“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Now you’ve got an eloquent excuse for whiling away the hours at The Black Rose, an admirable mixture of a gritty Ave A bar of yore and a legit cocktail spot, opening Friday in the East Village.

Let’s go to the Q&A...

On Ave A? Is it through those church doors between 7th and St. Marks?
Correct.

This was Odessa, right?
Yeah, for decades. But the cocktails should soften the blow.

How are those?
Well, there’s the Comfortably Numb, a gin cocktail with orange marmalade. You know what, just take a look in the slideshow.

Isn’t this the name of an anarchist federation?
Mmhmm. So?

I noticed you haven’t mentioned any kind of outdoor situation, but there is one, right? There’s gotta be.
Can’t get anything past you. A backyard is forthcoming.

Live music—is that happening?
Yes, ranging from people dropping by to do acoustic sets to disco and burlesque nights.

Please tell me this isn’t a half-assed attempt at being a real East Village bar. Tell me that it’s open until 4am.
Only on nights that end in Y.