Magician: It doesn’t get less frilly than The Magician…that is, unless you include its West Village brother WXOU, or its East Village sibling WCOU (aka Tile Bar). From the big square-shaped bar area up front to the “lounge in back,” The Magician is a bar’s bar. There’s no pool table, no videogames, and no blender behind the bar. The dark space has a slight fluorescent hue, probably coming from the clock above the door, which looks like a hybrid from a Parisian train station and a 1950s diner. A non-plasma TV is always on, as is the jukebox, which plays country, classic rock, blues, and a bit of punk. While this may sound like a beer-and-shots joint, the barkeeps are craftsmen and they’re not above mixing a mean White Russian. Stop by at midnight on Sunday for “happy hour.”. |
