Manhattan Nightlife Marathon: From Here to Kobe

“I’ve got too much on my plate,” a buxom blonde whines over a mound of Kobe beef in a slick corner booth at the Kobe Club. She has no idea. In one night we’re tempted to traipse through most of Manhattan, fitting in Richie Rich’s Rox and Riley Footwear Launch Party at 205 downtown, uptown to the Kobe Club to celebrate the opening of Kobe Beach Club uptown, chat up Eva Mendes at Calvin Klein, and gawk at the Bravo Awards after-party. We certainly have a lot on our plate tonight, and it's not sirloin.

The first person we spy outside of 205 is the iconic Andre J. He hugs and kisses, then gushes a bit about Richie Rich’s new shoes. As first impressions go, this is a fine way start to the night. Inside it looks like a subterranean vault decorated by the CFDA Awards. Shoes line the walls along with stylish uptowners, downtowners, and out-of-towners, the gritty foundation offset by fashion. We creep towards the back, conscious that Richie must have set up camp here. Sure enough, Rich is perched and posing alongside his friends in a darkened corner. He hops down to say hello, just as a camera crew shines a light on aforementioned friends revealing Jenna Jameson, Andy Hilfiger, Jaslene Gonzalez from “America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 8, and Tito Ortiz. After chatting up Jaslene for a (very) brief moment, we felt like our work was done and raced onward.

Uptown, the Kobe Club is the antithesis of 205: trendy, sleek, and filled with people of the same appeal. We sidle up to the bar and order cocktails, which are dangerously complimentary in celebration of the grand opening of the Kobe Beach Club in East Hampton. Lucky for us, we had to travel uptown rather than out east to try the beef and glimpse celebrities. We sit at the front bar, front row to see Mark Ronson, Daniel Merriweather, Taryn Manning, and Arden Wohl (we think) sashaying by. Later, I bum a smoke from Ronson, and Nick Haramis chats him up about BlackBook’s new Room100 feature in which Mark stars. “You know it got me into ‘Page Six?’” he muses. We didn’t.

After a few blurry text messages, we learn the Calvin Klein Secret Obsession Fragrance Launch party hosted by Eva Mendes has been mysteriously cancelled, just as it was mysteriously being held above the site of Heath Ledger’s death. We also learn between bits of beef and (amazing) wasabi peas that we’ve missed Bravo’s A-List Awards after-party. There’s no need to wallow in regret, as we order one last round and make plans to go back downtown to 1Oak. Another night of being dressed down with everywhere to go.