Where the Sun Don’t Shine

I have been a relative hermit for the past 6-12 months, so I am not exactly a nightlife aficionado. But based on the times I have gone out, I was beginning to feel like people were not partying as hard, or as much, as they used to.

Perhaps that false negative was due largely to the fact that my random sample was taken at night. Yes, at night. I thought that was a good place to begin assessing nightlife. Well, this past weekend the Saturday “brunch” at Merkato 55 shed some light on the subject. And trust me, you’re going to need your shades.

After a live performance by the Gypsy Kings the real party started. You couldn’t possibly survive at ground level so everyone in the room found some chair or table to crown their personal pedestal for the afternoon. The rosé and magnums of champagnes flowed freely, complete with firework arrivals to upstage the 4th of July.

Every club kid, scenster and professional partier I have ever known, met or laid eyes on were in attendance in their full fist-pumping form. Champagne was being sprayed, girls were getting grabbed and guys looked as though they would never pull themselves away from the hedonism at hand. It was 4pm.

I couldn’t decide if I should embrace, deny or depart. Going to “brunch,” I figured we would eat (call me crazy) but since we arrived on the later side there was none of that. So needless to say, the rosé went to my head a little faster than usual. And, when in Rome...

Or my version of that, which means bop up and down on a chair until I find a familiar face that I want to talk to and retreat to a corner, which is actually what I did. But for those of you who are down to get down, Merkato 55 is just the joint for you.

Final Word: There’s really no hangover when the party ends at 7pm (as if that crowd went home). But either way, sleep it off and work up an appetite for actual brunch on Sunday. Just make sure you brings your shades. Merkato 55, 55 Gansevoort Street, NYC.