Wednesday, July 16, 2008

A TONY Rooftop Party, First Date Disasters

Last night, I trekked down to SoHo’s boutique chic Thompson Hotel for this season’s second Time Out New York (TONY)-sponsored “On The Rooftop” party. The popular weekly magazine hosts four rooftop soirees at swanky venues all around the city. Having attended last month’s party at the Empire Hotel and been underwhelmed by the cliquey crowd, I decided to give TONY’s sky high series another try.

During the elevator ride upstairs, my friend Bobbi told me about her last visit to the hotel, which began with a gaggle of paparazzi out front and a Lindsay Lohan sighting. Apparently, she looks like less of a vixen and more of a (short) high schooler in person.

When we reached A-60, the Thompson Hotel’s members-and-guests-only rooftop bar, we couldn’t help noticing the intimate size of the space. Thankfully, there are two bar areas to help offset space-dictated fraternizing.

We grabbed a couple of cocktails from the perky waitress handing them out and settled ourselves on a cushy couch to take in the view. Along with idyllic sunset vistas of the skyline, our seats offered the perfect spot for people watching. It was a very well-coiffed, very twenty-something crowd, most of whom kept to themselves. When it came time for us to get our gift bags, we couldn’t help but appreciate the irony of one included item--Roc anti-wrinkle serum. I think it’s safe to say we were more excited than the party’s more youthful contingent about trying it.

Our next stop was Barolo, a breezy Italian eatery with three spacious dining rooms. Over a plate of pasta and pan seared sea bass respectively, Bobbi and I compared notes about disastrous first dates.

For her, there was the dinner during which she found out her date was married—when his wife showed up. Equally surprising, the double date that culminated in the other couple making out and asking Bobbi if she and her date would like to join them. My worst first/last dates? The restaurateur who asked me if I wanted to hear about his broken engagement—and then proceeded to talk about nothing else all night. A close second would be the guy who went into florid detail about sexual escapades with his ex. Call me old fashioned, but I think any talk of past relationships on a first date should be in (very) small doses. As for asking about threesomes, foursomes and the like, whatever happened to leaving a little mystery for date number two?

Cost of attending TONY’s Rooftop party: $28. Laughing with a friend about the vagaries of bad first dates and inappropriate kinky requests? Priceless.

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