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Rumor has it this place
was way hip back in the day. I have some recollection of an old boss
of mine using a bunch of shots of the place in a montage of downtown
he used for an industrial film for Calvin Klein or Donna Karan or
something. It had The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" playing
in the background and made me think "Now there is a joint filled with
beautiful people that I could never get into!" That was 1996. This
is 2005 or 2006 or whenever (depending on when you're reading this),
and apparently I was either mistaken way back then, or they have drastically
changed their door policy. I've been kicked out of East Village dives
before (true story), so the fact they let my raggedy ass in here is
true testament to the degeneration of downtown Manhattan's cachet.
The sad state of the restaurant/bar's neon sign and awnings is further
proof of the area's decline. Whatever the case, The Odeon is designed
in that simple Brasserie fashion that is so popular these days with
the white tile and the slate bar and the red vinyl banquettes. Well,
not necessarily popular, but certainly prevalent. Considering this
place has been around for a long time, I would have to imagine it
was the place that spawned all the imitators. For that I must prostrate
myself. I must also pay respect to the more than a few older men and
their very hot, young female companions. Seems these dudes came here
in the 80s when they too were in their twenties, and just never left.
Maybe they were just hanging out with their nieces. Maybe that thing
on the guy's head at the first booth was actually once made of real
human hair. Speculation aside, we enjoyed our short time sitting at
the small bar drinking our overpriced beers. This is obviously more
of a restaurant than a bar--the bar actually kind of faces the wall--but
it was worth stopping in to see how the formerly beautiful people
live. [MF]
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