Dear Guest Of A Guest: Where Should I Have My Birthday Party?

We receive emails and comments all the time from readers who turn to our (not inconsiderable) knowledge of NYC for advice, so we've decided to take time out of our busy day of internet surfing to answer questions. Today: Where should Alison have her birthday party?-

Alison turned to us for advice on where to host her low-key birthday party next month. She writes,

" i want it to be good music, but not too loud, a place where it'll be crowded enough that it isnt just my party, but not overly crowded so we lose everyone.. i want it to be in the east village or les, nowhere too big, like multiple levels or anything, and an outdoor area would be nice to have."

Omg. We LOVE planning parties. Let's see, LES/East Village Bars that fit the following requirements:

Good Music, But Not Too Loud

"Good Music" is sort of hard to define and based on personal tastes…like Alphabet Lounge has a lot of 80s music, which some people might find cheesy and others might love. Generally speaking, good music isn't hard to find in the LES.

Loud Music is something easier to pick out: if Alison wants to be able to converse with her guests, she should definitely avoid Lucky Jack's, Pianos, and Stanton Social. (Also, Karaoke Bars like Sing Sing, but we don't think Alison had "karaoke" in mind…)

Crowded Enough, But Not Too Crowded

We TOTALLY agree with this birthday party requirement! You want a good mix of strangers to mingle and dance with (not just your friends awkwardly milling about an empty bar), but you also want enough space to have your own corner of the room.

National Underground has great music and a great crowd, but it's definitely not the sort of place you can hold court with your own party. Home Sweet Home is another one of our favorite bars, but gets pretty packed on Saturday nights, so not the right spot for a party. Madame Geneva's has a great cocktail menu, but don't expect to ever reach the bar on a Saturday night.

Nowhere too big, with Multiple Levels

That excludes M2 Ultra Lounge and Capitale.

An Outdoor Area Would Be Nice To Have

We love Drop Off Service: it's a nice neighborhood bar with a great jukebox (which fits the music requirement.) But it gets a little crowded, and Alison wants an outdoor area which Drop Off doesn't have.

Sweet and Viscious has one of the nicest outdoor areas in the city, but is definitely more SoHo than East Side, so it might not have the vibe Alison is looking for (though their jargaritas might be worth the trek west of Bowery…)

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OUR SUGGESTION:

LORELEY, on Rivington between Bowery and Christie

Loreley is a fun LES beer garden that fits a lot of Alison's requirements. There's always a lively, fun crowd, especially during summer nights, but it's never hard to get service or a seat, especially since there are long communal tables. (We would suggest calling ahead if you're planning on bringing a larger group).

The outdoor biergarten is the perfect size (and temperature) in the summer–it's decorated with festive lights, but the indoor area is just as nice in case it rains.

One possible shortcoming: it doesn't exactly fit the "good music" requirement, especially not in the outdoor area.

One possible bonus point: Loreley's food is AMAZING! The Wienerschnitzle (made of pork, don't freak out) and pretzels are perfect food to line your stomach after your fifth or sixth beer…

Our suggestion for Alison is that she and her friends start the night off at Loreley, drink and be merry there until it closes at 1 am, and then head to Darkroom for dancing afterwards!

Got an NYC related question? Email us at Questions@guestofaguest.com, and we'll do our best to help you out!

Katie Holmes, Kevin Kline And Paul Dano At "The Extra Man" Premiere

Go HERE for more photos by Stephanie Ketty and tag yourself and your friends!

East Villages Cinemas was packed last night for the premiere of "The Extra Man", starring Kevin Kline, Paul Dano, and Katie Holmes. The movie is a quirky celebration of the weird characters that populate most of New York City, so which "characters" were in attendance last night?-

The film's two stars, Kevin Kline and Paul Dano both attended, Dano accompanied by a beautiful girl with blond curly hair, who turned out to be girlfriend Zoe Kazan (she looks different!) Katie Holmes walked the red carpet, but was then whisked away to Toronto for an early call time. Jonathan Ames, who wrote the film, attended the film, and wore a hat very similar to the hat Dano wears throughout the film, also attended, along with his father who very cutely posed with the "Jonathan Ames" sign at the afterparty.

Bohemian couple Sean Lennon and Charlotte Muhl were there, as was Rachel Dratch, Doutzen Kroes, Kate Schelter, Marian Seldes, and, completely randomly, Stephanie Pratt.

The movie itself was a funny, if devastatingly accurate portrayal of the Upper East Side that made you appreciate the quirks of the city, yet breathe a sigh of relief when the credits rolled and you found yourself back in the (relative) normalcy and youth of the Lower East.

Afterwards, the crowd headed over to the newly opened Vapiano on University, an Italian restaurant of German origin, where an army of cooks were ready to feed the the entire party with pastas, pizzas, and much, much prosciutto.

Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano Kevin Kline

Katie Holmes

Sean Lennon, Charlotte Kemp Muhl Stephanie Pratt

Cynthia Rowley Yaya Dacosta

The Beacon Hotel In DC Is Where It's At…If You Go At The Right Time

Ever show up to a party, find it's completely dead, take off, and then are secretly furious with yourself when all your friends start tweeting about how AMAZING and packed the party you just left is? Check out what happened in DC this weekend…More»

Tripping The Light Fantastic At Governors Island Jazz-Age Fête

Go HERE to see more photos by Gabriel Liberty that put Gatsby and Daisy to shame and to tag picture of yourself and your chums.

Flappers and gents showed that they were the bees' knees at a Governors Island lawn party this week. Baby vamps and even baby grands proved they were ritzy on the floor - no heelers here, only Oliver Twists and floorflushers!

As you can see, all the Janes were skirts, tomatoes, and choice bits of calico; all the men were big-sixes and cake-eaters. So all was darb and Jake - No Mrs. Gundys allowed.

(Need some translation help? Check out the Jazz-Age Dictionary.)

How To Come Home To New York

I'm back in New York after ten days in Berlin. More on the trip later, but for now: the return. There's a bitterness that comes with ending successful travels. But if you're lucky, it's countered by the sweetness of being home. Herein, some essential steps to getting back in the New York groove. -

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• Fly into Terminal 3 at JFK: Upon touching down on New York asphalt, I briefly wondered how anyone flying into the city could ever make it past the airport and into town instead of buying areturn ticket to wherever the hell they came from. How could JFK, the international airport for one of the world's preeminent cities, be so utterly charmless? You don't see a window before glacially snaking through customs. The people working at currency exchange seem about as adept with paper money and basic arithmetic as a delayed cocker spaniel. You step outside and are forced to dry hump dozens of other arrivals penned onto a 2×4 sidewalk. If you want relief from that, you must cross a busy, unmarked intersection to reach a wider expanse (and cell phone reception) of, in summer, baking hot cement. All to the soundtrack of car horns, whistles and multilingual braying. Then, after a few minutes of disorientation you realize, with a grimace, that this is New York, condensed.

• Take in Chinatown: Yes, even in its odorous summer state. Because even though every city has its ethnic quarters, few seem as enveloping and alien to their surroundings as Manhattan's Chinatown. Even fewer offer five juicy pork dumplings for a buck.

Eat a classic New York slice, the New York way: The cat's out of the bag when it comes to New York's quintessential culinary contribution. Certain neighborhoods of Berlin seem to boast more pizzerias per capita than Manhattan. But even if some of the joints come disconcertingly close to matching hometown quality, they don't beat the oily original. And no where else does it seem like a no-brainer to fold the slice in half before scarfing it down.

• Order delivery: Whatever, whenever. Why hasn't the rest of the world really caught onto this?

• Glimpse the skyline: Sometimes you can accomplish this from the plane, getting a bird's eye view. Sometimes you get a first, panoramic look driving toward midtown from outer Queens. But the best glance might be a surprise one, noticed peripherally while crossing Mott Street, and causing a risky rubberneck in the middle of Chinatown traffic, no matter how many times you've seen it.

• Drink at Mars Bar: Berlin's got no shortage of punk bars. But Mars is a dive that doubles as an art gallery. It considers draught beer a yuppie extravagance. Its bathrooms could inspire about six bodily…expulsions on top of the original cause of the visit. And it rubs up against a luxe condo complex, chichi boutiques and a "bespoke chocolatier." Only in New York could that seem natural. Order a whiskey (something American) and beer (Budweiser) to forget the classy neighbors anyway.

• Weep with joy at your return to excessive, wasteful, spine-chilling air conditioning.

Cobra It's Your Birthday, Happy Birthday Cobra

Go HERE for more photos by Erin G. Wesley and tag yourself and your friends!

Twenty-five good ol' years ago today our favorite hipster-razzi was set forth upon this earth. Although it was his birthday, he still remained behind the camera. He had a few moments in the spotlight but mostly those crazily celebrating with him were the focus.-

Real CobraSnake fans and friends partied with him for the multi-day celebration, with each day having a specific theme. Sunday's party at Drai's Hollywood was Cannonball, last night's event was Spin the Bottle at the Roxy Theater, and tonight's rager is Cinespace where the theme is the same as the venue's name. Cobrasnakes Endless Birthday celebration is actually ending tonight so go out for the final night!