Losing the Grain

Just yesterday, one of our beloved commenters asked, "Ok, a bit obsessed with 1OAK, are we? Are you getting paid out of their publicity budget, ha?" Unfortunately, we get nothing for our posts. We have even heard rumors that we are officially banned from 1OAK, but that is neither here nor there. But, the people are interested in more information, so we must provide. A Little Birdy heard that Roy Nachum, the controversial designer of 1OAK, was "posting some pictures from 1oak on his website". It's true. Some very classy shots are available, some of which we posted here. Camera phones really don't give it justice so we are running it again. We really do love this woman kissing bull picture. It's our new background and is so thought provoking.

Kissing a Bull

Besides talent, banging DJ's, and overpriced drinks, what can you really expect when you finally get inside 1OAK? How about some creepy art featuring giant animals nestling up to half naked people. Umm, right. A Little Birdy who tells us they have already been to the not yet open club "a dozen times" snapped a few camera phone images for us, reporting, "Attached are pics of the artwork from the Israeli designer. Bestiality is one way people describe his style, while others find him to be a copy-artist. Ever see that huge Elvis carbon copy in the back of Southern Hospitality? That was painted by none other that Mr. Israeli as well." While a bit creepy, at least they didn't cherry pick the taxidermy vibe. And we bet you always wanted to kiss a bull while his buddy got to watch. It's OK, that can be our secret.

First Responder: 1OAK Part III

Finally, our Little Birdy checks in with a final update. After telling us all about the entrance, dance floor, bar, smoking patio, and the sexed up Bolivian bathrooms, our final installment deals with a more leisurely feature. We'll let our LB take it home, "I just talked to a friend who was at the opening, and aparently they put in a pool table, a la Rose Bar. I can't figure out if these guys are good, or just glorified promoters/posers." Ah, the eternal question. Do any of you have any thoughts? Comments are welcome.

First Responder: 1OAK Part II

Below is the second part of a special 3 part expose on the newest crapspot to open on NYC's far West side. According to a Little Birdy who was there on opening night:

The room with the fireplace overlooks the dance floor which is in front of the bar. The DJ booth is at the head of the dance floor, and as expected, is elevated over a small dance floor. The DJ was very good, and you could tell he wanted to play some really serious shit, but had to tone it down because of the finance crowd (80's rock and all). The dance floor has a few small tables, likely for VIPs. On the side opposite the letter wall there is some artwork of a boy with a crown blinding him on what looked like a canvas with lego bumps (same art as in Cafe Bari) I can't remember the artist's name, but he is a French guy (by way of Israel, I had a chance to chat with briefly). Beautiful artwork, and the main room has a double barreled vaulted ceiling that made you feel like you were in a doublewide version of Gold Bar. Boothes line the wall opposite the letter wall, and the U-shaped bar continues to wrap around to the floor that looks like a paino keyboard on ecstasy (as featured in NYT piece). The oddest part of the bar was a stadium style seating of Versialles style upholstered chairs that went up, probably 5 levels....I had heard they applied for a cabaret license, so I don't know if the idea was to rip off The Box and do shows, but that is to be seen. If you walk underneath the stadium seating. you can get to the back where you can go downstairs to the bathroom, which is a very cool part of the club. The wall looks like a Louis Vuitton bag because it's done in that type of brown with very fine gold pinstripes. The bathrooms are like hidden passages becuase it's hard to tell where to push on the wall to get it to open. The bathrooms are like being at Gold Bar. Single person bathrooms with locks which are great for bumping a line, or banging some girl you meet there. The faucets and sinks are gold, and there is a James-Bond style gold gun on the wall. Weirdest part was that there was Method soap dispensers (seemed out of place and may not be permanent). The VIP room was still under construction, but it looked pretty cool with a small bar and lounge area. The hallway leading to the VIP room has a wall that looks like they stacked burlap bags of U.N. rice to make the wall.

I guess that's about it. It will definitely be a great place and tough to get into. But with everything moving out of MPD and into FiDi/TriBecca, I wonder what made them choose that location. It truly is in the middle of the projects.

We don't condone the illicit drugs or public sex, but maybe that is what the fearsome foursome had in mind. Only time will tell. Coming up, the exciting conclusion to our Monday mini-series. Do stay tuned.

First Responder: 1OAK

Reports are trickling in from 1OAK, the new Meatpacking spot that some said wouldn't open until January. A Little Birdy was there last Thursday for the opening event, that's a December Thursday mind you, and filed a lengthy and complete report on what the set up is

So I went to 1OAK on Thursday night because the hedge fund I work at uses Bass Trading as a broker. . . the group of guys inside was the biggest bunch of finance geeks, although they tried their hardest to bring in the hottest girls from their firm (HR girls, Investor Relations, Admins). I'm a complete architecture and design freak, and my girlfriend always gets mad at me becuase I point out that one designer was trying to reference Gehry's guggenheim in Bilbao and shit like that.

That being said, 1OAK is very well designed and I have no doubt it will be a huge success....it has some unique aspects, but it really takes the best features from the best places around the city. Richie and his crew clearly did their research.

You walk in from the outside (which has been photographed a ton) and there's a qhaki colored rug on the floor feels almost like a golf green. There's a desk in front for reservations and the curtains separate the first room from the next room where the coat check is (on your left.) Then you walk into the main room. To your left is the infamous wall of (gold, although they didn't look gold leafed (yet?)) which was a very cool effect. It looked like there were about 10 layers of letters tacked on top of each other, and below that is about 3 booths. The booths were half moon shaped and could easily hold 6-8 people, looked like suede tan/brown leather and very comfortable. To your right is the bar, which is a U-shape and looks like it pays homage to Death and Co. because it has cursive carvings in the bar, and also overhead. A cool feature of the bar (which I think has been reported) is that it looks like there are piano legs on the corners. If you walked straight with the lettered wall on your left, and the bar on your right there is an elevated area with a fireplace in the corner and some chairs and couches. The coolest part of the place (in my opinion) was clearly taken from Buddah Bar. If you walk onto the patio, which is directly off the room with the fireplace, there is an alley in the back which has been mirrored to make it appear larger. This is there solely for people to smoke without having to go outside, the patio couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 feet deep and 10-12 feet long, but feels very large because of the mirrors).

Mind you, this is just part I of III. Additional notes are on the way. But let it be known that 1OAK is ready to accept your hard earned ducats. It's going to be a big day.

DBag Thursday: Part 1

Hey everyone! Today is D Bag Thursday, a very special feature brought to you in at least two parts? Why today? Why not. Part 1.

It's Wednesday night. You (or DBTH) is at the oh so swanky Rose Bar enjoying an $18 cocktail or two, and a group is seating at one of the side tables. And in this group, you notice many of the gentleman wearing the same hats. That's when you realize it's Scott Sartiano and his Butter posse, all wearing Butter hats. To the layman, it may seem they really just love butter. But we know it to be some kind of D baggy gorilla marketing campaign or whatever. And if you are going to wear a hat with the name of your restaurant and lounge on it, wouldn't it be 1OAK, your new space that's poised to open tonight? Those hats probably never made it back from the glitter factory so they went with the standby.

In anther twist, we travel in the way back machine to the last time 1OAK was set to open. Well, they had to cancel their events and put the hype machine on hold for a bit. Our Little Birdy said at the time, "saw Richie Akiva at Rose Bar last night. . . Anyway, I was expecting Richie to be doing something else when his new club is supposedly opening tomorrow night. I'm putting my money on December... if they're lucky." Ditto LB. Ditto.

Photo from NY Times

Expanding the Circuit

Tired of the same old Circuit parties in the same old places? Us too. Good news. There are two new spots that are about to be made available for events. First, a Little Birdy told us that Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano's 1OAK is not quite ready for the public, but will be ready for the private, saying "they are letting event planners know they will be ready to host fashion week events." That's like, only a month away. Yes! Also, the spaces at Six Columbus, including the required roof bar, various penthouses and Blue Ribbon Sushi are ready to be booked. All you have to do is call. What are you waiting for?

17th Street - One of a Kind

Prepare the Floggine Machine. We were under the impression that Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano's next project was going to be in the old Spa/Plaid space. It looks like we may have been mistaken. A little birdy writes, "Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano of Butter (and of dating Meadow Soprano fame) are opening their new club on 17th between 9th and 10th. The working name is 1OAK (One Of A Kind)." Genius. Unless the bar is made out of kryptonite, we somehow doubt that this place will live up to its name. Whatever.

More importantly, the tea leaves have been read and the tarot cards flipped. It is now official. Break out the DBTH stamp and have it notorized. 17th between 9th and 10th is the new 27th between 10th and 11th!!!