The requester: A friend

The request: "It's my wife's birthday and I'm gathering friends for a pub crawl. I'm thinking West Village spots within stumbling distance from each other. Super casual. Jeans. Sh*tkickers. Fleece. One or two should have decent food for beer sponge purposes."

Read our recommendations, plus a blow-by-blow report on the requester's evening, on our restaurant blog, Bottomless Dish

This week we review The Hideout, Fort Greene's latest speakeasy-style cocktail den. Would local celebrity Ol' Dirty Bastard roll over in his grave? Probably. But that doesn't mean it isn't a nice addition to the 'hood--if you don't mind dropping a few extra bucks on creative concoctions like the Snow Mosquito and Whiskey Fig Fizz.

Read our full review of The Hideout, and then peruse other New and Notable bar reviews, or check out our list of spots that are too new to review (but not too new to get you wasted).

The last time we told you about a party at Runway, it was being thrown by Mob Candy magazine, and after an Imbible reader gave us an account of her experience at the event in a post we called Getting Whacked at the Mob Candy Party, the comment boards made me want to hire a bodyguard.

This time around, YRB Magazine is hosting a release party for its Spring Fashion issue at the club--and since I used to work there (at the mag, not the bar), hopefully none of them are inclined to put a hit out on me. The party starts tonight at 9pm, with an open bar 'til 11pm, and the festivities carrying on until 2am (though based on my previous experience with YRB issue release parties, 2am probably means 4am). Lenny Kravitz graces the issue cover, with features on Lil' Wayne, Panic! at the Disco, Taryn Manning, Rick Ross and more--though no word on whether any of them will actually be in attendance. But last time, cover stars Gym Class Heroes showed up, so you never know.

Make sure you RSVP, and don't forget to scoop a giftbag on your way out.

It's always nice when a user-friendly local bar manages to survive and prosper in New York's cutthroat nightlife industry, especially if said bar happens to be in the Meatpacking District. Brass Monkey--one of the lone remaining bars on Little West 12th Street where you don't have to be on a list or drop a name to get in--is expanding. As per an email from owner Sean Cunningham:

"We are opening another bar with a roof deck, overlooking the Hudson River.  We are expecting the build-out to be finished at the start of June ... It's an extension of Brass Monkey. We've renovated the bathrooms and hallway downstairs, and the outside deck is going to look fantastic."

There's talk of the additional space being adapted into a beer garden, though we'll have to wait and see as the renovation is closer to completion. 

Finally, a bar that's under construction to expand, rather than one that's using "construction" as code, to mean "closed indefinitely while we determine how to get out of our lease and avoid filing for bankruptcy."

(Image courtesy of BrassMonkeyNYC.com)

We recently reported that a modest new bar and resto called Berry Bistro would be opening in the East 14th Street space formerly occupied by Twisted Burger. A walk-by circa 9:15pm last night confirmed that the new spot is open, though there wasn't a soul inside, save a hostess sitting behind the counter in back.

OK, so there's not much buzz yet, but that could change--especially if this Yelp user has anything to do with it:

My friends and I just happened to stumble upon this place the other night as we were walking down 14th Street, and noticed it was new to the neighborhood. I had the most amazing pasta--penne with cauliflower and roasted pine nuts and currants in a light garlic-butter sauce! My boyfriend got the stuffed leg of lamb with delicious potato dumplings. For dessert we shared their pavlova, which we'd never heard of before. It was like a delicate meringue, so heavenly and dripping in fruit sauce and berries. The service was great, and everyone was so friendly. We are already planning our next trip.

"Amazing," "delicious," "heavenly," "great," "friendly" ... Sounds suspiciously like a PR person. But since, well, there is no PR for Berry Bistro (at least none that we know of), we can't help wondering whether "Isabelle A. from Brooklyn" might be "Isabelle A. from Brooklyn who owns Berry Bistro." Then again, just because the owner thinks it's good doesn't mean it's not; we'll have to wait and see.

We recently posted about a food and drink-related opening at 400 East 14th Street. A particularly lovely commenter tipped us off to the fact that it was to be a Hot & Crusty, and a weekend walk-by confirms it.

Though I generally don't support the chain-ization of the East Village, as a local, I must say that I'm not displeased to have a fancy deli in the 'hood. We've got tons of cafes and restaurants that are great for eating out, but there aren't many places that offer made-to-order takeout salads, bagels, etc., and if this H&C is like the one near my mom's house on the Upper West where I grew up, it may become a staple for well-made overpriced sandwiches and such. No word yet on whether, like its uptown counterpart, it'll be open 24 hours.

This week we review Mansion, the New York outpost of the Miami mega-club that recently opened in the Chelsea space formerly known as Crobar.

Amongst the mammoth club's main attractions is the so-called Cougar Room--a private area with its own bar reserved exclusively for women, which features on-site makeup artists, hair stylists and a variety of sex toys. Seriously. Tables run anywhere from $200 to $2,000, and there's even a $5,000 bottle of bubbly (though personally, if I were going to drop five grand on a bottle of booze, it had better be gold-plated and make me hallucinate). 

Read our full editorial review of the 'Manse, then peruse other New and Notable bar reviews or check out our list of spots that are too new to review (but not too new to get you hammered).

Just in time for March Madness, a new site called Mapfaced is offering an indispensable tool that matches bars with sports teams, allowing fans to know exactly where to find like-minded fans. As of now, 33 teams are represented on the map (which is currently in beta), though the same bars appear multiple times, with Proof and Village Pourhouse appearing most often. But who cares? With this many games and no guess-work about where to watch them, you've got lots of opportunities to participate in the great American pastime of getting belligerently drunk. Oh, and also watching basketball on large, flat-screen televisions. 

Above: KGB Bar, where the Soviet Union meets the East Village

With so much recent activity on the East Village nightlife front, the timing seemed right to revisit the best bars and clubs that live in the great expanse of space between 14th Street and Houston Street, from the East River to the Bowery.

From local favorites like Black & White and Angel's Share, to the best of AlphaBar City, and the 'hood's top dives, gay bars and wine bars, we've broken down East Village nightlife block by block--behold our new and improved East Village roundup, in all its glory.

(Photo courtesy of Ontheinside.info/david-hochbaum)

In the wake of last weekend's midtown crane accident, New Yorkers pause to share fond memories of Fubar, the local bar that was destroyed in the crash. NY Times

The term drunkorexia--which was recently used by the NY Times to describe the growing number of girls who take the concept of "liquid diet" a bit more literally than the rest of us--is finally catching on. Mediabistro

Down by the Hipster has intel on the soon-to-open bar Antik, located in the Bowery locale formerly occupied by Marion's Marquee. "It is the latest creation from nightlife impresarios Larry Kramer and Craig Koenig, the team behind the rustic-lounge Retreat," they report. DBTH

Anthony Minghella--who directed such films as "The English Patient" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley"--has passed away at the age of 54. Page 6