HBO’s How to Make It in America is proving to be one of those shows (like Gossip Girl or Bored to Death) that are worth watching if only for the restaurant cameos. The first episode found a finance guy (played by Paul Liebrandt doppelgänger Eddie Kaye Thomas) trying to get past “Raz” at Avenue (strangely Raz is not played by doorman-actor Was), and last night’s episode found John Varvatos hosting a dinner in the private dining room of Freemans. Credit the producers for knowing that’s exactly where such a dinner would be held (at least, until Kenmare opens), but something about the show’s depiction of the Lower East Side skate and design scene seems just a bit glossy, no? While we await some grit, Kama Geary, co-owner of Bacaro, has created a Facebook group for a bar that surely would’ve been a filming location if it existed today. Ever been to the Hole?
The group already has 424 members, and their comments say everything you need to know about this bygone den of depravity: “I saw Bono there with 5 body guards. Also there was this one time where a guy was passed out on the back couch and we did a pile on. made sense at the time,” “I think everyone got roofied there at least once,” “favorite memory was when some dude lit off jumping jacks inside one night. least favorite was when the door fell off the bathroom when i was in there,” and most succinct, “that place was against the law.” It’s hard to say whether a place like the Hole could still exist in Manhattan (for that matter, many of the skate brats who tagged the walls can now be found sipping lambrusco at Bacaro), but hey — at least it exists on Facebook.
The Hole NYC [Facebook]
