New York Gets Its First Ice Bar, Because Ice Bars Are a Thing Now
Because waiting five months to get wasted while shivering in hats and gloves is not much of a #YOLO move, the ice bar is officially in — and coming to New York.
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Or so writes Reed Tucker of the New York Post, reporting on Monday's opening of the Minus5 Ice Bar — where tables, chairs, walls, and decorative sculptures are carved from "100% pure Canadian ice" and drinks are served up by penguin-headed women in bikinis — at the Hilton Hotel New York on Sixth Avenue. Winter gear, including gloves and a parka, comes with admission. Not enticed (ugh) yet? Check out the interior decorating, which falls somewhere between "futuristic glamour lounge" and "a meat-freezer":
About 50 people can fit inside the bar, which is chilled using high-tech machinery Bowman claims is on par cost-wise with what an average restaurant pays in utilities.
Benches are covered in fur for comfort, and walls are adorned with New York City-centric art, including a frosty spin on the Statue of Liberty. Bartenders wear parkas to stay warm, Bowman said.
Not that the concept is entirely new — similarly arctic-themed ice bars exist around the world, and Minus5 already boasts two locations in the nation's capital of Literally Throwing Money Into Holes, Las Vegas — but it's not a real trend until you can risk wintry respiratory symptoms without leaving the muggy confines of Manhattan, right? (No, The New York Times haltingly reminds us. It's not a real trend until it lands in the newly trendy Will.i.amsburg.) Plus, as the recent rise of the throwback cocktails attests, drinking trends don't need to be new to captivate. Minus5, to its credit, mostly sticks to a vodka-based menu.
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But will New Yorkers cough up a $20-$45 cover (or more, if they crave the $95 "VIP Package") to shiver in an insulated 23-degree chamber after depositing their iPhones in temperature-safe lockers at the door? Yes. Yes, they probably will. And arctic-fetishists who opt for the $95 "VIP package" can revel in the novelty of it all while bringing home theme park-style souvenir photos of the whole experience. Imagine showing off one of those as you sweat at your July 4th weekend barbecue while handling a Foreman grill that is decidedly not carved from ice.
