Hook-up app Tinder has improved the work satisfaction level of bartenders everywhere tenfold by providing nightly entertainment featuring complete strangers on awkward first dates, multiplied to the power of three by the level of crazies in New York City.
Case in point – Flatiron hangout Barbounia, a favorite among the Tinder dating crowd, largely due to the raucous noise levels in the Mediterranean-themed abode, which offers a layer of protection amid the awkward silence when you realized the trust fund NYU pre-med jock sitting opposite you should have been a definite slide left.
While people watching on a lazy Sunday in Soho used to be a favored pastime among local New Yorkers, ‘Tinder Time’ is the latest viewing pleasure among those looking for free entertainment over cocktails amid the city’s skyrocketing event prices.
Barounia, designed like an oversized Roman bathhouse – a venue notorious for facilitating its fair share of dalliances – features a boisterous open kitchen and long, always-crowded bar, perfect for performing a disappearing act when your blind date refuses to speak in anything but hashtags.
Tinder, which is supposed to help you “discover those around you”, is an app that lets you judge a person based solely on looks, and occasionally a witty bio, if you actually get that far after swiping right.
But in cramped New York City, the app can become a little too effective at achieving its goal – insert that awkward moment where you see your single, 40-year old female manager’s sexy come-hither selfie alerting downtown that she’s ‘up for anything’.
While Bravo’s new ‘Singles Project’ reality TV show provides ‘real-time’ interaction between fans and cast members via a social media feedback loop – whereby viewers weigh in on the stars’ weekly dates – you don’t need to turn on your TV to watch the drama unfold live nightly at your closest NY watering hole.
At Barbounia, the Tinder Time refreshments of choice include an array of Greek tapas and Mediterranean fare, while the suite of Serbian mafia studs behind the bar will whip you up a delicious cocktail of your choosing – a favorite of Curbing The Catwalk’s is a firebomb spicy Margarita, laced with a generous serving of ground jalapeños.
As the chill of fall begins to set in and you’re forced to take your social time to warmer pastures, consider Tinder Time as an entertaining way to pass the time during your evenings this season.
