I keep wanting to call it Gryffindor, but that would be nerdy and bad

Griffin
Meatpacking District
50 Gansevoort Street (at Greenwich Street)
New York, NY 10014
212-255-6676

This club is a bit of a sleeper among the buzzed-about giants of the Meatpacking District, but despite the lack of hype it's really frickin awesome. The decor is classy and refreshing: huge crystal chandelier, velvet booths, and carved wood paneling with nary a laser in sight. It's pretty much what Mansion should have looked like based on the name. But stuffy Griffin is not, I learned as I drunkenly danced on the center platform while trying not to fall or show my Britney. Nor is the door policy unfairly strict, at midnight on a Friday we easily got in sans cover with a mixed-gender group. The crowd was good-looking but not intimidatingly so, and surprisingly the guys were probably better looking than the girls. Griffin's best feature by far was the music which consisted of poppy techno and one or two hip hop songs. Nothing cliche, nothing too mainstream or too out there, and great mixing. Perfect for my platform dancing. Shout out to Jeff, the dead sexy Bradley Cooper-lookalike bartender who custom mixed some dangerously good (but slightly expensive) drinks. Don't mind the $16 price though, for a club like this Griffin's drinks are larger and much stronger than average so you'll probably only need 2. Be safe now, kids.
Rating: 4.5 stars