BEST OF NEW YORK


Nightlife

Best Classic Rock and R&B Venue
B.B. King Blues Club & Grill
237 West 42nd Street
212-997-4144


When pop music’s dinosaurs stomped through New York in years past, they had no choice but to head for a high-art theater, a beat-up club, or an overpacked bar downtown. Since June, though, classic rockers like Peter Frampton and Blue Öyster Cult and R&B legends like Chic and James Brown have been playing the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, an intimate but spacious Times Square supper club that ranges well beyond its titular subject matter. And while the décor isn’t without its concessions to the celebrity-restaurant conceit—saxophone-shaped beer taps, a small souvenir store upstairs—it’s got great sound and sight lines, a refreshing no-attitude ambience, and table-service food that’s actually good enough for a restaurant—there’s even one in the next room.