Jaunted

We recently tried to plan a birthday party at the seedily acclaimed yet exclusive destination, wanting to catch the 1:30am cabaret show we'd only heard really wild and graphic stories about. The typical entry fee per person for The Box ranges from $100 to $300 depending on where you sit. That's a tough entry price to stomach especially since it doesn't involve Kanye West, Madonna or even Will Ferrell. (True, Madonna and her boytoy Jesus might be watching the show with you, but still.) Anyways, after we choked on the sticker shock, we mentally prepared to pay the $16 to $22 prices for wine, beer and spirits, but The Box had something way more costly in mind.

"They require a two bottle minimum at least and [bottles] start at $575," the rep for The Box emailed us. $575 a bottle minimum?! We were floored. We aren't sure who has $1,150 to blow on bottles of rail booze in this economy, but a travel blogger ain't got that kinda bank. The Box did try to accommodate us again offering instead a one-bottle minimum down from two. But still, an evening at The Box could easily tip our debt to over $3,000 when out with a few friends.

Instead, we decided to celebrate our fourth annual 26th birthday at Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 where we had no trouble getting in and we weren't expected to drop any Benjamins on table service.

We actually ran into Ms. Sacco just a few nights later at The Guggenheim museum at an after party for the Naomi Watts and Clive Owen film "The International" hosted by The Cinema Society and Angel by Thierry Mugler. While we'd like to think it must have been our good looks and charm that got us past the notoriously difficult doorman, we wondered if the door policy had grown recessionary laxed?

"No. I don't think so, not really. We're doing just fine," Sacco smiled politely about the later and continued: "The same people that go out every night are [still] coming by. We only let people in really that we know, so if we don't know them we don't do business with them. [And] we know a lot of people."

Perhaps Simon Hammerstein could learn a thing or to from our now favorite nightlife impresario, Amy Sacco!

Related Stories:
· The Box [Official Site]

[Photo: Conway L.]