Nightlife

The Hot List

Weekday Partying

The question of where to go on a given night has haunted man since he traded hunting and gathering for drinking and carousing. Of course, <a target="_blank" href= "http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/download/?itmsUrl=itms%3A%2F%2Fax.itunes.apple.com%2FWebObjects%2FMZStore.woa%2Fwa%2FviewSoftware%3Fid%3D315116954%26mt%3D8%26ign-mscache%3D1"> there's an app for that</a>, however we decided a short list of weekday hot spots was in order. Think of it as a crib sheet for a nightlife whose historical importance for New York culture falls somewhere between The Great Gatsby and The Devil Wears Prada. In short, a Who's Who of what's what, when.

sunday night

Sway

You know this one. But after six years it's still going so strong that we're challenged to think of a more impressive Sunday night than Ben Cho and Brian DeGraw's weekly Smiths bacchanal. So maybe you don't like dancing to Morrissey, but you like dancing to Morrissey on a banquette with a hot, sweaty Kirsten Dunst. (We've seen you.)

Relevant key words: starlets, vodka-sodas, 4am, ripped tights

monday night

Lit

It was a close call. But the glitz at Butter gets edged out by the HUGS party at Lit. Maybe it's because Monday signals the return to work and hence the desire to wash out the corporate aftertaste with something more gritty, downtown and decadent. It's a mélange of art stars, skaters and indie rockers. And those are just the girls. The night gets bonus points for not really starting until 2am and not really ending until you're due at a power breakfast.

Relevant key words: tattoos, tight shirts, tequila, bathroom sex

tuesday night

Avenue

It may fancy itself as a "gastrolounge," but no one's there for the food. Essentially it's the newest luxurious hideaway in town, and Tuesday is the night. With Paul Sevigny DJ-ing, the old Beatrice doorman manning the rope and a stream of celebs letting loose, it's the place to take your friend that's still mourning the shuttered Beatrice.

Relevant key words: conspicuous, consumption, Chloë, Camel Lights

wednesday night

The Gates

The weekly Wednesday Ivy party, which feels like a runway-ready version of a prep school reunion, recently decamped from underground hipster boîte Chloe 81 to move into the more grand and stately Gates. The crush of fashion types swilling champagne and gawking at a teetering Blake Lively makes it feel like a fashion show after-after-party with a naughty streak.

Relevant key words: glamour, grandeur, Gossip Girl extras

thursday night

The Jane Hotel Ballroom

The only thing dead in here on any given night is the taxidermy, but Thursdays bring the best ruckus compared to the more mellow early week. The soaring vintage space becomes a giant dance floor with a democratic mix of models, hipsters, bankers and again, Kirsten Dunst, loosening up to Billy Idol underneath the city's largest disco ball.

Relevant key words: bright, young, things, elegantly, wasted