Basement of love, part 2

The companion bar to Lovers of Today is Cabin Down Below, also known as Cabin. Also located in the basement at 132 1/2 7th St., Cabin is even harder to find than Lovers of Today.


This is because even when you walk down the stairs to the basement, you can't really see the entrance to Cabin in the back, and you are immediately drawn to the entrance of Lovers of Today on the right.


Cabin is more divey than LOT, but not as divey as you would expect a basement bar to be. The space is also bigger than you would expect, broken up into a few smaller rooms. The crowd is a fairly hipster-y and I did sense 'tude from the doorman. So needless to say don't show up in a polo shirt and running shoes. There is no beer on tap at Cabin, only bottles. One of the biggest pluses (besides feeling really proud of yourself for finding this place) is the good music, though it is a tad loud since the atmosphere is otherwise fairly chill. Overall, this is a good spot to escape from the college/B&T crowd that has been pervading the EV as of late. But not a good place if you have a strong aversion to hipsters.

Basement of love, part 1

At 132 1/2 E. 7th St. there are not one, but two highly inconspicuous bars in the basement. The first one is Lovers of Today.


Which is actually the less inconspicuous of the two. There is no sign from the street. Just the 132 1/2 marking on the gates. When you walk down the stairs, Lovers of Today is the entrance that you can see on the right.


Apparently, LOT used to be the tiki bar for Niagra, (which is the larger well-known bar with an entrance around the corner on Avenue A) until a few months ago when they made the change.

The bar is made up of just one room with dim lighting, perfect for a date. But note, this is a late-night spot. It doesn't open till 10. The crowd, in my experience, is not at all college-y. They have a nice, but not overwhelming list of original cocktails. So if you are looking for fancy cocktails in an especially intimate setting, this is it. There's no table service, so that's a little bit of a drawback. But the place is so tiny that you don't really need a waiter. It's definitely the classiest bar in a basement that I've been to.

Let's get real

Scratcher, at 209 E. 5th St (at the corner of Bowery) is a solid choice when you want a drink without the fuss.


It's an Irish pub, but without the green decorations. Unlike so many of the Irish pubs in the Murray Hill vicinity, you won't find the cheesy teeny-bopper crowd here. No top 40 hits blasting.


No fancy cocktails, no hipsters either. Just a bar with beer on tap, free wi-fi and decent prices.


Let's face it. Sometimes the EV can start to wear on you. All the trendy people. The doormen with 'tudes. You certainly couldn't find anyplace cooler. But sometimes you don't want to go someplace uber cool. Sometimes you just want a good old-fashioned relaxing place to chill. Nothing wrong with giving the fedora a night off. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

A sweet find

Anyone can buy a bottle of wine, but it takes a real class act to pick up gourmet chocolates from a specialty shop. Bond St. Chocolate at 63 E. 4th St (between Bowery and 2nd ave) is your go-to when you want to make someone feel special. Or when you realize you desperately need an intricate chocolate statue of the Buddha.




Don't bother looking for Bond St. Chocolate on Bond St. The owner used to run the business wholesale out of her apartment, hence the name. That's their pink logo there on the sign above.


The truffles here are delicious. They have a range of interesting flavors for $2 each and they do a great job in terms of presentation, which counts for a lot. Because if you're gonna pay top dollar for chocolates you want it to look like you paid top dollar too.

And in case you were wondering, giving gourmet chocolates can never be interpreted as cheesy. Just don't wait till valentine's day, OK?