Not long ago (just a few days ago actually), the place to be in the city was a speakeasy, a dark and dank basement bar. The kids stayed far away from "the man" -- in nightlife's case, bottle-servicing mega clubs, huge corporate-type hangs, slick bistros, or slick anything. With the recent opening of the now beloved Standard Hotel, we seem to be getting back to the well-rounded Manhattanites we once were. These days you'll find us venturing out from the West Village; some are even crossing over from the Lower East Side to experience the multifaceted Standard properties: the Boom Boom Room, The Standard Grill, and The Standard Beer Garden. Like a family caravan-ing to a Six Flags, we make the pilgrimage and usually end up staying all day at this adult playground. It works to our benefit, since we get the advantage of changing scenery without paying cab fare. As Steve Lewis asked, will most or all new nightlife construction be in the hotels? With that question in mind, it was time to revisit another of the city's package deals: the all-inclusive 60 Thompson, the understated, elegant, and trendy Soho hotel which houses the undeniably chic Kittichai, Thom Bar, and A60. Can other hotels stand up to the new Standard?

I'm not sure how to pronounce the name of the flat iron restaurant Ilili. I don't know the origins of its name. Alls I know is that I had dinner there the other night with publicist Kelley Blevins and a special friend, and it was great. I'm not sure if my blog readers read BlackBook magazine as well; I have an article in there every month. I and all the other people associated with the magazine are asked each month to list their current favorite hangout. My entry from the August issue was "Nightlife Correspondent Steve Lewis Ajaxx (NYC)." Ajaxx was the rooftop restaurant/lounge my partner and I were designing for Greg Brier at the Stay hotel in Times Square. It's Tokyo 2050 graffitti design has not seen the light of day due to tip-toeing by economy-influenced decision-makers and all sorts of bureaucratic bureaucracy.

After only a few years spent navigating the social waters if Manhattan, Rachelle Hruska left her cushy job at a mutual fund company to work on her hobby: social media. Her website, Guest of a Guest, not only deciphers New York's social hierarchies, but, as Hruska puts it, provides "a guide for what is going on among the young and influential tastemakers shaping the collective culture." Hruska's pluck and insight keep her focused. "After identifying an open niche in social media that I thought I could fill, it was necessary for me to venture into the unknown"-- a leap that propelled Hruska into hosting her own events, sussing out the newest hotspots and basically showing face on a nightly basis. "I see us taking Guest of a Guest to other cities around the world," she says. "I have met a lifetime's worth of interesting people in the past two years."

From his perch in the Rooftop Bar high above Kittichai, Robert d’Arcangelo -- general manager of the Thom Bar and A60 -- calls the shots at 60 Thompson (and sometimes pours them).

What are your favorite places?
My favorite restaurant is La Siesta in Sperlonga, in a small beach town at the beginning of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. Not cheap, but the food and style of service is basically perfect. Stresa in Paris is another. In the city, really, there’s a small Argentinian restaurant on the Lower East side called Azul Bistro. The food is always consistent, the service is very casual, but if it’s any type of date or business meeting, I can always count on things going the right way there. If you pay attention to the ceiling, it’s plastered in old Argentinian pin-up centerfolds, but a lot of people don’t notice.

UPDATE: Joao has actually moved on from Le Royale -- see here for details on his new gig.

Upon his arrival in New York, Joao Daniel started working in restaurant kitchens hoping to become fluent in English, but he ended up picking up more Spanish than he anticipated. Like most newcomers, he eventually started hitting the club scene, and surprisingly, this was where he honed his language skills. His nightly activities quickly snowballed into a profession. Now the charming Brazilian has his weekly schedule consistently booked with hosting gigs on Monday nights at Le Royale,Wednesdays at 60 Thompson, Thursday through Saturday at Pink Elephant, and Sunday nights at The Eldridge. He's also in on the Saturday and Sunday pool parties at Hotel Gansevoort. Joao gives us the scoop on where we should be going out.

Albert Trummer is the Austrian bar chef and brains behind Chinatown operation Apothéke. With business-minded partner Heather Tierney, Trummer serves his liquid medicine from behind the bar to an eager clientele night after night at the booming corner spot on Doyers Street. While growing up in his family's restaurant in Austria, Trummer learned his way around the bar and turned his father's private club into a booming hotspot at the age of 15. He's since worked for the likes of David Bouley, the Chambers Hotel, Home Bar on Shelter Island, and 60 Thompson. The master mixologist speaks about who does nightlife best, the apothecary premise and his plans for the future. And for a special video clip, he even mixes up his famous flaming inferno beverage for BlackBook's Cayte Grieve and Eiseley Tauginas.

Above Allen, or AA, had its soft opening on Friday -- but since it’s a terrace where being outside is most important, don’t expect things to completely pop for a couple of months. The first thing that struck me was the couches with their Stephen Sprouse print. I did a triple-take and caught up to my friend Jim Walrod, the designer, and asked him about them. Med Abrous is putting this insanely downtown chic joint on the map. I know Med from the Mark Ronson days of Life, and after an hour of catching up, I asked him a few questions to clarify what’s going to happen here.

Smyth, the latest offering from the Thompson Hotels group (60 Thompson, Gild Hall, 6 Columbus, Thompson LES, Hollywood Roosevelt, Thompson Beverly Hills, Donovan House) is opening early this January. Look for free wifi, absolutely modern decor, Kiehl's bath products, and some naughty surprises in-room. Luckily enough, it's a particularly inauspicious time to be opening anything, much less a boutique hotel, and so deals definitely abound. You can check out this normally high-priced hotel for the incredible bargain-basement prices of $119 a night.

I woke up this morning shaking and sweating vodka, with a bright red heart, swastikas [Airbrushed out of photo at left -- xoxo, Legal, Sensitivity, & Retouching Dept.], and the name "Audrina" scrawled across my back in paint and permanent marker. But let's start from the beginning. Last night, Paper Magazine hosted its fourth annual Nightlife Awards at the west-end megaclub Mansion. The shindig had been touted as "our version of the nightlife Oscars" by Publisher and Editor in Chief David Hershkovits. Retracing our stumbles, he might have been right.

Leave the touring to the little people.
1. 60 Thompson (Soho) - Trendy but not too obnoxious, with fine dish Kittichai downstairs and A60’s unparalleled views up top
2. Hudson Hotel (Midtown West) - Schrager and Starck’s West Side claim brings two hot bars and a swanky comfort-food cafeteria.
3. Dream Hotel (Midtown West) - Room service from Serafina, Rm. Fifty5 for off-lobby tippling, Ava for sick views on two levels. Making midtown modern/bearable.