Friday night saw the opening of Warren 77, the new "sports bar meets country club" from Matt Abramcyk (co-owner of Smith & Mills and an underpublicized little spot called the Beatrice Inn) and NHL agitator and former Vogue intern Sean Avery (pictured with Daria Werbowy). The long, L-shaped space is appointed in dark wood, giving it an antique feel absent from most of the city's sports bars—no neon here. There is an arcade of sorts (4 Pac-Man tables, offering a variety of classic eighties games) up front, followed by a series of booths. (Seated in one during my visit: the unlikely quartet of tattoo artist Scott Campbell, Dan Colen, Batali protégée and Food Network chef Anne Burrell, and John McEnroe.) The bar is flanked with big-screens tuned to the evening's games—the Rangers' in particular, we would assume, though on Friday Mr. Avery looked more front-row than penalty box in wide-leg pleated trousers and a fine-gauge knit sweater. We weren't able to sample any of the upscale bar grub that will make up the menu, but the full-service kitchen looks like it will be put to use—more Smith & Mills in that regard than Beatrice (which, incidentally, is still closed following a Department of Buildings raid in April). Which one's door policy the new spot will adopt, only time will tell.
77 Warren St., NYC, (212) 227-8994