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This past weekend, Inside New York threw a party to celebrate the release of its 2008-2009 edition. The party took place inside the new Village Pourhouse, the uptown counterpart to the popular original location, which caters to the villianous downtown adversaries of New York University. Bwog took along our camera and a notepad.
What we’re cautiously optimistic about:
- It’s huge, and by Columbia bar standards — see: claustrophobia-inducing Heights and misanthropy-inducing 1020 — it’s the biggest place around. There’s a smaller bar area with several TVs, and this area opens up into a larger room with a dance floor and many spacious booths.
- It’s sportsy. Athletic types and their acolytes have about 1,000 fairly large TVs to enjoy, all of which were invariably tuned to games, matches, races, etc. This is also a nice change of pace if you’re sick of watching 1020’s steady rotation of whimsical kids movies and bizarre vintage pornography.
- Happy hour is from 10-11 PM, and Bud and Bud light are $2.
- According to VilPour, the establishment has a kitchen, and they will be using it to cook late-night snacks like wings and the like. Bwog didn’t see evidence of the kitchen, but we’re willing to take them at their word.
What’s we’re less than enthralled about:
- It’s very, very hard on IDs. Bwog saw a number of friends (whose IDs normally work at bars far and wide throughout Morningside) get turned away. Now, one friend of Bwog speculated that this is because the bouncers at the Inside New York party were shipped in from the downtown location, and downtown bars are notoriously stricter on underage drinking. Still, we’re trepidatious about returning with friends with not-so-great IDs.
- Mixed drinks were heavy on the soda, light on the alcohol.
- The entire place smelled like varnish, paint, and wood. Granted, we’re sure this will eventually fade with time, but it’s something to keep in mind when you’re already kind of light-headed from the combination of alcohol and loud, bad music.
Verdict: Probably worth walking the extra few blocks, depending on your mood and tolerance for possible disappointment.
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11 Comments
@Well Do you really think the square footage is bigger than the West End? I doubt it.
@Well... Their liquor license is pending so that’s probably why they were so strict. They reopen in two weeks, they just had a catering license for the event. So yes, I wasn’t able to actually judge the place for myself, seeing as I got turned away. I hope they ease up (or at least turn me away with less attitude)
@umwhat? I thought the music was great..
@They need to stock up on some real beer before we can truly judge.
@born in 1986 I’m 22 and they turned me away and confiscated my drivers license! I bitched until they gave it back and let me inside. it’s ridiculous. I look just like my picture and was with a crowd of med students. That has never happened to me before.
@blacklights are the problem…they let in people with real IDs that weren’t actually of the person (i.e. my latina friend used a blonde white girl and got in), but amazingly good fakes were turned away
@got my ID back for free even after offering a $10.
maybe I should learn “my address.”
@they were even turning away some 21-year-olds with real ids, deeming them to be fakes. weak!
@random This is a welcome addition to Morningside Heights. The author would have probably written a better review if their friends had been let in.
@Better Better varnish and wood than that awful stale beer smell that permeates 1020 and Heights.
@umm... Verdict…remember to spell check, bwog…