Angels & Kings , Lower East Side

Angels and Kings - Forget your love or loathe for emo and TRL glitterati. Pete Wentz’ ownership of Angels and Kings is more a ploy for opening-day attention associated with his band Fall Out Boy, plus partnering bands The Academy is… and Gym Class Heroes, and perhaps even his publicity-whore girlfriend Ashlee Simpson. By weeknight the spot is decidedly more East Village than Page Six—gone are the weekend’s velvet ropes and rather than drawn, its drapes are cinched to offer passersby a glimpse inside the dark box of a bar. The dim glow comes from scarlet bulbs on garish chandeliers, which hang between a solid red wall and one of exposed brick. When the room isn’t slammed with the MTV crowd, it’s actually quite spacious with stools along the back bar and pillow-adorned banquettes and benches on both sides of the room. Best to enjoy the inexpensive cocktails and chit-chat with the familiar bartender while glancing at mugshots of Axl Rose and David Crosby, rather than drop the bar’s pseudonym AK-47 and buy a t-shirt.