Delicately swooping lines in framed portrait drawings (all of them signed with „J.A.“) are contrasted by floor tiles that have been jointed with maximum accuracy. While the latter make up a neat grid, the former are distributed across the two-storey space in erratic fashion.
Ivory white dominates. Floor, walls and the marble counter – all shine freshly scrubbed. The mezzanine floor is lined with cast iron railing, its walls sporting further efforts from the steady hands of „J.A.“. A faint smell of cardamom lingers. The place feels vaguely colonial.
Patrons line the bar, opposed by a team of bulky bartenders, going about their business in bustling fashion. No fewer than two red T-Shirts and the simply flavoured drinks somewhat betray the room’s visual quality. A young woman and her date are seated in plain sight. On her left shoulder, a greenish blob of a bear is chasing a red balloon into great unknown plains.
- Ramona, Green Point, New York.