Bulgarian dancing, merriment, and shots shots shots!

Mehanata
Lower East Side
113 Ludlow Street (b/w Rivington and Delancey Streets)
New York, NY 10002
212-625-0981
www.mehanata.com

One thing is for sure about this Bulgarian bar: you'll never be bored. There are so many facets to this bar/tavern/club that even your most A.D.D. friend will constantly be amused. (Not to mention there's pretty shiney L.E.D. lights on the ceiling of the lower level!) Start out in the upstairs tavern where most nights you can enjoy a live Bulgarian band while dancing, enjoying light food and...smoking hookah? Slightly mismatched but fun none the less. Downstairs turns into a total dance club, but keeps the same Euro vibe. Expect one popular song for every five European folk/techno dance songs, and then expect to inevitably get swept into the circle dances whether you know the steps or not. Other fun distractions include a stripper pole open to any and all patrons and Mehanata's main attraction: the Ice Cage. $20 per person grants you and your friends admission into a porta-john sized booth lined with shelves of vodka. You have two minutes to consume up to five shots, including many top-shelf options. Even better than the drunkenness is that to enter the cage you must play dress-up in an authentic Russian military uniform and hat...stylish. Expect good and raucous times at Mehanata, but also expect a pretty dense crowd and not much range of movement. Drinks are moderately priced and Mehanata does charge a cover if not with an organized party, but in this case it's all about the atmosphere and engrossing yourself in the culture.
Rating: 4 stars

Tears...and sly coincidences

Sad news y'all. The Hills has been cancelled. The sixth season which premieres on April 27th will be the last, which means we only have about 3 more months to get our fill of the real lives of Speidi, Justin Bobby, and my personal favorite Frankie Delgado. Well that's not completely true because we still have Us magazine, but it's so much more fun to sit around on Monday nights and giggle with girlfriends while watching so much drama unfold.

All facetiousness aside, I almost cried when I heard this news.

Hours before The Hills news broke, it was announced that Doug Reinhardt will be developing a new reality show for the E! network. Doug is best known for famewhoring by dating talent-less starlets like Paris Hilton (no disrespect intended, much love), which all started with Lauren Conrad of...The Hills. Even after their breakup and LC's departure from reality tv, Doug continued to appear on the show as a member of Brody Jenner's bro-posse. The new reality show won't center around Doug or Paris (though they will make appearances), it will be about Doug's little sister Casey and her fab friends. This may sound completely rando and boring, but Casey is a reality TV blast from the past herself, having appeared extensively on season 2 of Laguna Beach. And it all comes full circle. For those who don't remember Casey (I do, obvi), she can best be summed up in a memorable quote from Kristin Cavallari: "everything from her hair to her personality is fake". I don't see what's so bad about that though, it's what makes a good reality star! And K-Cav, your show just got cancelled...

In case you were wondering, Doug Reinhardt's television producing credentials also include playing minor league baseball and being the heir to a frozen burrito fortune. Seems like a smart kid though. Considering this chain of recent television happenings, well played brotha!

So over it

Around this time last year I started live blogging performance nights of the top 12 of American Idol. As much as I'm sure you were all waiting with baited breath for these live blogs to resume, I've decided to not carry on the tradition this year. There's not one contestant left in the game who is making me even want to watch American Idol let alone write about it for two hours every week. Going into the semi-finals I wasn't impressed with the pool of talent, and anyone with a unique vibe, decent voice, or molecule of performance ability has already been voted off. Within the first two weeks we lost Tyler Grady (Jim Morrison meets The Darkness) and Jermaine Sellers (he rocked the onesie, and very successfully channeled Kid Cudi in the fashion dpt). Then Todrick Hall ("Todrick is my name...", dancer, and all around amazingness) and Lilly Scott (lavender blonde, fierce style, and amazing raspy indie-pop voice) were cut just shy of the top 12 which has sucked the excitement (and talent) right out of the show.

Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the producers are messing with our minds and putting words in the judges' mouths to convince us to keep certain undeserving contestants in the game. Why? Who knows. There is no way Lee Dewize still deserves to be here based on voice, yet week after week the judges praise his grating and pitchy performances. Katie Stevens clearly turned out to be a lounge-singing bore, but was dubbed an early favorite so continues to be encouraged on "potential". Plus teenagers are cute and make good human interest stories, right? Michael Lynche was clearly groomed to be a favorite, but actually has talent and provides entertainment so I can't argue. But Crystal Bowersox? Just because she's something different than we've ever had on Idol doesn't mean we have to praise her and let her through. Different doesn't mean better. Side note: does Idol do drug testing?

These are the top 12 singers/performers in the country? Well then I'm sad for us, America. With no standout vocalists AND no standout performers American Idol has totally lost me, and I'm sure I can find something better to do at 8pm on Tuesday nights.

Best drunk food EVER

A fine food establishment has taken two of the greatest cuisines ever and combined them into the perfect drunk food. I stumbled into Philly's Original Cheesesteak (191 East Houston Street, near Orchard) on Saturday night after having passed it by a million times and ordered their Egg Roll Cheesesteak. Spoiler alert: it's exactly what it sounds like. This treat of juicy perfectly cooked chopped steak and cheese encased in thin crispy fried dough is so simple, yet a creatively genius creation, especially for Philly's prime location in LES drunk country. Philly's also serves all the traditional sandwiches and apps that a drunk 20-something could want at very reasonable prices, but the eggroll has pretty much changed my life. Calorie wise though, maybe not for the best...

Tacky tats...that strangely turn me on

It feels so wrong and confusing to lust after a male figure skater, but during this year's Olympics Evan Lysacek has made me think dirty thoughts more than once. And he's straight! So I was quite haps when OK! magazine recently did a feature with shirtless pics of prominent Olympians, starring the very sexy Mr. Lysacek.

We must talk about this tattoo, a lightening bolt on the upper crotch. As one blogger put it, "Is Evan trying to make us think that his peen is Zeus or something?" Well maybe it is! I'm sure it's quite impressive. Despite the fact that I have no idea what this tat means and that it's pretty tickity-tack, it makes me horny. The penis V muscle is probs my favorite part of a guy's body, and the lightening bolt is like saying "this area is electric". And hot damn, I want to be electrocuted.

But he must lose the costume with the glittery snakes around his neck. Sorry, Vera. (Surprisingly I didn't mind the feathery one...)

A poorly acted Situation

Jersey Shore behind the scenes "rehearsal" footage.
(the video player isn't loving me today but click the link, I promise lols)

I don't think I've seen acting this bad since...well ever. Pretty damn funny though. And who knew Pauly D was pulling a Chuck Bass and covering his real British accent?

Silly nillys, we know you're actually just as toolish as you are on TV!

So THIS is where the German hipsters are...

Berry Park
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
4 Berry Street (b/w N 13th and N 14th Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-782-2829
www.berryparkbk.com

Walking up to Berry Park you may feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, but inside it's all Germany all the way...with a few added quirks. Berry Park's reasonably priced menu boasts 16 German beers on tap (we liked the Leffe Blonde and the Double Chocolate Stout), a delicious hot mulled wine, and European inspired light fare. On select days they even have live old-world German music and dancers in lederhosen. However, what makes this traditional beer garden special is their unique blend of old-world and modern. This is Williamsburg after all, so one must keep the hipsters happy. And indeed they seem to be, bringing a unique style to the dance floor while the DJ spins mostly 50's and 60's rock and roll and Motown. With one random Lady Gaga song thrown in, about which I have no complaints. As much fun as Berry Park's main room is, a trip to this bar would not be complete without visiting the amazing roof deck. The views of Manhattan are breathtaking, and during the warmer months this rooftop becomes a lively outdoor beer garden. Or if you want to venture up and brave it in the cold New York winter more power to you, the view is probably worth a little frostbite.
Rating: 4.5 stars