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Duane Park NYC - Burlesque Show and Great Eats
There are a few moments in life where you need to celebrate something and a simple dinner and/or drinks won't do. You want an experience - something to write home about, something that will be a time stamp for life and remind you of the high.
Recently my girlfriend got promoted to Director at Viacom, one of the very few Black women to do so. At the age of 30. That's cause for such a celebration of there ever was one. Queue up Duane Park on Bowery St in NYC. From the outside it blends right in the rugged, graffiti'd streets of the East Village. Purposely so. Once you enter, you instantly feel a sense of undercover sex appeal, luxe vintage vibes and that you are one of the few on the "in crowd" cool enough to experience whatever it is that you are about to experience. It's a great feel of elite, vintage New York. Lots of furs, long gloves, hard bottom shoes and you would swear that all ladies there smoke 6 inch cigarettes and moonlight as flappers. As it comes to the menu, the food and drinks are divine. It's a 3-course pre-Fixe menu so you can expect to indulge and know exactly what you're paying up front which is always a good thing, especially with fine dining. Our dishes included pork shoulder stuffed gnocchi, duck confit (best duck I've ever had), braised beef short ribs with mashed potatoes, shrimp and grits, sticky toffee pudding and apple strudel. All damn good! I heard the macaroni and cheese is also ridiculously good, but didn't even have room for it (which says a lot because I'm hella greedy.)
As we're being served the show went off in front of us, starting off with a mega-talented indie soul/Rock singer name Cunio who also hosted for the night. His voice literally hits you in your bones, and though you can never tell if he's singing to men, women or both, no matter what he means it! The highlight of marking Duane Park as a one-of-a-kind experience is the Burlesque show. Women with corsets and thongs, giving you everything they have. From hanging from chains on the ceiling to another dancer, grabbing a phone out of the hands of a dinner guest, placing it between her booty cheeks and making it clap, to the tassel pasty perfectionist dancer, Medianoche, there are plenty of jaw dropping moments that if you indulge in a little debauchery, you will be here for. They also sell pasties at the end for the ladies who are feeling a little frisky and in the mood to learn a few new tricks.
Apparently there's a Motown night - which I'll definitely look out for, for my next visit! Yes, there will be a next visit. Just gotta find another excuse to celebrate and ball out! Highly recommended NYC experience. Just be ready to drop a few hundreds, especially if you're with a group, but just know that it's worth it.