Evening star., 1938-04-10

w column to the night life
of New York. This week,
being particularly quiet one, with
all activities dormant until after
Easter, we spent several health
shattering evenings prowling among
the haunts of the glittering cafe
society and the great visiting Amer
lean public.
One of the results of these expe-
ditions was the conviction that
there are two ways of burning the
candle. Your evening plans should
be predicated upon whether you
are going dressed in evening clothes
or day clothes. Not that it isn't
possible to go anywhere in street
clothes, this time of year anyway,
but you are more comfortable if
you swank at El Morocco and sit
in an old and sturdy suit at the
American Music Hall.
Suppose you feel rich, want to
show yourself off, are willing to
start the evening with late dinner
and don't care if you don't get
home until after the curfew tolls,
here is a safe and inclusive route:
Dinner at Jack and Charles,
known to every New Yorker and
to a large part of the population Of
the United States as "2l," is deli
rious opd nypapeiva ,od ,rouloJ
and there are always some celeb
rites around. You might see Her
bert Swope or Woolcott Gibbs or
John O'Hara or Ina Claire or Mrs.
Orson D. Mum. who has achieved
fame by wearing the most startling
hats in New York; or Walter VIM
chell or George kaufman or Gloria
Baker or Noel Coward or Marc
Conelly or Valentino. There are
telephones at every table, the SIM
pie food is excellent and the more
elaborate dishes such as tournedos
Victoria. crepes suzettes and apple
pancakes are as fine as they are
dear.
Dine. at leisure, at $50 and then
take a second cup of coffee at the
Trlanon Room in the Ambassador
Hotel. If you time it right you
will hear Adelaide Moffett Brooks,
daughter of former Federal Hous-
ing Administrator James A. Moffett.
She sings with lovely. well-timed.
easy contralto voice and looks fresh
and tanned.
The next step is the Stork Club.
Scudder Middleton says it is thus
named because, during the speak
easy era, all the pretty babies came
there. Sherman Billingsley who
runs this highly successful enter
prise with the help of Steve Han
nagan, godfather of Miami, has a
genius for management and the
right type of night club publicity.
He considers it a good investment
to spend money on flowers and re-
pairs and favors. He sends gar
denias and carnations to the tables
OF his good customers and at
Christmas time has been known to
send jeweled cigarette cases and
crates Of champagne.
At lunch time it is the favorite
hangout of the debutantes and COL
lege boys, and at night the place
Is jammed with visiting firemen
and night club hawks such as
Lucius Beebe. Louis Sobol, Marian
Cooley. "Shipwreck Kelly" Bea
Lille and Eddie Dowling. The
walls are a deep blue green, with
indirect colored lighting. There are
two marvellous orchestras, a swing
band conducted by Bobby Parks
and a rhumba band with Milo
Menendez. 1t is gay and pleasant.
The next place to 70 is the
Maisonette Russo in the Saint Reeis
Hotel. Here is Old World glamour,
so exquisitely presented that the
illusion Of lost world is with YOU
Prince Serge Obelensky, one-time
brother-in-law Of Vincent Astor.
who owns the Saint Regis, and still
a great friend Of his, has created
the only really seductive night club
in New York.
The room itself Is not very big,
the lights are soft as stars and
the seats along the wall are deep.
Mrs. Cameron Tiffany decorated it
under the supervision OF Prince
Obelensky, after the pattern of an
old Czarist room. The orchestra,
dressed in scarlet Russian tunics,
plays swinging Viennese waltzes.
There is floor show that is small
and enhancing. 1t is announced
as "Can-Can, or Paris in the Days