2008: The Year That Was

[cpnews]

We are officially winding down 2008 here at DBTH HQ. And what a year it was. There was that thing, and that guy over there, and that place that did that stuff that was so crazy. Do you remember? Of course you do. How could you forget? As we prepare to welcome 2009 into our lives, we wistfully look back on 2008, and remember The Year That Was:

Story Of The Year

- The recession and its pending impact on the nightlife and hospitality sector. Cancelled projects, fleeing investors, cut rate hotel room prices and pending taxes on drinks and alcohol are all a result of the credit crunch. Its impacts are unfolding behind the scenes now.

Venue of the Year

-

Santos Party House

. Andrew W.K. and crew spent a good amount of time making sure their everyman dance hall was perfect, and they have seem to hit on every level.

DBTH Favorite Bar

-

The Rusty Knot

. Go ahead and bring the hate, but free tunes, great food and Tecate with salt and lime juice on the rim always pleases our soul. Now that the buzz is gone, the Knot is a great place to hang.

Best Cocktail Lounge

-

Apotheke

cast away the pre-conceived notion of what a cocktail bar is, and created a unique vibe in which a science lab meets Sprockets to serve up the most unique drinks in the City.

DBTH Favorite Cocktail(s)

-Too many to name, but we loved taking down many Smoky Rob Roy's and Bee's Kisses at Freemans,

Back Forty's

at the Back Forty, and a shout out to the refreshing Gin Jam at Double Crown.

DBTH Favorite Cocktail #2

- Jameson on the rocks. Nuff said.

George Bush Award

- Given to to the things we just want to see go away. The winner is, of course,

Matt Levine

and

the Eldridge

, which managed to make all of us simultaneously laugh on the outside and cry on the inside when reading his many, many interviews. We want to ignore it, but there is simply too much to cover.

Trend of the Year

- Subterranean lounges.

What to Watch For in 2009:

The Ace Hotel - New York

. The City has not seen a project like this in a long time, and we eagerly anticipate seeing the impact this has on both the area and industry.

2008 MVP

-

Down By The Hipster.

Who did you expect?

We would also like to thank all of our readers, Little Birdies, media friends, media frenemies, and everyone else that helps make DBTH tick. For those of you keeping track, we are a full 22 months into this thing of ours. It's been a great ride and we expect the hits to keep on coming deep into 2009. They said it would never last, but they couldn't know that we were too crazy to stop.

Happy New Year everyone.

Humbly,

DBTH

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