Recent trips have confirmed that the West Village is apparently still there, a bracing antidote to the unmitigated fabulousness of New York at its most sophisticated. That old standby the Monster remains the perfect place to take people you meet on the street when you need a closer inspection. (You can always leave them passed out in the corner by the potted plant. Trust me.) I've become re-hooked on the place's doomsday-bright lighting and the pianist playing "You've Got a Friend" as oddballs gather round to share near-miss high notes over deafeningly clinking cubes.... More >>>