I associate good memories with the number 33 here in Boston. More than just a number, 33 is also a restaurant and lounge tucked away in Back Bay, a few blocks from Newbury Street. It is a little more of an inconvenience for Tufts students to get to, but has nonetheless been one of my favorite destinations in Beantown.
33 doubles as both a restaurant and a lounge. Upstairs, diners choose from a menu of contemporary American cuisine, designed by executive chef Anthony Dawodu, previously of the Four Seasons hotel. Around 10 p.m., however, food and plates are cleared away to make room for young night crawlers starting to peep in at the doors.
But be forewarned kiddies: if you only intend to show up for after-dinner drinks, 33 has a 21+ policy and checks ID at the door. Dressed nicely, young'uns can circumvent this by showing up for a late dinner and bumming around until the night starts.
Or, if you're lucky like my 20-year-old self was back in the day, you may be able to hide behind a group of your older, 26-year-old friends and have the bouncer let you in with no questions asked. Once in, however, don't ruin the nice bouncer's good faith - stick with the soda. I certainly did, of course (cough).
The lounge is comprised of two floors: upstairs has tables for eating and drinking, while downstairs features a dance floor for some boogieing. When I walked down the flight of stairs lit by cool, color-changing LED lights for the first time one night long ago, I expected to enter a room with a similarly cold and sterile sci-fi theme.
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself surrounded by cozy brick walls lit by soft red and purple hues. The warm d?©cor is a nice contrast to the upbeat, energetic music spun by a live DJ in the corner.
When you have had enough dancing and want to give your tired feet a rest, you will be hard pressed to find somewhere to sit downstairs. All room on the couches will usually already be occupied by a warm body or by mountains of jackets and other items of clothing. So unless you know any of those warm bodies personally, instead of planting yourself in one of their laps, I suggest you head upstairs.
If it weren't the dead of winter, you could head outside to the patio area by the entrance for a breath of fresh air ... or a lungful of smoke from the smoker upwind. If you're lucky enough to grab one of the few tables outside, it's a nice chance to enjoy a conversation with friends away from the bustle of activity inside.
Once you're ready to rejoin the party, head over to the bar upstairs. There are fully stocked bars both upstairs and downstairs, but at the former, you're less likely to have your drink spilled all over you by some over-enthusiastic dancer. (I'm speaking from many an experience.) Plus, there's a good chance that you and your party can grab yourselves one of the tables in the nice little corner nook at the back of the floor. Here, servers are available to take orders, which means that you don't need to worry about shouldering your way through the overly chaotic mess at the bar.
The martinis at 33 are some of the best around - and they'd better be at $12 a glass. The lounge's signature martini is the 33-tini, made with fresh strawberries, sour-apple liqueur, and Hypnotiq. It's more of a cocktail than a martini, but it is served in a martini glass, which is good enough for me. As a pineapple-hater, I blanched at the thought of a Carnival, which is pineapple-infused vodka with Cointreau, white grape juice and dessert wine, but I'm told that it's rather good.
For those who don't mind thicker drinks, 33 offers a heavenly chocolate martini too. All these fancy concoctions aside, my hands-down favourite is the apple martini. I wouldn't recommend having more than one as it's so sweet (think liquid apple Jolly Ranchers) but it is one drink you should not miss.
As the clock approaches 2 a.m. and the night winds down, there will be no shortage of taxis to take Jumbos back to campus. If you decide to leave before the T closes at 12:30, the closest T stops are the Arlington stop, a couple blocks back on Boylston Street, and Back Bay station. In this weather, a few blocks is a long way and having a warm, empty taxi waiting for you at the door is a godsend.
