A Royally Good Time

Even before this weekend rolled around, I knew it would be a biggie.  One of Dave's besties from college, Carter, was in town and we were determined to show him a good time beginning the moment his plane landed on Friday.  After a quick burger dinner, we headed to The Royalton Hotel for drinks.  I wish I took pictures of this place.  Thankfully, the website took care of that, so I don't feel so bad about neglecting my photo taking responsibilities.   The crowd wasn't great, but the chic atmosphere cancelled that out and made it a great place to start the night.  I could see it as a nice place to bring the 'rents when they visit - great ambiance without having them trek downtown.  The drinks are not cheap; therefore, I offer two tips:

1. Go there for your first drink or two on the way downtown.  My $15 cocktail was super delicious (jalapeno infused tequila with cucumber and a splash of pineapple juice), but there are only so many of those you can drink before your wallet starts scolding you.
2. If you're in the mood for champagne, order 2 half bottles.  A full bottle of Veuve Clicquot was $145, but a half bottle is only $42.  Now, I'm no John Nash, but I did well enough in Algebra to know that ordering 2 half bottles is much more reasonable than one full bottle.  Plus, anything mini is automatically cute.  We felt brilliant for discovering this anomaly on the menu and even more so when the waitress told us only one person before us was smart enough to do the same thing.

From there, it was off to the east village for drinks and games at Ace Bar.  Carter decided Bear Fights were the obvious next step.  Don't worry, I didn't know what that meant either.  I now know that it is a Jager Bomb immediately followed by an Irish Car Bomb.  I took them like a champ and am confident it improved my Skee Ball skills.  Back to my apt for some pizza to soak up the alcohol and in bed at the very reasonable hour of 4 AM.

Skee Ball Action Shot