Only in NYC do you start the party at 11pm on a Sunday night.  But that is when the Standard Hotel has their weekly Bingo night.  I have been wanting to attend for a while now, but work at 8am Monday morning makes it a no-go.  A few weeks ago, however, I had Monday off so I was finally able to check it out.  I made the reservation 2 weeks in advance, which is the earliest they allow.  I’d suggest calling first thing in the morning, as I have been told that reservations fill up quickly.  There is a $35 minimum per person, but if you plan on eating and having a drink or two, this is easily done.

Each week has a different theme and they encourage you to dress for the theme.  Our theme was “John Hughes movies.”  We took that to mean 80’s themed, which was exciting because 80’s music is my favorite.  Also who doesn’t love dressing up in 80’s gear?  The tables were decorated with pictures of John Hughes movie cases.  I was thinking about Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, etc, but I had no idea how many others were actually John Hughes movies (Home Alone, Uncle Buck, Curly Sue?).

We ordered some food and a round of drinks before bingo started to get to that $35 minimum and I recommend doing so because the food was great.  Get the fries….maybe the best I’ve ever had!  After the first round of drinks, we decided to have some fun and go for the punch bowl, which were $65….a steal in NYC.

The emcee for the night, Michael, was great at keeping the party going, initiating dance breaks throughout the night and keeping us laughing.  Each time O-69 was called, there was a dance break where the DJ played some kind of sex song (i.e. I Wanna Sex You Up, My Neck, My Back, etc.).  Then between rounds it was a great mix of 80’s music and Balls Karaoke.  Balls Karaoke is regular karaoke but you have to change one of the main words of the song to “balls.”  For example, someone sang, “My balls will go on.”  Later in the night the DJ played some of the Balls Karaoke songs which was so fun.  My Heart Will Go On is the for sure one of the best group drunk karaoke song.

Bingo got started around 11:15 pm.  Each person was given 2 bingo cards to use throughout the night.  The numbers get folded over during each game so that you are able to re-use the card.  The rules are pretty easy, call a bingo and if it’s confirmed, you win a bottle of champs.  If you call a bingo and you are wrong, they make you dance a lap around the restaurant (terrifying).  If you call a bingo at the same time as someone else and both bingos’ are confirmed, it’s a dance off to determine the winner (my worst nightmare).

We played 3 rounds of bingo, and during the last round my friend Natalie got a bingo…woo hoo!  BUT, another girl also called bingo, which meant we had ourselves a dance off!  The other girl was with a group of about 15 people so Nat had her work cut out for her.  But by the end of the 2 SONG dance off, everyone else in the restaurant was chanting “Nat-a-lie” and she won the dance off hands down!  Which meant a free bottle of champs for our table…..  After the actual bingo ended, we closed the night with an 80’s dance party.  It was such a fun night and I can’t wait to go back.  If you have a Monday off or have the ability to go in later in the day, I’d definitely recommend checking it out.  It’s a great way to kick off the work week and a really fun night out in NYC!