Mehanata: Find your inner gypsy

Before I moved to New York, a friend once said: In New York, there is a critical mass of everything…Ukrainian women who love to Tango, Japanese Indian theatre of the absurd, S&M comic book jazz clubs…you name it. Last weekend (thanks to Mr. Becker), I was invited to Mehanata, a Bulgarian night club in the lowest east side! On the way there, I read this sentence on my iPhone (from nymag.com):

“There are 8 million stories in the Big Apple, and many of the good ones have involved depraved nights at this Bulgarian bar.”

The place lived up to its promise. It is definitely quite depraved and definitely feels like one is walking into an alternative universe. As I walked in, I found myself surrounded by crazy Eastern Europeans dancing to “Gypsy Punk.”  There is a room downstairs called the “Ice Cage” which has a sign that reads (verbatim):

1. $10 to open the door

2. Max. six persons

3. Everyone must wear uniforms

4. All you can drink vodka for two minutes

I am still confused about 3! What uniforms? Girls scouts? Army fatigues? How is number 3 enforced? By men in uniforms?

If you want to experience a fringe NYC scene, expand your music collection to include Gogol Bordella and learn how a  large and precariously dangling chandelier can share ceiling space with discarded bras, this is the place to be!