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Mixing food with clubbing on the UES

By David Freedlander | Special to amNewYork

December 1, 2006

The problem with the Upper East Side, New York's Silk Stocking District, has always been that it isn't a very good place to party. And the problem with most places to party in the city is that they are not very good places to get some late night grub.

But The Grand, a new nightclub on East 58th and Madison Avenue, hopes to solve both problems.

The club is the brainchild of nightlife impresario Stratis Morfogen, who brought over Phillipe Chow, the chef from his popular Chinese eatery Philippe, to provide the menu at the new club.

"No clubs have tapped into the Asian market," Morfogen said. "And people don't want to have to go all the way to Chelsea to find a club, especially with all the problems they¹ve been having down there."

He hopes that 600 or so diners that Philippe serves will stay local and meander up the street to the Grand rather than fight for a cab to go downtown. That crowd, combined with a scarcity of nightclub spots for other would-be partiers, has lead to big weekend crowds at the 650-person space.

Former fashion magazine editor Billy Delaino designed the new 8,000-foot club with red leather couches, black crystal chandeliers, and an opal staircase.

Alongside spring rolls and beef satay from Philippe, the club features a fresh fruit juice bar where patrons can have their watermelons, lychees and grapefruits freshly squeezed for specialty cocktails.

Morfogen hopes the club can be upscale without being pretentious.

"It doesn't feel like you are walking into a dance club, it feels like you walking into somebody's living room," he said. "It brings you back to the '80s or the late '70s. It¹s the way nightclubs used to be."