My real-life buddy Mike went to get drinks and reported that he was refused service at the bar, that everything in the lounge was to be put on one tab. Um yeah, like I'd ever put my had into that ring of certain fire. So I went to the bar myself, and despite wearing a nametag that identified me as part of this nerdfest, I was able to purchase a rum and coke and a Heineken for the low, low price of $16. Next to me at the bar were two girls whose noses couldn't be higher in the air if you hit them with an uppercut. They were asking each other what was going on. "It looks like some kind of convention," one said. Neither asked me, who obviously knew the answer. Guess they thought it would have been better to incorrectly assume.

I went back into the lounge, then back out, then was intercepted coming back. I engaged in this conversation with a hostess with mocha skin and long, straight black hair pulled back:

Hostess: You can't go back in there with drinks.
Me: My friend was saying something about that. You're putting everything on one tab for fifty people?
Hostess: That's right.
Me: Well, whose credit card do you have?
Hostess: I guess you'll just have to figure that out for yourselves.

She then strutted away — perhaps the pole stuck up her ass needed to be adjusted — so I didn't get to deliver my follow-up question about who it was she thought she was talking to.

When the crowd reached about 75 — all of whom fit comfortably in the lounge, where we sat and stood and chatted ... like people do in a lounge — AZ not only refused service, but refused to allow people in the front door, claiming they had reached capacity. They hadn't, trust me. So instead of allowing people to come in from the bitter cold to meet people whose phone numbers they did not know, AZ sent them home on a Friday night to look up contact info for the Better Business Bureau.

Someone heard an AZ staffer whine, "They didn't tell us they were coming." That would have been a courtesy, I guess, but considering none of us was complaining about the size of the space or the wait for drinks (when we weren't flat-out refused), it wasn't a necessity. So they wanted us out because of image. Whatever thousands of dollars the group would have spent there was inconsequential to their bottom line, which was to protect their rep. And in the process, AZ managed to carve out a reputation among 100 or so writers and their readers as a New York business who leaves its neighbors out in the cold and kicks them out for lounging in a lounge. A big Al Goldstein-style "Fuck You" goes out to them. May they succeed in serving only people who match their image: obnoxious and classless, no matter how overpriced the drinks.

And I'm not sure, but I think I saw a big rat scurry across the floor before we left.

---

The group moved to Siberia, a punkish, rockish dive in Hell's Kitchen that was more than happy to serve our large group with $4 domestic beers. And we didn't even tell them we were coming!

As for the party itself, it was a good time. I had some back-up this year with five or so real-life friends, so there was no awkwardness, even though almost no one there reads my blog, and I don't read theirs. The fun parts were going through the RSVP list of bloggers with my friend to see if any hot chicks were gonna be there, and hearing a lesbian ask another friend, "Are you gonna bend over so I can fuck you in the ass with my strap-on?" You don't really hear that every day.

Other Accounts From the Party:

• Stephanie Klein — Just-met UWS neighbor recounts her experience in the downstairs rock club at Siberia.

• Gothamist — Leads off with a picture of my friend Kevin. Actually, it's his back, as he was the only whore to wear a t-shirt with his URL on it. The Gothamist is a cool site, like Gawker, but without the smart-ass.

• RachelleB — A few photos from the Nerd Party. Her words, not mine. I wrote nerdfest.

• PhilosophicalKarl — Not all that philosophical of a recap. But it counts.

• LornaGrl — Says she got charged $18 for a drink at AZ. Girl, what the hell did you order?

• Daniella's Misadventures — She had a lovely time. Not at AZ. The place sucks.

• Pepper of the Earth — Writes, "To be fair, it is against bar drinkiquette to show up en masse without letting them know you’re coming in, but you know something? If you run a bar, you learn to roll with it."

• No Apologies — Belle says she wasn't feeling social but had a good time anyway.

• Laid-Off Dad — Writes, "It was never our intention to imply that AZ has let its success as a highly acclaimed, three-star eatery warp its employees into a bunch of arrogant, scornful jagoffs."

• Ken Goldstein — A blog I actually read. Ken's a good guy, even for a Mets Mariners fan.

• Rickey.org — Includes some pictures.

• Amy's New York Notebook — Links to places where you can post a review of AZ. Allow me to suggest some words for inclusion: rude, dishonest (capacity? um, no), leaks, rats, roaches.

• Paul Frankenstein — Photos from the event organizer. Thanks, Paul.