We're nerds in the NYC nightlife going to clubs and getting rejected at the door. But eventually we get in. Tasting the NYC night life scene one lick at a time. We bring the perspective of multiple reviewers so that means more tongues on your "party". We believe that no venue is the same so we like to attend places more than once so you guys can learn about all the different flavors a party has to offer. We also list events that we support or regularly attend in our "Taste THIS Party" post. There are always parties going on every night but these are the ones we want to go to. We're hungry for parties and want to taste yours! Want us to stop by for a taste ? TasteYourPartyNYC @Gmail.com
Tasting “Libertine After Party” @ Electric Room
Monday, February 15th, 2016
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them.
Zero : We’ve been to The Electric Room on many occasions so no need to really talk about the place at this point. I will say, I figured coat check would be comped for an event but hey, whatever works. On to the party!
Tonight’s fashion week festivity was nice and intimate in that the venue didn’t pack to sardine level like it might have on a normal club night. Once things settled and everyone arrived, it was just the right amount of people to seem like something was actually happening. And then there was enough space to actually walk back to the bar and order a drink without fighting to flag down the bartender. It’s these nights we enjoy being out and about.
SWIRL: I have to applaud Johnson Hardtig (Libertine’s designer) for DJing the event. He had a great selection of tunes that I actually really enjoyed grooving too. My only problem was it seemed as if he was playing a setlist and not actually mixing. I was talking to this girl next to me who was also feeling the music but she wasn’t too happy that songs would abruptly skip to the next or that there was not a transition in site. This was definitely unfortunate because it did ruin the rhythm but I’ll give the guy a pass. Maybe next time get someone to assist like Elijah Wood.
Zero : I noticed that songs seemed kind of “jumpy” every now and then...Â
Good tunes though and the rest of the event was fun to roam around in the dark little box they call The Electric Room. I actually told people why they call it that. Spoiler Alert: it was actually the electric room.
Tasting “Monse FW 16 After Party” @ Hudson Hotel
Friday February 12th, 2016
Sometimes the unfortunate thing about arriving on time to a party is nothing is really going on ! Even the DJ and drink servers seemed kind of puzzled. The Hudson Hotel bar is beautiful and nicely laid out but what can you do when no one really arrives for the first hour or so?
Well you can load up on liquor !Â
Sadly once more party people started arriving my phone died at that point and so did my coherence of the events to follow. But we had fun :D
Tasting “Malan Breton After Party @ Red Sticks”
Thursday February 11th, 2016
Stopped by for a Nibble. Until we figured out they closed the whole restaurant for the event, we were pretty much crammed at the bar with everyone else. Nothing that stood out too much but music and a small buffet helped change things up later. The bedazzled sewing machine though was pretty cool!
Tasting “Jonathan Cohen FW16 Kickoff Party @ Aire Ancient Baths
Wednesday February 10th, 2016
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them.
Zero : You have to hand it to the party planners for Jonathan Cohen. A cocktail party in a bathhouse? Â I know there are Russian bath house parties every now and then but having a fashion week event here seemed pretty intriguing.
The long walk in the changing room. Thankfully I didn’t need to “disrobe” for this event!
VirGIN : I was actually thinking the same thing! Do I really need to take off my clothes to join this??? I mean sure, I love getting naked but I need that mental preparation first lol
Good thing it was a no. And down the stairs we go!
I loved the space and how they chose to present the pieces. It came off slightly “slasher” movie like with the mannequins hanging from the ceiling but there was a beautiful elegance to it as well. If the place wasn’t so well lit I might have been a little scared...
Zero : Everyone here was pretty chilled out and relaxed and the bathhouse vibe definitely added to that. Especially since it was only 6 pm and I don’t know many other people raging at that time. Well besides us :P
I do wish they went all out and had us all in robes or swimsuits to complete the look. It basically devolved into any other party of people sitting down and using their phones. Half naked means no where to hide those distractions ;)
VirGIN : I loved the bongo player somewhat hidden in the corner just playing along the to the music. He seemed like the perfect fly on the wall to evesdrop on conversations going on around him. But I wonder if he’s part of the bongo union my sister is a part of...
Thankfully it never became overrun with people and weaving in and out to check out the hanging pieces was pretty simple. I did contemplate “accidentally” falling it to shake things up a bit though!
The water looked so inviting...
Zero : You should have told me. I would have just pushed you xD
Taste With Your Eyes : Milk Makeup Rager Launch Party @ Milk Studios
Thursday January 28th, 2016
For such a great even I wish I didn’t have to fly solo on this one but alas, schedules can’t always align. I really should have tried my 4 rules challenge I wrote a LONG time ago when attending tonight but yeah, I really needed a drink! Guest list was tight and getting in was a “process” but who can blame them when coat check has a tray loaded with fortune cookies...
You can never really go wrong with an event being held at Milk Studios and when they’re launching their own makeup line they really went big. Opener Lykke Li was interesting as I’ve never heard her music before but the crowd was obsessed and into it. I love Santigold and seeing her live again was something special. Especially when her awesome backup dancer chilled out on a chair and ate cheetos between songs.
Unfortunately my phone completely died when the immortal Salt and Peppa came on stage but like my challenge listed above, not having social media to try and post to made the performance that much more engaging. Plus during “Let’s Talk About Sex” Salt came over and held my hand and then Peppa gave me a chin run. Swoon!!
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them. Â Â Â Â Â Â
Zero : Dam Skyy Vodka! It’s only the second day of December and you guys probably just put together the best Christmas themed party all month.  This drowns my office “ugly sweater” party in a cheap plastic solo cup that’s filled with cheap plastic vodka. I want more well put together ventures like this one.
earlyBIRD : Â I was kind of anticipating a Christmas tree made out of vodka bottles but to see the blue glass all lit up was just all forms of magical...
Zero : So now that we got all that praise out of the way, how did the rest of the night fair?
Well like any sort of festive event you need holiday activities to do. So why not a wishing wall?
earlyBIRD : Â A what?
Zero : A Wishing Wall !!
So you basically wrote your holiday wishes on little slips of paper. Dazzled em up with markers and such, and then tied them to the balls of yarn...
After that, we stuck em up on the wall for all the world to see. Well maybe just everyone at the party.
earlyBIRD :  I asked the girl working this section if we should keep things “clean” for the holidays. Her response?
“Hell no! This is an adult party. Be as nasty as you want!”
So I wished for an orgy.
Zero :Â ..........................
Moving on!
And what party wouldn’t be complete without set pieces and a photographer. Towards the front of the place they had a yarn covered piano and even offered ugly Christmas sweaters to wear for the shoot. Yeah you’re not going to see our pics :P
earlyBIRD :  Yeah, the girls running this section kept on telling us to hashtag #LetsHolidayy so our pictures could get printed and also be up on social media. Of course they didn’t know we prefer to stay somewhat anonymous so we pleasantly declined.
In the back they had this cool hanging vineyard of blue lights where you could take your own shots and selfies and whatnot. Cool concept but most of our pictures looked blown out because of the light exposure. Maybe they should have had a photographer back here too?
Zero : So I have to say I was a little skeptical about a Skyy Vodka event. I was never really a fan of the vodka by itself so for me personally, this definitely made me unsure about their cocktail choices.
earlyBIRD : Â I know what you mean, Skyy has never been a brand I jumped out to buy but you never know right?
Zero : So I’m glad to report that I loved almost all of their concoctions. Sweet but still strong and definitely going for that holiday flavor palette. I even spoke to other guests and they were also commenting on how they really liked the cocktails as well. Peaches & Dreams was my personal favorite.
earlyBIRD :  That one definitely tasted like something straight out of a speakeasy. Kuods to the bartender for even throwing out the ones he messed up on showing us he wasn’t just half assing these creations.
I couldn’t get enough of how they dressed this studio up. I was really tempted to try and roll one of those giant Christmas balls out the window so I could take it back to my place!
Zero : Hmm one thing I noticed is that the place seemed a little barren for most of the night. Sure we got there early and had a lot of room to ourselves at first but even at the end it seemed like it never got “packed.” Just an observation..
earlyBIRD :  I guess another observation from me would be that I felt like they didn’t really play any holiday music. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because we’re going to be hearing that up the wazoo but still. A Rudolf and Biggie mash up seemed like it would have been appropriate.
They did play Return of The Mack so all if forgiven though!Â
Zero : Maybe we were just too busy taking it all in to notice the tunes? I do remember really wanting to dance the whole time so you know subliminally that beat was good.
Well there you have it. How could you say no to this yarn covered fun filled festivity? If they did the exact same thing next year I don’t think I’d mind that much because this all I ever ask for during Christmas - good times and good cocktails.
Howl at the Moon is a singing, dancing, interactive bar with 15 locations already across the country and now opened in NYC.
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them.
Zero : Howl at the Moon identifies itself as a part bar and part concert experience. So what does that mean exactly? Are the bartenders jamming out while also making and serving drinks.....?
VirGIN : You know I might actually pay to see that catastrophe!Â
Zero : .................
Zero : So what we get is more of a dueling pianos sort of set up . Well actually there are two pianos there, so never mind.
Zero : Throughout our time there, the band on stage was belting out singles from the 80s, 90s, 00s, and now. Definitely played to a more dancey, pop friendly crowd but there were a few stints of hip hop thrown in to mix it up.Â
VirGIN : The venue for Howl at the Moon is set up very nicely with one large bar towards the entrance and well as a second floor with an overlooking balcony. Despite there being a large amount of people present this evening it never felt overwhelmingly crowded and traversing the floor was pretty simple. As stupid as this sounds I appreciate a good layout.
Zero : Enough elbows on the dance floor will do that to you :P
Going back to the music, one of the impressive things about the performers was that they were constantly rotating instruments and singing duties. There was never just the drummer or bass player. At some point in the night they switched to another section and even belted out some tunes. Kudos.
VirGIN : I agree that the talent was definitely on point with these guys. They even mixed things up by walking through the crowd and dancing on the bar....
...and even went so far as to climbing upstairs and finishing the set there.
Zero : I guess the only problem I see here is who does this place cater towards? This seemed like a place my parents might like. The whole thing felt like I was at a wedding due to the song selection. Only radio friendly hits were being played but they were taking requests. Maybe we left before the raunchier stuff came on.
VirGIN : It seems like they’re going for more of an event crowd based on the website. Plus considering it’s midtown and closer to the theater district I can see Howl at the Moon being a possible after broadway show destination.
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them.
Zero : I wasn’t really sure what to expect when we were invited to this event. Were they actually clearing out a motel and turning it into an event space? Upon further reading sadly they weren’t but they at least kept with the motel theme by offering us keys to the place.  I’m not really sure if these opened any doors but it was a cool little memento.
VirGIN : I was kind of hoping for the cleared out abandon motel too but a giant warehouse made more sense I guess.
The motel check in area was a nice little touch but beyond here this is where the place kind of stopped looking like its aforementioned title.
Zero : Guess it’s time to drink!Â
In addition to the keys, everyone was also given two drink tokens for beverages. Sadly it wasn’t a fully open bar but I guess with the amount of people they packed into this warehouse I wouldn’t want so many drunk individuals there either. Additional drink tokens only cost $5 so it wasn’t a bad deal.
VirGIN : Oh my god! Do you want to go in the pool? They have changing stations, bathing suit rentals, and lockers!
Zero : Ok.....................but after we get drunk first ;)
The little barber shop they set up in the back was neat but I couldn’t imagine too many people wanting to get hair cuts here. Maybe it’s just me but unless my haircut comes with a wash I always feel itchy afterwards...
VirGIN : Because you’re getting buzzed you doof :P
The layout of the event was simply enough. All the points of interest were pushed off to the side while the center was big and blank so that people could crowd together for the performances. They had pool tables, arcade units, engraving stations, and other miscellaneous things we probably completely overlooked. Thankfully there was a lot of food being trayed around by rollergirls too if it wasn’t already enough to take in.
Picture takers we are not so you can check out more visual coverage here.
VirGIN : The reason behind this was that we were actually on line for over an hour waiting for that one professional picture booth. We missed the opening act and even T-Pain :/
Zero : Yeah the downside to having such cool little things to do here is that everyone wanted to do them. Completely missed that wedding chapel that was mentioned. We didn’t even get to check out the speakeasy up the stairs because it was swamped every time we tried to go back there. And each time we came back the bouncer said it was still full.
VirGIN : Ok well how about we go in the pool now?
Zero : Well I kind of lost my buzz and I’m pretty embarrassed about how much of a tool I look in those photo shoot pictures. Never let anyone put a denim jacket on me again...
Unfortunately we had commitments on Thursday night so we weren’t able to fill in the gaps on day two.
Tasting “Nylon + Boohoo Issue Music Party” @ Tao Downtown
Thursday June 4th, 2015
“So the party was at TAO nightclub and it was open bar from 8pm-11pm, but I ended up staying until 3:30am because it was so fun. There was a line forming at 7:45pm and right at 8pm they let everyone in very fast. The place got packed around 9pm. DJ Angel & Dren were the DJs and they killed it with hiphop and some house. They also had gift bags for everybody, which included women's sunglasses  and nail supplies. The drink menu included 4 drinks you could choose from, but they had girls bring around drinks so you didn't have to go to the bar. They greeted you with drinks as soon as you walked in. At around midnight, Paris Hilton came on and DJ'd the night away.They also had a free Nylon photo booth. The ratio was 3/4 girls, probably because the NBA Game 1 finals were on. Charlie XCX, Marina & the Diamonds, and HolyChild were some of the musical celebs that were there too.”
Write up, images, and video of Paris Hilton dropping beats courtesy of EricBui
Tasting “Kat Irlin’s New York In Lights” @ Royalton New York Hotel
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015
I really enjoyed Kat’s photos but most of them weren’t posted in the designated area for the party. It didn’t detract from them but you figured they would at least put them closer to the people there to see them.  Oh well. The printer was a cool touch though and if you tweeted at it you could get your image printed out on the spot.
The back area of the Royalton was a cool cozy spot that screamed after dinner drinks with a date. It was also great to here tunes from Danger Kat as I haven’t heard her spin since Mr H.
Tasting “Opening of Niele Toroni Exhibit @ Swiss Institute/Contemporary Art New York”
Tuesday June 2nd, 2015
I love art. Yes the word can be subjective at many times but everyone is definitely entitled to their own opinion. Case in point, Toroni’s work is not my cup of tea as it’s basically orange squares on top of white. It feels very clean and sterile and I really want more out of it than that.  Oh well, there was at least some really good wine !
Tasting “ OTTE X Gansevoort Presents : Elli Schmidt” @ Gansevoort Park Ave
Wednesday May 27th, 2015
Cool photography hung up on two walls with even cooler people around to mix and mingle. Was hoping for a little more images considering there was lots of blank walls to be covered. Tear open shots added an interesting mix but went quickly. Sadly one bar kept things crowded towards the back but made room for seating in the front.
Tasting “Opening event for Putt Putt” @ Hudson Hotel
Thursday April 2nd, 2015
* Do you have the balls to play a round?
Here's what our "Tasters" thought. Â Click the Names to find out more about them.
Zero : I love drinking. When pairing it with another activity I’m usually a pretty happy camper.  I think that’s why you’ll usually find me drunkenly singing karaoke in Chinatown on a Friday night. Â
Opening a mini golf course with drinks thrown into the mix sounded like an amazing idea. Â So was it......?
*This might not end well...*
VirGIN : I loved the rollerskating disco parties in the basement of the Hudson Hotel. Â Kind of wish they brought those back... Mini golf though, wow! The setup was fairly simple and the 9 hole course was laid out in the back of the lobby.
Nothing too crazy in terms of obstacles but you can’t have a mini golf course without the mindwill.
Or the loop dee loop
I like the random benches and tables that were scattered throughout so you could easily just hang out and chat with friends while watching others play.
It could also get a little crowded since the course takes up more of the floor real estate.
Zero : It definitely did become a little difficult to traverse the course with lots of people standing around. Nothing terrible though. I just found myself saying “screw it” and walking through games however if I was in a hurry :P
VirGIN : I did like that they took your cell phone number and gave you a text when it was your turn to play. Creating a bottleneck line at the start of the course would have been a disaster.
Zero : Not sure what else is there to say. If you like mini golf then come here. If you don’t then why did you come here?Â
We had fun, drinks definitely made things more competitive and the close nature of it all made it easily to socialize with other players as well.  I guess the only gripe was the the last few holes weren’t as well lit as the other ares but that’s just me being nit picky.
WHY WE WOULD COME BACK FOR SECONDS
Mini golf in NYC!
Text message wait list
Good place for dates, small groups, social interactions.
WHY WE WOULD SEND IT BACK
Like most interesting NYC novelties I can see this place getting overcrowded
Gentle Monster always throws a good party at an interesting location. Â Last year it was in a random basement in Chinatown. Â This time, they had it at a nice little spot on the west side and had some interesting Mexican day of the dead themed presentations going on. Â In addition they had large blown up portraits hanging all over the venue and it was fun to speak to the models and photographers about the work.
- Zero
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