30 to Midnight

The Patriot, Tribeca

Thursday, 10pm

The Patriot Saloon
110 Chambers St. (Church St.), Manhattan

Sara loves it when her AI downstairs neighbor sits outside in the space below her bedroom window and yells at his girlfriend inside. She loves it when he does it at 10:20 and 11:35, but really enjoys it most when it's Midnight, 1, 4. Yes, this really happens. She's called her landlord saying, "I swear he's not malicious, just young and unaware." Yet it continues, and it's not even spring or summer or warm enough to bring a laptop out because you simply cannot tear yourself away from your movie while you have a cigarette. Volume up. 2am. Yes.

Reade Street Pub, Tribeca

Wednesday, 7:30pm

Reade Street Pub & Kitchen
135 Reade St. (Hudson St.), Manhattan

Note to women: lots of mens in this establishment for late happy hour. Lots of mens in tucked-in Oxfords (read: AA, employed). Weekends are more in balance, gender-wise, but the age is mostly the same. Yea! Tribeca is such a great neighborhood for the over-30. We've been down there quite a bit lately; will keep reporting. What we really want to do is make it to a Suckling Pig Happy Hour at Forge (134 Reade St., used to be Dekk). Tuesdays. We'll let you know. 

Racoon Lodge, Tribeca

Racoon Lodge
59 Warren St. (W. Broadway), Manhattan

Remember the Racoon Lodge up on Amsterdam Avenue (now Soldier McGee Tavern? And the one on York Avenue? Well, the Tribeca location was the first and is the last Manhattan Racoon Lodge. We like longevity. Obviously. And we like the mostly AA crowd, but we have to deem the bar AABM. Are we wrong?

Speaking of After Midnight, we have a great memory of a very late night here a few years ago.

Big Bar, East Village

Tuesday, 8pm

Big Bar
73 East 7th St. (1st Ave.), Manhattan

The inside is welcoming but the sign is too good to resist for a photo. Also, it's not at all big in this bar, though it's big enough for AA's. Ahh.  We almost want to add Big Bar to our Best list, but we can't rely of post-midnight in this hood even in this most lovely of places. Hopefully when you show up you'll find we were too conservative, and wrong.

Led Zeppole, East Village

Tuesday, 10pm

Led Zeppole
328 E. 14th St (1st Ave.), Manhattan

Few things make us happier than proper nomenclature. Zeppole is zeppole. Who ever thought that fried dough would be more appealing? Fried dough sounds like something gone wrong. And Led Zeppole, well that's just brilliant. We like us some pun with our doughnuts. Unfortunately for anyone over 30, particularily as evening becomes night, the people standing next to you in line are likely to be extremely AI -- NYU dorm residents with powdered sugar-covered hands and clothing. It's not unpleasant, but you surely won't be standing next to someone who experienced "Stairway to Heaven" as the last song at every high school dance.

Momofuku, East Village

Tuesday, 8pm

Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Ave. (11th St.), Manhattan

Was it really only 5-6 years ago when Momofuku was down the street, on the corner of 10th, now home to Tarallucci E Vino (163 First Ave.)? And what was the name of that Italian place on 10th? The chef with the red head who made the fabulous lasagne with the bechamel? Miss Williamburg Porta Via, because they operated out of that diner in B'Burg. Right. He went to La Vineria (737 Ninth Ave.)? You though we'd be talking ramen but we're talking pasta?

What do you want us to say here? We never know whether to feel annoyed or sympathetic when a hostess willfully ignores new arrivals. Especially when that hostess is wearing a flannel shirt. Why are people doing that? Tony says it's, perhaps, because they're being ironic.

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. 

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.

Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club and Garden

Sunday, 11pm

Gramercy Park Hotel Roof Club and Garden
2 Lexington Ave. (21st St.), Manhattan

We had a sick meal at Mialino (also in the Gramercy Park Hotel) then elevated and walked up to the Roof Bar, which was mostly empty and completely lovely, as evidenced by this captivating photo. If they can manage to keep it mostly empty and completely AA (which it was) we'll be back. You can reserve sections for group gatherings, which could be nice if, again, the rest of the space is not jam-packed. Because we like our jam a little thin. We like jelly. 

Pegu Club, SoHo

Monday, 10pm

Pegu Club
77 W. Houston St. (W. Broadway), Manhattan

One thing about Pegu Club, and we mean this in praise, is it makes us want to smoke. Cigarettes. Really. And we're trying not to do that anymore. In fact, it's been months since we had even a drag. But there's something about Pegu Club on a weeknight...oh, yes...definitely a weeknight to enjoy the place...that makes us crave...well, we already said it. It must be the cocktails.

Another thing about Pegu Club, and other places that do not appeal to AA's, is what are people thinking coming in groups of seven and ten and any number that constitues a group? Parties, fine, but going out for a drink? Sheesh. This reminds us that we really owe you an analysis of what works when you're going out seeking future entertainment. Simply put: Groups of two. Go out with one friend if you're seeking a new friend.

Note: words in italics are not straightforward.