An unassuming tourist type at an unassuming football bar tells me this: "New York restaurants are crazy! There's a club in every basement!" I nod my head. He means RdV, the bass-thumping club below Bagatelle. "No," says the unassuming tourist, "We were in some East Village pizza restaurant or something!" Jesus, it can be tough keeping up with the NYC Jones. There seems to be tons of hidden gems that try to stay away from the people like me who can write about them, Twitter about them, Facebook about them, and ultimately ruin them. Some things are worth keeping a secret, but when the party is in the basement of Coffee Shop or some media lunch spot that regularly gets off on decent press, it's easy to broadcast. Some other things will remain a mystery, until I can fully understand if it's an actual basement party or simply a couple of bus boys getting high between shifts.

As the holidays near, it's fun to roll the dice on what former hotspot will have a revival, or what invitees may finally get a glimpse of the most exclusive space by way of special event invitation. This week alone the The Bowery Hotel had a major resurgence, proving it's a party player by hosting the annual Humane Society’s Cool vs. Cruel benefit, back-to-back with tonight's Art Rocks! event. Same with the six-thousand-foot "local hang'" -- The Ainsworth -- which was ground zero for Stylecaster's Short Films Premiere Party. Sienna and Savannah Miller hosted a dinner to celebrate their spring 2010 collection at the Royalton (not exactly the downtown scene we'd imagined for them). Party palaces also revive with extreme makeovers' the closed 105 Rivington space -- a splinter off of the Rivington Hotel -- is getting a redux. It will be called CV, and it had a little show-and-tell this past Tuesday. All in all, the holiday times bring a little nightlife cheer in the form of new beginnings at old places, reminding people how awesome some of our nighttime landmarks can be.

Once again, the landscape of nightlife is a'changing. Sometimes, you have to stir up the water to catch a few fish, which is exactly what happened to us. East Village Monday-night favorite Le Souk lost its liquor license, forcing patrons to take their business to Le Souk Harem, but it's the neighborhood that's the real loser. Wandering aimlessly in search of something new and good on Sunday night, we found a new party at White Slab Palace. Places we'd long since wrote off somehow hit the spot if not filled the void. An object lesson on wandering outside your comfort zone.

Being a partier used to be as simple as throwing on a clean tee and getting out the door. Now, it's work. The Jane was once our last great hope; it's now all but shuttered. Just when we feel we've found our new home, a place where -- if not everyone knows our name, at least they know our label -- it loses its license, lease, or cool. If we were lazy, we'd advise you to try the Boom Boom Room every single night of the week, but if on top of the world isn't really your scene, here's what's been moving and shaking amongst the movers and shakers this week. We'll be trying them out one by one, consumed with the determination to find our Beatrice Inn incarnate.

What better way to use the only sunny day of the week than to make our legion of snobbishly fashionable fashion interns take to the streets in their eight-plus platforms and play fashion detective? Armed with only a camera and an arsenal of questions, the fearsome three -- Lindsay, Laura, and Justine -- did their finest Anne Hathaway impressions and scouted the city's most sartorially delicious in their favorite retail playgrounds. Initially, they aimed to sneak up on their YSL-clad boutique-bag-bearing victims and demand to know what, exactly, they had just splurged on. But considering the current dime crunch, it ended up being an ambush of attitudes, BlackBook style. Take it away, ladies!

It seems like slim pickings for a Tuesday party prowl. Perhaps many are in hangover recovery courtesy of their Friday to Monday weekend. Most are waiting it out for humpday. But as we anticipate a heatwave, these hot spots emerge. Break out of your comfort zone, put off buying that AC unit, and join the rest of the denizens of the anti-day scene.

● Happy Ending (Lower East Side) - If you're still mourning the loss of pre-Giuliani New York, get a quick whiff here courtesy of the Tuesday night "Six Six Sick" party. Interesting fashion ensembles keep the nightlife photographers clicking; booze-drenched girls falling out of their interesting ensembles keep the nightlife photographers clicking in the tile-shower stalls. Things are a neon-bright messy in this massage parlor-cum-bar-cum-literary-hang-cum-on-your-blue dress.
● Home Sweet Home (Lower East Side) - The speakeasy vibe is peppered with middle-school nostalgia thanks to the Tuesday night "4 Page Letter - The Aaliyah Tribute Party." Feels like a locals-only event or a junior high gathering, except everyone is friends thanks to DJs Nicholas Kratochvil, Florencia Galarza, and Scott Meriam pumping 90s throwbacks and R&B tracks. And there's no running out because Sarah decided to dance with your crush when KC & JoJo started playing. We're all grown-ups here.

Women in music reigned last night in New York City. To begin with, Catherine Pierce, from the songstress-sister-duo The Pierces had an art opening at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn. Catherine invited me to check out her latest paintings on display, so naturally I said yes to the lovely lady and friend. Nadia Koch, a huge music fan and partner in Home Sweet Home, tagged along with me for the evening. We arrived at Cameo -- which sits behind The Lovin’ Cup Café -- to a sea of Catherine’s friends and family, including her younger sister Louisa, plus Paige Wood, who also had artwork on display. Alison Pierce, Catherine’s better half from The Pierces was of course there as well to support. And oh! I can’t forget this bit -- the girls introduced to me to their mother! After our introduction, I knew why her daughters are so sweet.

Sonic Youth is still ever so relevant within the world of music. Thank God! With only flickers of promising hope from young musicians, one is always prone to retreat to familiar and sublime melodies. That being said, I was so happy to say yes to an invite to hear the band’s new album, The Eternal, out June 9 on Matador Records. Coincidentally, my best friend -- the lovely and always chic Miss Kristin Vincent -- hosted the listening party at her Lower East Side bar, Home Sweet Home -- submerged within the confines of the building’s basement, speakeasy style.

In such far-flung places as Guatemala and Finland, February 14 isn't a day for all legally-bound lovers (ha ha, suckers!) to show off their ability to ensnare a mate while the rest of us suffer, sublimating our hysterics with disco fries. It's not a day one takes time out to offer respects to martyred saints. But to those friends who, when you need a shoulder to cry on, are ready with a bottle of Merlot -- or those friends who, when you needed advice about what to do now that you've lost your job, are also ready with a bottle of Merlot. That said, gifting a bundle of poppies is only the icing on the cake that is Friendship Day. If you're looking to shirk the faintest mention of the V-word and anti-parties won't cut it for you in New York (where Valentine's syndrome can be especially devastating), treat your besties to a round at these hideouts.