Covet Lounge Enhances Midtown Manhattan’s Nightlife Scene

Plus I Got to See NY’s Real Housewife, Ramona Singer and She is Gorgeous!

On Tuesday, I attended a media event at Covet Lounge, one of Manhattan’s newest night spots.  Located on 55th Street at Lexington Avenue, this chic midtown restaurant cum cocktail lounge is perfectly situated to attract the after-business crowd looking for an elegant venue in which to unwind, drink and dine. But besides its weeknight allure, there’s so much to recommend Covet for a weekend visit.  Its 70-seat, beautifully decorated restaurant, where the menu is inspired by the Mediterranean and the Pacific Rim, is presided over by Chef John Keller of Bruno Jamais and Nobu fame.  Fabulous signature beverages include homemade organic syrups and Covet’s European ambience (read sexy) will impress out of town guests as well as jaded New Yorkers who’ve seen and experienced it all.

Covet Lounge is the realized vision of Miami nightlife kingpin Eric Milon (South Beach’s The Strand, Prive and The Living Room) and Andre Hnatyszak who’ve transformed this venue into a space where romance meets sophistication and melds with over-the-top style. Witness the dining room’s Zeppelin chandeliers by Marcel Wanders and oil paintings by renowned artist Robert Lambert. The below-street-level lounge boasts rough-hewn wood, plush banquets and tryst-worthy nooks and crannies that are guaranteed to seduce even the most reticent of paramours.  Honestly, the place is made for romance and is perhaps one of the sexiest spots in all of Manhattan.

I did say that Real Housewife of New York Ramona Singer hosted the media event, didn’t I?  And some of you reading this post want to know more about that, right?  Well, I won’t make you wait much longer for the dish …

Ramona Singer, who prior to arriving at Covet, tweeted that she was on her way, entered the downstairs lounge at around 8:45, an hour and a half after the event began and just long enough to get attendees happily buzzed on free-flowing signature cocktails. (Delicious hors d’oeuvres were butlered by a good-looking and attentive staff that, if it’s an indication of the daily service, will keep patrons fully sated and therefore, happy.)  Singer wore a black Loris Diran dress.  (Fans of the show will remember Ms Singer strutting down the runway in a Loris Diran design during Alex McCord’s pet project, Brooklyn Fashion Weekend.) Although Singer (let other bloggers refer to her as Ramona. I don’t know her and so will refrain from using the familiar form of address,) didn’t mingle with the media’s elite who obviously eagerly awaited her arrival downstairs, I understand from the uber-professional women from KMR Communications, Inc., the PR firm that organized and promoted the event, that she did spend quite a bit of time giving private press interviews upstairs.  Alas, EverBeautiful.com can’t compete with prime time entertainment shows, so I contented myself by standing several feet away from Ms. Singer – close enough to report that she is tiny, fit, beautiful and ageless. She has a gorgeous smile, arresting eyes and flawless skin. I hung around for a little and noticed that no one in the crowd approached her.  (I also noticed that, besides the flashing of the professional photographer’s cameras – there were many in attendance – the media guests pointed cell phones and digital cameras in Ms. Singer’s direction.  To hell with the so-what-you’re-famous attitude which makes New York a great place for celebrities to live and work.  Seriously, I’ve seen New Yorkers walk by A-listers with nary a look – but Ms. Singer had us pulling out our cell phone cameras and blinding her with our flashes.  I turned to my daughter, who was my “plus one” for the evening and said, “No one is talking to her.  They’re just taking pictures. I’m going to talk to her and give her my business card.” I pushed my way through the six or so people who stood rooted in front of me and elbowed a photographer or two, but I was too late.  In the blink of a false eyelash, Ms. Singer made her exit. While many guests still remained to partake of the free food, drinks and ambience, I, with an early morning commute the next day, took my leave too – but not before I got my goodie bag. I have to admit that, while others love the gratis comestibles, I’m all about the goodie bag.  And the staff at KMR Communications, Inc. didn’t disappoint.  It was loaded with full-size samples from clients including Nu-NAAT, Hey Dude Skin Care and Clearly Beautiful and gift certificates from Roy Teeluck Salon, J Tav Clinical Skin Care & Laser Center and cosmetic surgeon Dr. Norman Rowe, among many others.  Happily there was also a gift certificate valued at $50.00 to be used at Covet Lounge.  Frankly, with or without the gift certificate, I will be back.  The drinks, the hors d’oeuvres, the ambience call me and this time, I don’t care if there isn’t a Housewife in sight.

Covet Lounge – Hours: Mon. – Wed.: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Thurs – Sat: 5 p.m. to 4 a.m.; Sun.: 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Address: 137 East 55th Street (at Lexington Avenue,) NYC

Phone Number:  212 223-2829

This post is dedicated to my “Tuesday” friends.