Global party professionals tell you the best places to get buck wild.
It’s common knowledge that the best way to experience a city is to have a local take you around. And since our summer party schedule sees us touching down in some pretty exotic locations, we decided to ring up a few fearless natives to see where they hang out. In Helsinki, Finland, we tapped the renaissance men of the Top Billin crew—DJ/producers, label owners, promoters, bloggers, and all around wild and crazy guys—to take us to rockabilly barbershops and afterhours bars. Isis and Grahmzilla of tropical club-rap phenoms Thunderheist show us the best shops and oxtail-eatin’ on Toronto’s Queen Street West before we head south to heat up the parks and food stalls of Buenos Aires with cumbia nueva crew Zizek. And just when you think you’ve seen all NYC has to offer, DJ and dairy lover Derek Plaslaiko gives you a tour of the city’s secret techno hotspots, with a side of mozzarella. Vivian Host and Ken Taylor. Photos by Vivian Host.
Derek Plaslaiko
New York City, USA
The Detroit expat and Ghostly DJ loves late-night techno parties and cheese—here’s where to get the best of both in the Big Apple.
Russo’s, 363 7th Ave., Brooklyn
This place has the best fresh mozzarella, but you have to go all the way to Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood to get it. It’s worth the trip! The mozzarella-and-prosciutto sandwich and the roasted artichokes are insane, plus they’ve got all kinds of cheeses and olives. You could easily drop $70 here without blinking an eye.
Public Assembly, 70 N. 6th St., Brooklyn
This is where we’ve done our club night, The Bunker, for almost two years now, on the first Friday of the month. It’s just a messy, dirty techno party that always ruins the rest of my weekend. As far as DJ guests, we mainly just go for artists that have never been to New York before. Come here for something different.
Bar13, 35 E. 13th St., Manhattan
Right near NYU, this bar is home to a variety of different (mostly techno) promoters, including Blkmarket Membership, Less, Sonem, and Biatch Corp. Any day from Wednesday to Sunday you can find something going on here, which is rare in NYC. It’s become a home of sorts, and they’ve got a really great roof deck where they throw a Sunday BBQ. I like to show up there and grill steaks.
Marcy Hotel, secret location, Brooklyn
This secret Williamsburg location is where most of the Wolf & Lamb parties go down, usually until noon the next day. It’s a really simple party: very intimate, very hot, and the people that go seem to be up for going until it ends.
East Village Cheese Shop, 40 3rd Ave., Manhattan
Oh, dude, it’s the bomb. It’s run by Tibetan monks. Somehow they get their hands on really expensive cheeses and sell them for really cheap. One of my favorites, a bleu cheese called St. Augere, normally sells for $28.99 a pound and here I got it for $3.99 a pound!
Halcyon, 57 Pearl St., Brooklyn
This great all-around record shop in Dumbo sells mostly electronic music, but also rock, hip-hop, and old funk, plus really cool clothing and books. Plus, I get to hang out with one of the owners, Shawn Schwartz, who is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met.
Croxley Ales, 28 Avenue B, Manhattan
On Mondays and Wednesdays, this sports bar sells 10-cent Buffalo wings that you have to buy in groups of 20. They’re definitely good for sweating out all the crap you’ve done to your body over the weekend. We’ve had competitions to see how many we can eat. I’ve gone about 28. Adam Beyer ate the most—about 34 without even trying… and he ate a salad.
12Turns13, secret location, Brooklyn
This location on Brooklyn’s Classon Avenue is used for the House and Home parties, where they mainly play the deeper side of house. DJ Spinoza (who throws The Bunker) does the party with Anthony Parasol and Steve, the guy who owns this loft. The DJ booth is set up in the kitchen and there’s a beautiful roof deck with a really good view of Manhattan.
