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The sliding bookcase at Back Room.
(Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux) |
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- Back Room
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102 Norfolk St., 212-228-5098
Bars hidden behind unmarked doors are the faux-grunge counterpart to bottle-service clubs. Back Room, which fronts as a closed toy shop�you creep down an alley to find the entrance�is really no more of a mystery than its rumored investors, Tim Robbins (who’s been tending bar) and Mark Messier, but its devotion to the concept is charming. Drinks are served in teacups to foil �the bulls� (as the police were known in thirties gangster movies), the front door has a peek-and-speak hole, and a sliding bookcase reveals a second bar.