The scene: This Old Town bar and restaurant has a 52-seat elevated dining room serving all kinds of pretty Japanese fare, a generous curving bar backed with fruity house-infused sakes and sochus and a waitstaff outfitted like Tokyo hipsters. A 4 1/2-foot-tall chunk of granite gives the main room good feng shui, and the rest of the decor is rounded out by a preserved bonsai tree and Pachinko Japanese pinball machines. The dark-wood lounge has several private karaoke rooms, each with a 40-inch flat-screen TV, double-insulated walls, low couches, a petite coffee table and its own waitress, who comes when you press a button. The cocktail menu features clever, can't-find-anywhere-else drinks, such as the Hot Honey Bunny Stomper, the Go Speed Racer and the Yashi Yashi, all $8 each. Giant black and white photos of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Sid Vicious back the bar. The venue's music is just as good as its taste in rock art.
The cool kids know: Sunday nights are Funk Shui, when service-industry types, students without school the next day and people who just really want a third night of drinking gather for discounted drinks, food and karaoke. Oh, and funk music. Oh, and the Japanese-made Toto toilets cost several thousand dollars each and have heated seats and remote controls.
The crowd: From 25 to 45, the men and women here are trendily dressed and generally pretty, but not in an obnoxious way. People are laid-back, as though the hours of private karaoke have smoothed off their jaded edges.
The fashion: Yes, you will see men in Ed Hardy Ts. And trucker caps. And overly styled jeans. And you will grow weary of women in sparkly minidresses and whatever fashion-of-the-second Bebe is churning out. But somehow, after a few drinks, it doesn't seem to matter.
The drink: The Hello Kitty martini starts with the non-carbonated, milky Japanese Calpico poured from a bottle decorated with pictures of Hello Kitty cuddling a little strawberry. Strawberry-infused shochu, Sangaria Japanese strawberry soda and Smirnoff Citrus vodka are added and shaken. Amazing. It's the girliest drink in the city.
