Find a Manhattan Smoking Lounge
Cigar Aficionado has long had a policy about news and retailers: it doesn't happen. Well, times are tough, and it looks like those walls are coming down. The magazine doesn't have much of a choice, particularly after word has spread of between 25 and 30 layoffs (heard it from two confidential sources). So, what happens next? The publication dives headfirst into editorial prostitution.
The newly opened Cigar Inn -- on Second Avenue between E 54th Street and E 55th Street -- features a Cigar Aficionado-sponsored smoking lounge, with leather chairs, a working fireplace and even a barber's chair (of little use ot me, thanks to mother nature. You can get your sartorial needs taken care of at the Brioni counter.
So, it's hardly surprising that this establishment is popping up regularly on the once sacrosanct pages of the cigar community's "bible." The good news, however, is that you'll be able to get a sense (however brief) of what your other options are in New York.
The video below, set in Cigar Inn, does give you a good sense of your indoor smoking options in a city held hostage for several years by a smoking ban. Believe it or not, there are still a few places where you can grab a drink and a smoke at the same time -- including the Carnegie Club, Club Macanudo and the members-only Grand Havana Room.
Despite what you see, you do have options outside the Cigar Inn. While the 3,000 sqft establishment is a sight to behold, there are gems all over Manhattan.
[Video via Cigar Aficionado, photo Steve Zak]
