If I were in charge of the Oscars this year, I'd be taking a good long gulp of Johnnie Walker on the rocks with some equally-beleaguered colleague right about now. After all, viewers of glamorous, star-studded award shows have been steadily declining. The Golden Globes? Down a whopping 37% in the Nielsen's from last year. The Grammys? Down 28%. And I wouldn't count on the caustic Chris Rock enticing much of a bigger audience - he's likely to turn away just as many viewers as he attracts.
Although I tune in to the Oscars giddy with anticipation merely at the chance to watch my favorite stars handing out gold-plated awards after reading cheesy scripted lines, I must admit I wouldn't mind an inside look at the real main event: the Oscar parties.
In 1994, the Academy began to allow one charity per city to hold a fund-raising party on the night of the big show. Saint, the self-styled upscale restaurant/lounge/bar in the basement of the Copley Square Hotel, will be hosting Boston's bash this year.
On normal, non-Oscar Party nights, expect to find a condescending bouncer waiting to stop you at the door. He will then, of course, proceed to amuse himself by taking his own sweet time "checking" IDs and muttering mysteriously into his 007 earpiece, while women shiver in their Galliano dresses and men try their best not to look cold in their light Prada blazers.
I know that most people in Boston don't seem to have much patience with these types of bouncers. However, their attitude does reflect a quality lounge and restaurant that you'd be hard pressed to find any closer to Boston than New York City. Although Saint can't really compare to the best in NYC or LA, I really don't know of any better place to hold a glitzy after-party worthy of the Oscars in the Hub.
Inside, Saint sports three distinctly different rooms. My favorite: the Bordello room. Red, plush and elegantly decorated, the Bordello room simultaneously radiates both class and an air of seduction. If you've reserved a table ahead of time, lean back and get ready for some heavy duty lounging in their bed-like couches (regulars at Saint call them "bed pods.") Be aware, however: you and your friends had better be ready to drop a few hundred dollars on a couple bottles of Dom Perignon to cover the minimum charge for a table reservation.
The next room over is Saint's lounge/dining room. Here, you'll find the 30-foot long "communal table" - think of a seemingly endless sushi bar. I have never eaten here, but from what I hear, the fusion Asian-European food is good, if on the pricy side. I would also imagine the bar-table design, while functional during the drinking hours later at night, to be a drawback during a meal. And if the music is even close to as loud as it was when I was there later at night, you'd have to lean over and yell in the ear of your friend for them to hear anything - and this just after you shoveled a piece of steak into your mouth.
On the plus side, the small stage area in this room is perfect for live music gigs during the week and for DJs to show off their stuff on weekends. Ice blue luminescent walls give clubbers the opportunity to cool down after a stint in the Bordello beds. If you're sick of people-watching, don't forget to scope out the plasma TVs decorating the walls.
Finally, there is Saint's Threshold room. Unfortunately, the white leather sofas here aren't nearly as comfortable as the bed pods in the Bordello. On the other hand, after a few of the delicious concoctions from the Threshold's vodka infusion bar, you won't mind even the hardest stool. My lychee drink, the name of which I have long forgotten, was a tad on the sweet side, but absolutely delish. I don't know what vodka they use there (the bartender's response was completely drowned out by the music) but believe me, no Brita filter will be necessary.
The quality of service at Saint is best characterized as erratic. My party, with a 3:1 girl-boy ratio, had little trouble getting through the door. Expect to be asked whether you're a member: members get first dibs when making reservations and in the queue outside. Inside, you're more likely to encounter snooty attitudes from the waitresses as a non-member (this of course changes as you order more and the anticipated tip grows larger and larger). At the bar however, the male bartenders are much friendlier and are actually quite easy to chat with as they make your drinks.
Expect a radically different scene at this Sunday night's Oscar Party, however. For a cover charge ($40 in advance, $55 at the door - if available,) guests will be treated to a "complimentary" reception and menu from Saint's resident master chef, Ren?© Michelene. They will also receive the same program handed out to stars attending the ceremony at the Kodak Theatre.
A live broadcast of the awards ceremony from Hollywood will be preceded by a high-end silent auction of "great entertainment items," according to the official invitation. Proceeds from this and the cover will benefit the Ellie Fund, an organization dedicated to breast cancer research. Once the show starts, I suggest helping yourself to the free-flowing tap of Sam Adams beer before moseying it on over to the Bordello room to settle back and enjoy the show.
