth. We'll be sure to check it out soon...

Subway Inn, Upper East Side

Saturday, 11:59pm

Subway Inn
143 E. 60th St. (Lexington Ave.), Manhattan

It's a challenge to think of this block as part of the Upper East Side and not Midtown, but that's the case. It's not, however, a challenge to think of this bar as one above a subway, which is why we knew our two new friends from Toronto would enjoy it (feels "New Yorky") as much as we do ("quick commute home").

When we arrived, the Subway Inn was full of some sort of girls roller derby team party (late 20's, in pigtails and gym socks), male regulars at bar (late 60's, Member's Only jackets, probably purchased before they got cool again), three bankers (barely-20, oxfords and baseball caps), and a handful of 30-somethings. 39 immediately asked us for quarters and promptly lost them playing Galactica (pictured). Suddenly he, an internist, was a thousand times less drunk (how do guys do that?) and was blood-clot-airplane advice for her mom, and continued to tease Sara about her shirt, but we knew he was a good guy. Another beer or two illuminated his shocking resemblance to the 19-year-old cadet from last weekend.

Later we gave 39 quarters for the jukebox. He and 37, a lawyer, returned the favor by way of beer-buying. Around 2am, singing and dancing to Blind Melon, Prince and Lionel Richie(!), we felt Age Appropriately complete. Sara turned down a 25-year-old. He got dramatically angry with our ageism. We were empowered.

37: I'm so sorry my friend was making fun of your shirt all night. I'm so glad I met you guys. It's exactly what I needed. You're intelligent, creative, cute, unpretentious, and your project seems semi-legitimate. 

Thank you, gentleman, for the endorsement, and the reminder of why it's always best to hang out with people your own age. Even if we blew our curfew by four hours.

PS: While there were definitely youngsters here tonight, we still placed this bar in the Age Appropriate category because it was predominantly AA after midnight and at points before.

This is the second of a multi-part story. Read part one.