Tuesday, 6pm
Wolfgang's
4 Park Ave. (33rd St.), Manhattan
Not including the groups of multiaged boys that sometimes enter Wolfgang's, bartender says it's a mostly AA bar, as evidenced by our recent research. It's gorgeous too. Grand Centralesque Vanderbilty ceilings. Now that's style and design.
Saturday, 7pm
City Swiggers
320 East 86th St. (1st Ave.), Manhattan
Part beer store, part beer bar, part sit in the back and chill, City Swiggers is the most exciting, Age Appropriate addition to East 86th Street since Fairway arrived in July. AABM because it closes before Midnight, but putting in AA too so it doesn't get overlooked. This is a fun, extensive collection. Breckenridge, Ithaca, Petaluma, Philadelphia...you can travel the country off the shelves here. Other parts of the world too, proving once and for all that not even microbrews are micro anymore. When I was your age, we had to walk a mile in the snow, uphill, to the actual brewery to get this kind of beer.
Sunday, 4:30pm
Chickalicious
203 East 10th St. (2nd Ave.), Manhattan
Three-course dessert meal. Do we need to say anything else? It's not about sweets. It's about lingering over coffee or wine, taking time to enjoy a perfectly-crafted amuse, dessert, petit four, and the person with you, or the person with his maybe-girlfriend who keeps looking at you. Age-Appropriate couples and friends here. Chika tells us it's frequently that way. Come before 6pm to sit immediately and not feel bad for those on line outside. Closes 10:45pm.
Sunday, 1:15pm
Lagasse's Stadium
The Palazzo, Las Vegas
As far as Las Vegas Sports Books go, Lagasse's Stadium (yes, that Lagasse - Bam!) is pretty great.
Sunday, 2pm
SNAP
248 West 14th St., Manhattan
Did we ever tell you the story about when Sara lived on the north side of West 14th Street, just about directly across from SNAP, pre-SNAP, pre-meatpacking hysteria, post-her great grandmother living there?
Saturday, 6:45pm
Laguna Champagne Bar
The Palazzo, Las Vegas
A pattern in Vegas emerges: If you sit down and pay for stuff that's not cheap and you're not in a nightclub or pool lounge, you're likely to be surrounded by Age Appropriates. Speaking of age, the Shirley Temple pictured is a Champagne Cocktail: Hennessy, Grand Marnier, Sugar(!), Bitters, Moët & Chandon Impérial, and possibly a bit more sugar.
Saturday, 5:30pm
CARNEVINO
The Palazzo, Las Vegas
So you came all the way from New York just to eat at a Batali restaurant? Well, Yes. Though like Rao's it was inadvertent. It was more like: hey, this is a Batali place with the words MEAT and WINE in the name and it's not that smokey here but we can watch people "playing" slots and everyone inside is Age Appropriate. Ka-ching! (Slot machine winning sound?).
Saturday, 2:30pm
Rao's Las Vegas
Caesar's Palace
We can't imagine how many times the bartenders at Rao's Las Vegas say, jokingly, "So you came all the way from New York just to eat here." But that's their thing. And it's true, except for the implication that it was planned.
Wednesday, 5:30pm
Wine Bar Wednesdays
Astor Center
399 Lafayette St. (East 4th St.), Manhattan
Soave Classico, Roero Arneis (aka Bianchetto di Alba), Barbera d'Alba, Nebbiolo. One of these things is not like the other. If you'd been to Wine Bar Wednesday you'd know. Hint: Soave Classico is a region within a region (Veneto) while the others are grape varieties. Answer: The three varietals are from Piedmont.
There's knowledge to be attained, if you wish, at this social wine tasting. Mingle with Age Appropriates or arrive early for a semi-private table. We sat next to an excited, nervous gentleman not quite introducing his boyfriend to his mom. "He's a friend from the neighborhood," she told us. "Isn't he terrible? He seems like he's about to have a heart attack." We don't like taking sides but it seemed she was about to have a heart attack. The rest of us were simply having fun with Italian favorites. Organizers tell us events are mostly AA. We'll be back for sure.
Thursday, 6pm
Inside Park at St. Bart's
325 Park Ave. (50th St.), Manhattan
The Terrace at Inside Park at St. Bart's (The Inside Park Terrace, pictured) is closed until May. Sorry. But the inside part of Inside Park is open. Yea! If you like your Age Appropriates in suits, you will love the crowd here. Not only do they all look good (suits make the man, and woman) but also they all have jobs.
What?! All we're saying is people without jobs are mostly kinda miz. So this is a happy crew; lots of co-workers but an equal amount of co-mingling. Bonus X2: darn good food, and it's so deliciously Manhattan here - pretty Park Avenue Malls (look north) and maybe-prettier urban architecture (look anywhere). If there's a flaw it's the volume of the music. We AA's like our 80's but we also like to hear the person next to us.
