NIGHTCLUBSCafe Au Go Go152 Bleecker Street (bet. Broadway and Thompson Streets)
Phone: SP 7-4530
Capacity: 225
Black ceilings and charcoal-gray carpeting frame this gargantuan cellar where reproductions of Picasso, Cezanne, Renoir, et al, are affixed to the red brick walls. Three variety acts constitute the evening's entertainment. There might be a comic, a pops or jazz singer, a combo, or a vocal group. Most of the performers are neophytes, and what you get here is strictly catch-as-catch-can. Monday nights go hootennish, with visiting talent taking over.
No booze is served; but the ice cream concoctions are doused with ersatz alcoholic flavors, like cognac, rum a nd anisette. Exotic teas, coffees, iced drinks, snacks and pastries fill out the menu. None of these goodies is exactly bargain-priced, considering that an admission fee has already been exacted at the door.
What's there now? 152 Bleecker StreetCafe CarlyleHotel Carlyle, 76th Street and Madison Avenue
Phone: RH 4-1600
Capacity: 120
One of the swankiet supper clubs in the city, the well-bred Carlyle oozes sophistication. Dominating this charming room is Georg Feyer, pianist extrordinary, who intones his urban ditties with a debonair air. Feyer plays just about anything and counts among his devotees presidents of the United States, international tycoons, and upper-crust socialites. A fair sprinkling of the 400 may be in attendance at this suave salon on any given evening. The maestro is on from half past eight.
There is a selection of first-rate supper dishes, both hot and cold, at about $3.50 each. Sumptuos desserts run around $2. For after-theatre snacking, the Carlyle is an ideal spot.
What's there now? 35 East 76th Street at Madison AvenueCafe Metropole725 Seventh Avenue (bet. 48th and 49th Streets)
Phone: CI 5-0088
Capacity: 300
Smack in the mid-stream of Broadway, this mirror-walled music mart purveys jazz of the first order. This is the strongest local bastion of Dixieland. The greats that have appeared here read like a Who's Who of the jazz world: Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, Gene Krupa, The Dukes of Dixieland, and Red Nichols, among others. The performing bands - and there are always two every day - sit onthe platform and just play away. When one band winds up, the other one gets on. There are no intermissions; and the din - or music, as you prefer - is continuous.
There's a dance session every Saturday from 2:30PM on, of interest only to Twisters.
A dinner of chopped sirloin or broiled spring chicken plus apple pie and coffee is $2.50. Drinks are $1.25.
What's there now? 725 Seventh AvenueCafe PierreHotel Pierre, 61st Street and Fifth Avenue
Phone: TE 8-8000
Capacity: 125
This delightful, cozy night spot offers leisurely, intimate dining in a gay but dignified atmosphere. It is on eof the nicest places in the city for dinner-dancing. The dimly lit tables are perfect for quiet conversation and the dance floor, although small, is somehow not overcrowded.
The music, which comes on at Six and continues all evening, is diversified and pleasant. The attentive, but casula-paced, service encourages lingering.
Though portions are on the modest side, the a la carte selections are first rate. Sandwiches are $2 to $4; and teh cold buffet, the staeks and chops, rarebits, salads, and cheese are top-drawer in quality and price. Figure $5 or so a head for snacks, and about $10 for dinner.
What's there now? 2 - East 61st Street at Fifth AvenueCafe SahbraWestover Hotel, 253 West 72nd Street (bet. Broadway and Riverside Drive)
Phone: TR 3-1276
Capacity: 383
The largest and oldest Israeli nightclub in the city, this spot has particular appeal for folks of the Jewish faith. The talent, imported directly from Tel Aviv and vacinity, includes folk singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and comedians. Every show put on here is almost certain to contain a sampling of all these ingredients, and generally exhibits some creditable talents. A great number of the songs are in Hebrew.
The cuisine' sonly distinction is that it is strictly kosher. the menu lists such Levantine specialties as Shashlik and Dolmas, as well as the house specialties, Chicken a la Kibbutz and Kebab Tel Aviv.
What's there now? 235 West 72nd StreetChampagne Gallery135 MacDougal Street (bet. 3rd and 4th Streets)
Phone: GR 7-9221
Capacity: 175
Offering the benefits of spaciousness, creature comfort, and subdued lighting, the Champagne Gallery beckons to those who seek a quiet spot for amorous dalliance. Nothing much happens here in the way of formal entertainment, and that me be one of the Gallery's greatest virtues. Comfortable divans and dark nooks encourage quiet conversation.
From 7:30 on, a cocktail piano tinkles away unobtrusively. Most of the waitresses have musical aspirations; and whenever one feels a song coming on, she may hoist herself onto the piano a la Helen Morgan and let go with a ballad or three. Though most of these gals may not be stars in the embryo, the sure sit pretty. The waiters, too, exercise like perogatives, but the better to project their masculinity, they maintain an upright posture duringthe serenades.
The average assesmet for a libation is .95cents. Sandwiches and steaks may be ordered from the kitchen, but this is not the place to ingest solids; eating, like laughter, can be death to romance.
What's there now? 135 MacDougal (West 4th Street)Chardas307 East 79th Street (bet. First and Second Avenues)
Phone: RH 4-9382
Capacity: 230
Here's the Hungarian capitol of Manhattan's Mitteleuropa. Murals of Budapest by night - the good, gay, gone Budapest of pre-World War II - light up the walls. The animated chatter, the gypsy bands, and the impassioned singers make the the Chardas a gay, lively club.
A show of sorts materializes twice nightly. It will usually contain a concert by the band, instrumental solos featuring violins and zimbalons, imported from the Continent. From about 10:30 on, the tiny dance floor gets a vigorous workout from the patrons.
The classic Hungarian cuisine shows to good advantage; Stuffed Cabbage, Goulash, and Chicken Paprika are the mainstays. A table d'horte dinner - and no one goes away hungry - averages $6.
What's there now? 307 East 79th StreetChateau Madrid42 West 58th Street (bet. Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
Phone: PL 3-3773
Capacity: 271
Afire with passion and pachanga, the Chateau Madrid scores as the smartest watering hole on the castanets circuit. Palms surround a dance floor where the international clientele stylishly do the Rumba, the Cha-Cha-Cha, the Tango, and the Mambo. The virtuosity displayed here is so outstanding that it provides spectator sport for the few sedentary patrons.
Twice nightly, a stage is rolled out on which are presented distinguished talents - vocal, instrumental, and terpsichorean - of the Spanish-speaking world. On Sundays, a tea dance starts at 4 o'clock; and around 10, there's a Flamenco show.
The kitchen emphasizes Spanish Specialties such a s Panella Valencienna, a combination of sea food, chicken, and rice, at $6 and Rinones al Jerez, kidneys sauteed in sherry at $4. Dinner averages $7.
What's there now? 42 West 58th StreetChuck's Composite303 East 53rd Street (bet. First and Second Avenues)
Phone: EL 5-8825
Capacity: 115
A way station in Upper Bohemia heavily subsidized by models (male and female), photographers, and junior execs, this is a vantage point from which to observe bright young natives at play.
The premises are befittingly suave. A glassed-in garden, bare brick walls, black leather settes and tiny flickering lights turn this nitery into a galerie moderne. A trio - bass, piano, and guita - takes up instruments about 8:30 and turns out jazz-oriented sets of half an hour's duration, eperated by 15 minute silences. On Sundays, vibes sub for the piano.
There is a contraption hooked up to the trio and to the juke box that projects color tones across the patio. When low notes are sounded the blues and deeper colors appear; when high notes are sounded, the reds, yellows, and the brighter colors are projected.
The small kitchen limits its offerings but does well by those it prepares. The steaks at $5.95 are highly edible, so, too, the Hamburgers, at $1.10.
What's there now? 303 East 53rd StreetThe ColumnsSavoy Hilton Hotel, Fifth Avenue and 58th Street
Phone: EL 5-2600
Capacity: 176
Indirect lighting softens the brilliance of the red walls and the starkness of the massive, black-marble columns of this opulent hall. Two beautiful chandeliers hang in severe elegance over the urns of fresh red roses which adorn this lushly carpeted, spacious dance salon.
Even when filled to capacity, there is no crowding here; the tables are set far enough apart to allow for comfort. A large dance floor and a versatile trio afford pleasant moments. For an evening of dinner dancing, this is an admirable choice.
The food is top-drawer. Continental specialties are served at a leisurly pace. Including the cover charge, dinner will run $10. Luncheon averages $6.
What's there now? Fifth Avenue and 58th StreetCopacabana10 East 60th Street (bet. Fifth and Madison Avenues)
Phone: PL 8-1060
Capacity: 840
Week afet week, headliners - comedians and singers - feed into this enormous, ong established nitery, grist for the entertainment mill. The luminaries who have appeared at the Copa constitute the elite of the marquee fraternity - Nat King Cole, Jimmy Durante, Leno Horne, and Jerry Lewis to name a few.
Shows run about an hour and a quarter, and include a half dozen or so cuties who kick their heels in uninspired routines and look alluring in bobbed costumes. The star of the evening is counterpointed by some other act; if a comedian has top billing, the other performer would be a singer - a luminary of somehwat lesser magnitude - and vice versa. View of the show is good from all locations.
A la carte entrees offer a good selection of Chinese and Continental specialties. The food is well prepared and tasty, and the tab will hover around the $9 mark. Supper items are moderatly priced and the minimum not be exceeded if but a snack and a drink are ordered. Coctails run from $1.20 up.
Dancing, which commemces at half past seven, breaks off for show time, and resumes after the performance. There are two excellent bands at the Copa.
From 10 o'clock on, some of the regular Copa entertainers put in an appearance upstairs at the Copa Lounge. Despite the fact that checks are then surtaxed to Uncle Sam, the pulse of the Lounge starts to quicken. When it comes fully alive around midnight, anything can happen in the Lounge, and sometimes does.
What's there now? 10 East 60th StreetCount Baise's Lounge2245 Seventh Avenue (bet. 132nd and 133rd Streets)
Phone: FO 8-7527
Capacity: 130
Live music, played from 10PM till closing, and on weekends from 9Pm on, endows this sedate cocktail lounge with distinction. Jazz combos are nearly always in residence, and a Hammond Organ usually predominates in the sets.
Recording stars, many of them friends or colleagues of Basie - happen in for impromptu turns. But don't count on shaking hands with the Count. He's usually busy performing in some other corner of the world.
The food here has a southern accent and can be quite good as well as fortifying. But the action in this Harlem lounge begins at anhour when dining's likely to be well behind you.
A couple of drinks will work off the gentle minimum imosed on weekend nights. Both food and drinks are pegged at bargain prices for New York night life: a dinner averages $3.50, and most beverages cost about .80cents.
What's there now? 2245 Seventh Avenue ...TO BE CONTINUED
