What’s with the lounge thing? What makes a place a bar and lounge as apposed to just a bar? As far as we can tell, the whole key lies in having couches. Apparently having a couch makes it legal to call yourself a lounge. Well, if there’s one thing the UES is lacking is couches. There are plenty of pubs, bars, bar and grills, cafes, tap houses, breweries, ale houses and drinkatoriums, but very few places where one can rest his or her weary bones on a nice comfy sofa. Ozone advertises itself as “very downtown.” Do UESers not like being comfortable? Do we yearn to sit in pubs on hard wooden stools, drinking dark beer and reminiscing about the old days on the potato farm? It’s a funny advertising gimmick, but it somehow works. UESers may not like to be comfortable, but they certainly are complacent. You mean I can enjoy a place with candles, DJs spinning acid jazz and overpriced drinks all in my own safe neighborhood–without getting on the stinky 6 train and having to stand next to those kids with the synthetic blend shirts? Sign me up! To add to the “downtown” flavor, the owners have even put a faux velvet rope outside the bar, just to add to the snootiness factor. As it turns out, this actually works to keep the kiddies out, which is a huge plus in the Second Avenue kindergarten corridor. We always forget this place exists (and since the unlimited Metrocards, we don’t mind not blowing $3 going downtown), but it seems like a good alternative for those who get neighborhood Scrabble fever (you know, DUMBO, SoHo, NoHo, etc.) going below 42nd Street. [MF]
1720 2nd Ave.
212/860-8950