Hours after agreeing to use “Midtown” as a reference point in another story, I get off the 1 train, snarling tourists who have decided that must Take a selfie in the middle of the stairs and dodging slower walkers, all to preview a new bar, in Herald Square.
Technically, The Bronze Owl, “a stylish new haven in an unexpected location,” which is how the press release details it, is closer to the kitty corner. Greeley Square, but once you cross the juniper-green threshold, it doesn't feel like you're in flyover country's version of Manhattan. This could be due to some very effective coffee curtains and soundproofing, but more likely because David Rabin of American and Temple Bars are involved, along with chef Franklin Becker, Stephen Loffredo and Max Green of Amor y Amargo.
When I order a Pressure Sensitive with tequila, velvet falernum, almond and lime oil, publicist Steven Hall kindly says that the Owl's target audience includes office workers; sports fans (and, presumably, Madonna) heading to Madison Square Garden; diners looking for Korean barbecue before the game; and Kips Bay residents who have nowhere else to go. Rippling leather booths, oversized club chairs and funky tubular light fixtures strapped on like they're wearing corsets suggest these groups could also pass for feeling more downtown than they really are.
The disorientingly clear sound system also helps, as does the insulating linoleum floor, “it's not small,” as Rabin points out, sipping a miniature Coke from the bottle. Samantha Ronson has already stopped, she says, and Wisdom Kaye, the social media hottie who designs $100,000 Chrome Hearts skins. Italian-inspired tidbits like fried mozzarella balls and crushed polenta with crushed peas are circulating, but I'll save those for later because we complain about members' clubs and how there's no nighttime atmosphere in restaurants anymore because everyone's used to to eat at 19:30 due to the pandemic.
Later, it's rumored that some of the wall art is AI-generated – most of the pieces are a bit like if you use instructions like “burlesque dancers in owl masks” and “the cave painting of Lascaux but with owls”. DALL-E 2, but an issue is an issue. (I'm told the name, and everything else, refers to the Birds of Prey statues in Greeley Square.)
Evenings are still being shaken and the tuna tartare is being passed as the event's published end time quickly approaches. I follow a couple to West 33rd St. “Wow, reality really hits you in the face,” she says. (Then, “I don't think I've had enough dinner.”) We're directly in front of an orange security fence in front of a De Janeiro, and just then the wind kicks up some construction dust that blows into my contacts . But moments earlier we could have been anywhere else.
