Earth NYC

One must venture out of Brooklyn from time to time, and so a trip to the outer edges of the Meatpacking District was taken, to the new, unfortunately named club Earth NYC.

How rude is it on opening night to purposely hold a line at the door? Happy thoughts were not rushing through my head last night as a trickle of people was slowly granted entrance out of the cold and into the Indian-themed club. Turns out the line had more to do with the ill-placed coat check (in the tiny entrance hallway where  three's a crowd)  than the desire for an artificial line.  The coat snafu became more apparent as we were leaving and those unckecking their coats were clashing with those checking their coats.

Coat check aside, I kind of liked the place.  My feelings warmed substantially once the Indian street meat started circulating. The touches of grease, salt and spice in the chicken lollipops, yogurt chicken, little lamb sausages, puffed potato balls (I have generified the names) made me want to reach for another one of those guava champagne cocktails. The nice ladies delivering said treats and the friendly bartenders buoyed the happy thoughts. You can never judge a crowd by opening night--Michael Musto was there--but my favorite attendee was wearing a Batman T-shirt and a red scarf that at the right angle resembled a cape. My second "favorite" attendees were the two pretty but generic blond girls posing for digital camera shots (their own) for hours. Sadly, my guess is that the crowd will lean towards the latter.

The biggest disappointment? According to the press release, this lounge is all about bringing the classy Bombay nightlife to New York City. The decor--floating candles and flowers, faux candles dotting an entire wall, colorful pillows, dark wood furniture--works the theme with a modern aesthetic, but the music does not. Once the DJs figured out how to turn on the sound, we were treated to touches of boring rock, more boring rock, slightly less boring lounge music, a touch of hip-hop and then more unmemorable lounge tunes  Shouldn't the music at least nod towards the subcontinent? 

You can find Earth at 116 10th Avenue, between 17th and 18th streets (just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Maritime Hotel). Phone is (212) 337-0016.