East Coast Birthday Bash

A good friend of ours recently moved to the West Coast.  We always looked forward to her end of November/early December birthday night out in the city.  She had a knack for picking great places and it was always a fun time.  A group of us decided to keep up the tradition by going out for an East Coast Birthday Bash in her honor.

The original plan called for us to all meet at Eastern Standard, but JO and I arrived first to a completely packed bar.  It was way too crowded and noisy in there so we made an executive decision and switched the venue to the Hawthorne Bar, just down the street.  This was a risk since I've only ever looked in the windows.  I really didn't know much about the bar, other than it looks nice from the outside, but they had room for eight so we took it.

I have to say, the staff was really nice here.  They only had a standing room table available, but as the night progressed they came and told us they could seat us in the back lounge.  I really appreciated that.

I love the way this bar is set up.  It offers a great mix of couches and arm chairs with tables.  They've completely nailed the modern rustic look, and for a basement bar it does not feel at all dark.  The lighting is soft and lots of mirrors open up the space.  My only complaint, and it's very minor, is that they give you three paper menus.  I couldn't keep them straight and had a hard time figuring out which one to look at to find wines, beers, and cocktails.

I feel like our friend would have really liked this bar! It was a great night in the city, with good friends!

I love that I coordinated my outfit with the arm chair!