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Attractive New Venues Open in New York

Loft space, restaurants, a new comedy club, an indoor golf studio, and an expanded museum pavilion give planners even more venue alternatives to choose from in the seasons ahead.

By Pamela Harding

History in the Making

Last fall, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, housed in the historic Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, expanded its already substantial exhibit and special events space by adding the 6,000-square-foot Diker Pavilion for Native Arts and Cultures. The elliptical-shape addition, located on the ground floor, is a multi-purpose venue with ample open space and ten large exhibit cases set into window niches within perimeter walls clad with cherrywood panels. Since the museum also uses the new Pavilion for Native American dance and dramatic performances, it is already equipped with a large, sprung white maple floor, which eliminates the need to install a special dance floor for events. Another feature of the new space is its curved south wall of translucent glass, 60 feet long and 15 feet high. "The wall can be back-lit and logos can be projected on it for special events," explains Trey Moynihan, Manager, Corporate Membership and Events.

Large and flexible, the Diker Pavilion can accommodate everything from dance performances, meetings and presentations (up to 375 theater style), to cocktail parties (up to 500) and seated dinners (280-300). Equipment on hand includes a large pull-down A/V screen, lighting and sound systems, chairs, stage and podium.

As with most museums, membership is required in order to use the facilities for special events. Open catering policy. (Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, The George Gustav Heye Center, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green; Trey Moynihan, 212 514-3820, MoynihanT@si.edu, www.nmai.si.edu)

You Have to Laugh

And what better way to help your clients unwind or put your group in a good mood? Newest comedy club on the circuit is Comix in the Meatpacking District. With 14,000 square feet of space, including a 5,000-square-foot showroom, the venue encourages corporate/group business and private events. Regular performances are staged in the evening and night hours (groups welcome), but during the day the showroom is available for a wide range of events from product promotions or fashion shows to awards presentations and corporate roasts. Décor is glitzy, with metallic fabrics, copper, and lots of glass and mirrors. The 320-seat showroom with amphitheater-style seating was designed like a TV studio with broadcast-quality audio and a three-person control room where on-site tech staff can mix sound, tape (digitally) and burn DVDs. Every seat in the house is good—there are no obstructed views. The entire space is WiFi and T1 wired.

In addition Comix features four bars, including two that serve the showroom, a commercial restaurant kitchen and multi-purpose space, including breakout areas, for events and private parties (the lounge can host 100 seated or standing). Total capacity for the club is 700, max. Great Performances is the on-site caterer, providing food, beverage and service staff. (Comix, 353 West 14th St., John Meyers, Director of Events and Group Sales, 212 524-2500 ext. 15, johnmeyers@comixny.com, www.comix.ny.com)

Vanilla Box with Views

New loft space has come on the market for special events in the form of Showroom, a 7,500-square-foot venue, located in the heart of the fashion district at 35th and 8th. Airy and bright, Showroom has white crisp walls, great for projecting slide shows and presentations, metallic slate floors, high ceilings, and a wall of windows with expansive views of a characteristic New York skyline that includes the Empire State Building. An outdoor terrace, also with Empire State views, is a nice adjunct.

A sort of VIP area in the form of a circular red "zen den" with built-in sofas is another added feature.

Three elevators open directly into the loft, facilitating loading, unloading and guest access. Pinspot lighting and a high-quality Bose sound system are already installed.

Downstairs a private entrance to the space includes a black chalk wall to showcase branding with chalk art. (CEM has an exclusive on the space. Contact Bryan Jacobson, 212 420-9655, or bryan@corporateeventsmanhattan.com)

Trump This!

Trump Catering at Trump Tower has showcased their signature space recently to step up their special event/catering business. Specializing in large and small private dinners, cocktail parties, press conferences and events, the venue appeals especially to high-end clients who demand luxe staples at their catered affairs, like fine Champagne and Kobe beef (OK, maybe Wagyu) and white-glove service. The space is very flexible, according to event contact Ed List, with several areas—the Atrium, Trump Grill and Trump Bar—available to book separately or together. They have hosted events for as many as 1,500 people here, but they can accommodate small groups in the Grill or Bar areas (up to 60 in each.). The Atrium can accommodate 300 easily. Although the Atrium is open to the public until 10 p.m., staff can control access by closing off an escalator and guiding people where they need to go. There is also access via the adjoining IBM building. (Trump Tower, 725 Fifth Avenue, Ed List, 212 715-7290, elist@trumporg.com, www.trumporg.com)

Golf Studio for Hire

Drive 495 is a new luxury gym and golf facility where members can combine integrated workouts and year-round golf training, as well as hold private events with or without golf training sessions. The golf staff is trained by Robert Baker and Grant Hepburn, founders of the very visual logicalgolf™ method, who incorporate the on-site golf simulators and 3-D imaging systems into their teaching programs. Private and group instructional sessions and golf swing analysis can be arranged.

The golf studios feature a putting green and three golf simulators. The technology includes the latest 3D swing analysis system that registers, records, and replays each swing with 97% visual and statistical accuracy, using a Real-time 6-Degrees of Motion Capture System to measure such variables as club and ball speed, launch angle, and ball trajectory. Members can choose from 31 premium golf courses around the world on the simulators, including Pebble Beach's Spyglass Hill and Casa de Campo's Teeth of the Dog. The simulators' cable system will also alert members when friends log on from other simulators, around the world, signaling an invitation to play a virtual round of golf. Up to four people on each simulator can play a game from within the club.

The 15,000-square-foot bi-level space is filled with bright, natural light throughout. The fitness area on the second floor encompasses 10,000 square feet and can accommodate 500 for special events; the golf studio on the third floor, at 5,000 square feet, can accommodate parties of 10 to 150. Other features include plasma televisions, private lockers and storage space for clubs, steam rooms, spa-quality amenities, a juice bar, and two lounges.

Club staff has ongoing relationships with catering companies and they can help coordinate events. Membership is not necessarily a requirement to use the space as an event venue.

A membership ($5,000+) would be a perfect incentive award for an outstanding company team player who wants to keep in shape and hone his or her golf skills. Or, a great opportunity to take your foursome on a virtual golf outing to the course of your choice for a little practice round before the real season starts here. (Drive 495, 495 Broadway, Don Saladino, owner, 212 334-9537, joseph.saladino@driveclubs.com, www.driveclubs.com)

Let Them Eat Steak

Steakhouses are dining and business entertaining meccas in New York these days and their numbers continue to swell with known brands expanding their concepts in new locations and new players entering the fray.

At the latest outpost of Bobby Van's, a traditional steakhouse serving fresh seafood and prime steaks at 135 West 50th Street, interior renovations to the space that once housed Osteria Stella are now complete. Still intact is the wonderful long bar along the right wall, and the pizza ovens are there too in the rear of the restaurant, doing what they do best. The restaurant now features Bobby Van's signature room appointments and décor, and what used to be a large open space has been divided to include a row of private rooms along the wall opposite the bar for meetings and events. French doors divide the Board Rooms (A through D) from the main restaurant and movable interior walls separating each Board Room from the next can be opened or closed to accommodate private parties of various sizes. Parties or meetings here can range from 15 in Board Room A to 80 (seated) or 100 (standing) using all four conjoined. (Buy-outs of the entire restaurant for up to 400 are possible too.) Planners can choose from several customizable private dining menus.

(Bobby Van's, special event contact Tez Termulo Bois, Sales & Marketing Director, 212 344-8463, tez@bobbyvans.com; main number at the restaurant: 212 957-5050)

Downtown in the Meatpacking District, STK positions itself as "not your daddy's steakhouse." With its racy, loungelike look (courtesy of iCrave Design) and atypical steakhouse menu (lots of shellfish and skewered items, greenmarket veggies, salads, as well as steak) it appeals to a younger downtown clientele. Upstairs however, the rich assortment of business-meeting-equipped private rooms belies a slightly different agenda that appeals to a more corporate—albeit downtown corporate—crowd. It's a smart move, considering the lack of similar function facilities in the neighborhood. Four private rooms are available for meetings and private events: the Lily St. Cyr (14; board room style), The Do May (14, board room style; can be combined with the Lily St. Cyr to seat 28), The Candy Barr (glass enclosed, good for seated dinners for up to 28) and The Tempest Storm (70—great for cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvre; features its own fireplace and optional own bar). A special feature of the property is the third-floor loft, which can be used for dancing and lounge seating, or a seated dinner for 120, and cocktail receptions for up to 200. (STK, 26 Little West 12th St.; Dana Decostole, event coordinator, 212 255-9797; main number, 646-624-2444, www.stkhouse.com)

Most recent and, perhaps, unusual entry in the steakhouse category is Jeffrey Chodorow's Kobe Club. The black interior fringed with chain mail accents and punctuated by 2,000 Samurai swords pointing down at diners from the high ceiling doesn't lend itself to cloistered private events, except for small groups (foursomes in the back curtained booths). It's great for business entertaining, however—for the right crowd. Parties of eight can sit at a couple of larger tables, one under a version of the famous made-for-TV Yule Log. If your (small) group of clients wants to sample a "flight" of beef, showcasing different versions of premium Japanese Kobe, Australian and American Wagyu, this is the place to do it—the only place in NYC as a matter of fact, where that's even possible. Be prepared to pay handsomely, however: a tasting plate featuring all of the above in small, rich portions plus a six-ounce portion of American Prime will set you back $198. And that's a naked plate (except for the identifying national flag toothpicks stuck in the various cuts of prized beef)—sides, everything else, extra. (Kobe Club, 68 West 58th St; 212 644-5623, www.chinagrillmgt.com)

Theme Restaurants

Beauty pageant fans (and guys who like watching pretty gals) will find a home away from home in Hawaiian Tropic Zone, a former Houlihan's turned tropical theme bar/lounge/restaurant, with bikini-clad waitresses serving drinks, pu pu platters and full-course meals from a menu designed by noted Chef David Burke. It's all quite tastefully done, actually. The tri-level 16,000-square-foot space can easily accommodate private events, large and small, in several areas of the restaurant. A runway, which can be used for fashion shows, performances or beauty pageants—something that happens periodically every evening—spans two of the dining areas on the second floor. Behind it is a huge video wall that can be programmed with promotional films, company logos, PowerPoint presentations, etc. (Hawaiian Tropic Zone, 729 Seventh Ave., MJ Pedone, Event Coordinator, 917 319-9600, restaurant, 212 626-7312)

For an entirely different theme, head south to the Flatiron District, where The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro presents a unique take on cowboy-cuisine-meets-Manhattan by Fort Worth, Texas chef Tim Love. Exposed brick walls are decorated with bright, iconic oversize paintings representing images from the West in a bold and bright, urbane style. An antler chandelier crowns the main dining room and wrought-iron décor elements add fanciful touches. Downstairs is a raw and rustic private room called La Cava, which can accommodate up to 30 guests for a sit-down dinner and 50 for cocktails. Meat is the star of the menu here–don't be surprised if Chef Love sends out an amuse bouche of kangaroo carpaccio—but creative touches like the judicious use of chiles, and lobster added to the creamy corn side dish reveal special talent worth seeking out. (Lonesome Dove, 29 West 21st St., Rachel Baumgartner, private dining coordinator, Rachel@lonesomedovenyc.com, 212 414-3139, www.lonesomedovenyc.com)

A Spectrum of World Cuisines

If you're in the mood for Rodizio (a continuous panoply of meats brought to guests on skewers and sliced tableside until they cry, "Uncle!"), head for Porcão Churrascaria. A global concept with ten locations throughout the world, the New York version has found its groove with well-managed service, a good wine list, and a fine selection of perfectly done meats along with the complementary assortment of apps and sides that come with it. The concept naturally lends itself to group dining on a grand scale and the 11,000-square-foot restaurant can easily handle crowds of virtually any size in various seating configurations in the restaurant, or in the bar/lounge area up front. What's special too about Porcão is the spacious VIP room behind the frosted glass wall at the rear, which can be dressed up or down, according to the tenor of the event. Already equipped with projectors and screens, the space is very versatile for different kinds of events from cocktail parties to business meetings (80 seated, 120 standing, but smaller groups are welcome there too). Staff will work with clients to deliver technical assistance as well as food and beverage for all kinds of special events. (Porcão, 360 Park Avenue, 212 252-7080, www.porcaous.com)

The Eastern Mediterranean (Turkey and environs) comes to Manhattan via restaurant Pera. Lively, friendly, colorful and fun, the new restaurant offers a wide selection of mezes to mains with corresponding regional wines to match. An open kitchen in the back, with bar seating to watch chefs at work, offers kitchen-side entertainment and the opportunity to delve further into the intricacies of what's being served. A long, burnished wood table in the main room is great for a group of ten, while the elegant private room can handle 20 seated for a Med feast (or business meeting). (Pera, 303 Madison Avenue, 212 878-6301, www.peranyc.com).

Although New York teems with Italian restaurants, it's rare to find one that focuses on real Sicilian cuisine, and does it so handsomely. Agata & Valentina, a large gourmet marketplace on the Upper East Side, launched its Ristorante two years ago, but only a few months ago did the revised concept (revised in both décor and menu) really take shape under the culinary direction of Chef Salvatore Fraterrigo, author of Treasures of Sicilian Cuisine. Here diners will find menu items from grilled shrimp wrapped in pancetta over fava bean purée to potato-crusted organic salmon, cauliflower cake and lemon and wild fennel emulsion. Pastas are magnificent, homemade and rustic. The restaurant is in the privileged position of garnering foodstuffs from the marketplace operations and can offer the freshest produce, seafood, etc. to likewise privileged guests. Architect Glen Cobin (Del Posto, Sasha) was the man behind the revised design, which is tasteful and graceful, colorful and subdued at the same time. The multi-level property has several areas suitable for semi-private and private dining, including a private dining room on the second floor for 30-40. And yes, Virginia, there is a Valentina—she's the contact person for private parties. (Agata & Valentina Ristorante, Valentina Musco, 1513 First Avenue, 212 452-0691).

Another Upper East Side Italian that has become both a local hang-out for neighborhood types and a destination dining restaurant is Destino. Backed by a Rao's pedigree, it serves a more typical Italian-style menu with crowd-pleasing favorites that patrons revisit time and again. The space is crowded and crowned with a 40-foot ceiling painted in Italian Renaissance style. A semi-private room at the far end of the restaurant can be curtained off for private parties of 14-20. In addition, there's a small Private Mezzanine level on top of the bar area for 10-16 guests. (Destino, 891 First Avenue, Rebekah Altieri, 212 751-0700, rebekah@destinony.com, destinony.com)

And don't forget about the classic Ennio and Michael in the West Village. This veteran team—Ennio Sammarone and Michael Salvarese—met years ago when they were both waiters at a now defunct restaurant named Joe's. They subsequently decided to set up shop on their own, and they've been in the business ever since. Well versed in the hospitality industry, and serving the kind of food people love, they will bend over backwards to accommodate private parties of any size up to 75. They do a lot of them too—their customers know they are in good hands here, so they can sit back, relax, and enjoy their own party without having to worry about it. The owners have also just spiffed up their little gem of a front-porch/patio, which may be used for cocktail parties or sit-down dinners for about 30. It has more than the usual degree of privacy, since it sits back off the street, and behind a little park amid lush garden greenery. (Ennio and Michael, 539 La Guardia Place, 212 677-8577, www.ennioandmichael.com)

With bistros and brasseries an ever-popular theme, newcomer Brasserie 52 has struck a chord in the emerging neighborhood of the far west '50s. Serving good, classic fare typical of the appellation, the restaurant is cozy, comfortable and friendly, and service staff perform well. The back area may be used for semi-private parties (25-40) and plans are in the works to add a private event room by expanding out into the courtyard. (Brasserie 52, 772 Ninth Avenue, 212 586-5505/5506, www.brasserie52.com)