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Now, the exciting conclusion of our First Responder report from Mansion, the Opium Group's newest club built right here in our fair City. After getting the first update from our Little Birdy, we couldn't help but wonder why they were sellin bottle services when we had been hearing all week that the club wasn't open to the public this weekend? We posed the question to our LB, who quickly responded: I thought about that one too. Obviously, they played it up as a private event, saw some people w invites who got right in, but inside were some familiar faces who I knew that also got in via the line. I had 12 ppl w me and the bottle prices were in the ice buckets. . . it is not the intimate ultra lounge they say it is. The cocktail waitresses were overwhelmed covering, 5-6 tbls and they clearly packed in as many ppl as they could. The "upstairs vip" area was no more exclusive than the rest of the place. All in my group felt the sheer size of the place will dissuade people who attend places like Gold Bar, Pink, Cain etc. Truth be told, other than the ball-like chandeleirs and some fire flames burning behind glass (like a miami club I forget) it isn't much different than Crobar was.Well, that's not a good sign. First weekends and soft opens are never easy, but we assumed that these folks would be able to hit the ground running. Guess not. More...

Below, Part I of our First Responder report from Mansion.One of our more frequent Little Birdy's was on hand for Mansion's big opening weekend and reports: Was at mansion last night for their " private " party. Took a table with some friends and a slew of girls. They seemed to be allowing people in w/o invites but I could be wrong. Never saw spice girls, but they did have a gospel choir at 1230. Made no sense. Sat in upstairs VIP area, 8 ppl, 3 btl minimum. Place is too cavernous, lacks the vip area that Mansion Miami has and the crowd was not as exclusive. I guess you have to compromise to fill a space this large. Music was not great, place was empty by 3am. Lots of available tables.A 3 bottle minimum in this economic climate is bold. Maybe 3 bottles of Amstel Light? Heh. More...

We have given in to the pressure and created a link list. If you are interested in being listed, please drop the URL in the comments. DBTH More...

There are amusements to be found across town, up and down, from the civilized zing of a chilly after-concert cocktail to the slightly riskier environs of Times Square. More...

Findings from the streets, files, and hard drives of New York. More...

Hats off to one of Gawker's many new editors Hamilton Nolan for understanding the PR game. Amazingly, Mr. Nolan discovered that Scores treats the Post reporters nicely, and in turn, Page Six gives out favorable coverage. Now of course, we already have told you that Lonnie Hanover, the man behind the Quid Pro Quo, recently alligned himself with Rick's Cabaret. Thus, we said that we expect Rick's to become the most discussed strip club in the press, especially Page Six. Amazingly, it only took 2 days for Lonnie's hire to put Rick's all over the news map. Maybe it will help that stock price tick even further upward Monday morning. More...

Hot off the rumor mill, we are hearing that the Beatrice Inn was raided last night and shut down. We are still trying to get 100% confirmation. Developing. More...

Now that didn't take long. Just one day after telling you Skin Man Lonnie Hanover had joined Rick's Cabaret, the Sixers spread the word to their $0.25 mafia. We set our way back machine to yesterday, when we said "Lonnie will repeatedly pimp the club on Howard Stern's Sirius Sattelite Radio show and in Page Six, and play host to celebrities of all sorts." Amazing how that works. Word is that Lonnie has already planned his first Howard Stern Show bonanza party for the weekend, so if you are into that sorta thing, we suggest heading over to W. 33rd. More...

In the current edition of Spin Magazine, writer Jonathan Ames, gets to spend an evening with Lenny Kravitz at GoldBar. Ames, probably the only music writer who does not know who John Mayer is, is the ultimate fish out of water. He describes himself as "a journalist with bad breath, bad teeth, bad hair, and bad debt", but for one night, he gets to be Lenny's wing man. Hilarity ensues, including Ames blowing his chance to dance with Cameron Diaz, imagining a favorite author writing a murder scene in the lounge, and generally creeping his interview subject and every female out. Good stuff Ames. But the piece does give those not in the know a glimpse into the life of the true GoldBar elite. European models, celebs, bankers and oh those sweet truffle fries. Enjoy. More...

Get ready everyone, Mansion is set to open with a weekend full of Fashion Week parties to get your Chelsea nightclub juices flowing again. A Little Birdy provides a bit of intel, saying "seems fridays opening is by invite only....public opening feb 14..how romantic" Romantic indeed. UrbanDaddy provides some additional color, saying "The real show, however, goes down in the main room, dubbed The Grand Ballroom. To add a jolt of fun and spontaneity to the big bottle-box formula, random acts will be brought in from all corners of the globe for spontaneous send-ups. " Wow, random acts! We love it. Excuse while we go get in line for opening night. More...

Big news from the world of gentleman's clubs. Lonnie Hanover, the man who made Scores New York's go to gentleman's club, has recently been hired by Rick's Cabaret as a "publicity consultant". Translation? Lonnie will repeatedly pimp the club on Howard Stern's Sirius Sattelite Radio show and in Page Six, and play host to celebrities of all sorts. Rick's, which is one of the few publicly traded gentleman's club chains, has been quietly trying to establish itself in the crowded NYC market. Expect this hire to solidify them among the upper echelon. Maybe Mr. Bruni will review their restaurant, but we doubt it. More...

When it comes to getting into Rose Bar, one of our intrepid commenters was 100% correct: "Some places are not meant for everyone. Welcome to the world people." Unfortunately, Nicky Hilton learned this the hard way. Page Six reports, "it seems Ian Schrager's ban on Paris Hilton at his Gramercy Park Hotel also applies to her sister Nicky. Spies outside spotted her 'desperately trying to get in' to the hip hotel's Rose Bar . . ., 'Nicky was texting Andy Valmorbida to come out and get her,' said the spy. But we hear the billionaire art dealer was too busy canoodling with Lenny Kravitz's ex, Sandy Meyer, to lend the Hilton sister a hand." Needless to say, the Hilton's could probably use a large dose of reality. But so can Rose Bar. Don't get us wrong, we love the place. But either you are open to the public or you aren't, and if you aren't, just be honest about it. It's really not that big a deal. But to ban someone because of their sister, or allow someone to pass doorman #1 without then letting them past doorman #2, or telling respected restauranters that they "should shave and dress better" if they want to come again is ludicrous. Consider us (gasp!) on Nicky's side. Photo Credit More...

Everyone tries to do something special for the Super Bowl, but the folks at the Spotted Pig really do take things to the next level. Being that Super Bowl Sunday is one of the slowest days of the year, owners Ken Friedman and April Bloomfield use it as a chance to throw their hard working staff a little party. Last year, they rocked Del Posto. This year, we hear that they took over La Esquina for the whole night. The menu is above, and it looks pretty darn tasty. Music was supplied by a couple of local DJ's, Mark Ronson and Moby. You may have heard of them. Apparently Jay-Z and Mike D. had to cancel at the last minute and they called them out of the bullpen. And for those staffers who wanted to watch the game, there was a big screen set up in their after-party suite at the Bowery Hotel, the big ass one with the balcony. That's what we call a Super Sunday. Please add us to next year's guest list. More...

How to bag free designer haircuts, score gourmet lunches for a fiver, and trim the excess fat off your spending budget. More...

More coverage from Fashion Week, with a guest LB from the This Is The Sweetest Dream blog supplying the coverage, saying "went to the chloe sevigny for opening ceremony party last night at webster hall. it was a complete scene outside. williamsburg was probably empty last night - it was wayy hipster overload. the line was down the block and the cops showed up to clear the street. the snl crew (andy sanberg and seth meyers) even had to wait to get in. once in, it was insanely packed and the new wave music was taking over - "the slits" finally came on after 12. the beautiful margherita missoni showed up at one point - so gorgeous." Great stuff LB. Why don't y'all click on through for more great pics and coverage. Thanks TITSD. Interested in being a Little Birdy? Applications are being accepted here. More...

Fashion Week. It's back. It really felt like it never left. Anyway, somehow we wound up at Butter last night for the oh so spectacular afterparty for Charlotte Ronson. Fabulous! Seriously though, we want to thank Richie and Scott, Blue and Cream, the Ronson girls (Sammy Sam Dee Jayed of course) for being such gracious hosts. Except for all the smoke, we actually had a great time. There isn't much else to comment on: most of the people were cleared out at midnight to make way for the Monday night Butter elite, and that was the perfect time for us to exit stage left. Next. More...

Our monthly look at notable nightlife openings. More...

How to bag free designer haircuts, score gourmet lunches for a fiver, and trim the excess fat off your spending budget. More...

We'd like to extend a hearty welcome to Shoolbred's, the new restaurant and lounge in the former Jade Mountain Chow Mein space, at 197 Second Avenue in the Upper East Village. Well, it's just a lounge for now, as the kitchen is not quite ready to go yet. After being jammed on Friday night, DBTH returned on Saturday to enjoy a drink and survey the scene. The bar, backed by colorful stained glass, is tastefully decorated, with a working gas fireplace in the back and a few booths and leather chairs. Space is otherwise tight. There are several choice beers on tap, but we weren't made aware of any specialty cocktail list. Maybe that's coming though. Go in and say hello, then let us know what you think. More...

It looks like the finishing touches are being put on Mansion, Chelsea's newest clubtacular, from Miami's Opium Group. Our friends at Grub Street have the press release details, saying: It will have the feel of forties Hollywood, with personal granite dance platforms at each Pucci-fabric sofa, a 20-foot enclosed fireplace, and three separate lounge areas. The interior isn’t yet photo-ready (we’re the first to run this rendering), but we’re dying to see the “Cougar Room,†a chicks-only den with hairdressers, makeup artists, sex toys, and girlie drinks by mixologist Gregory Selder.How over the top! How gimmicky! How Clubtacular! It looks like the even included those tables they require for success. We look forward to opening night. More...

Some people love to hate on the state of nightlife in New York City. Not us of course, but some people. But the City is still very fun, and it is possible to have a great time going out. On that note, a Little Birdy filed this report after what seems to be a lonnnnnnng night out, saying: u know gold bar? place is pretty serious stuff. degenerates of nyc in full swing at gold bar. 19 yr old brazilians having makeshift photoshoots as the party floods into the dj booth to play with the new mac computers. bottles of goose everywhere. i have 2 brain cells right now. give me some verbs. Was that English? Our Little Birdy's goose is done and done dirty. But you all get the drift. It seems that they had a killer time, and so can all of you. Keep sharing those stories everybody. We love em. More...

For those who like dress fancy, a retail update for you. Taavo Somer and his band of bespoked fellas from Freemans Sporting Club may be opening up a West Coast joint. A little birdy fills us in, saying "they are looking at spaces to open a FSC in Los Angeles. It would have a different vibe than the LES branch, less old world feel and more of an LA, art deco type feel. Apparently this branch took a ton of time and money to create the feel they achieved." Very cool LB. So get ready all you LA kids. Classic rugged men's wear and accessories are coming your way. More...

Let's give it up for NBC's Tiki Barber. After spending 15 years playing high level football, he retires and joins NBC to showcase his on-air "talent". Then his old team makes it to the Super Bowl without him. Some people would be upset. Not Tiki? This man lends his name to a pre-Bowl party sponsored by Tenjune. Good for you Tiki. Good for you. More...

According to our buddies at Page Six, Stereo is no more. We can't say we are too sad, our experiences there have been mixed, and in terms of business, the place wasn't all that successful. Crowded yes, but just not that profitable. According to the Sixers, "Club trademark owner Michael Satsky and partner Brian Gefter split from other club part ners and are close to leasing a downtown space for a new venue this year." Probably a good move on their part. These guys are ready to step out on their own and make a go of it. But the real question is: where is there to go? As we have been saying for a while, the place to be is NoChiTo, the little no man's land of space below Nolita and west of Chinatown. You may have heard about some other major players setting up there, and we expect Iron Mike and BG to head down there as well. More...

Home Sweet Home. The name says it all. Or does it? Descend down an unmarked staircase on Chrystie Street, just a stone's throw from the Cube, and speak to the dude collecting cash outside the door. The party tonight is $5, and everyone is paying. We're not special. Open the door and survey the scene: low ceiling, taxidermy scattered this way and that, hipster bartenders, and Suicide looking Girls writhing this way and that. OK. The room is wide, then very narrow, then wide in the back. Dumb bell steez. While the music was outstanding and the bartenders attentive, the night just never got going. With just a few couches scattered every which way, it was difficult to find a home base, and in a small room, that's a problem. Its ok, though. These things happen. We stayed for a bit more but realized it wasn't the night, and headed for the door. When we left in the wee hours of the morning, there was a line 15 deep waiting to get in, all of em just looking for a home. More...