42 East 1st Street
New York, New York 10003

An upper-crust, though supple, coffee and wine place during the day, Arlo & Esme turns into a dim, seductive maze at night, with flickering candle light and couches paired with small coffee tables. Don’t get discouraged by the bright, French-bistro-looking first room, since, as soon as you pass it, a dim dungeon of underground seduction awaits you downstairs together with another full bar, bare stone walls, interesting art pieces and sea of red, brothel-like light. It attracts the fashionable and young crowd (finally my favorite age range of early to late twenties). As I was getting indulgently comfortable on one of their cozy sofas, cute pillows and with gin and tonic in hand, I noticed that girls predominate in this ambient temple. Believe it or not-- maybe 70% - 30%. It was a Thursday night. You know what that means-- no more stalkers—it’s your turn to solicit the non-expectant males. When the DJ is not around, the playback varies from George Michael to TLC; but when the turntable guru finally arrives, he spins a non-sickening and really eclectic mix of oldies and contemporary lounge music. Though the lack of printed cocktail list might be a slight pain (Me don’t know what to choose. Me all those bottles look gooooood), that did not ruin my impression of Arlo & Esme being one of the cutest, coziest, most ambient and sexy hangout spots in the city.

Official Website: http://halloweenparties.com/Events/ShowEvent.aspx?eventId=389

Added by Wantickets on October 12, 2009

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