Hard to compete with Christmas ornaments, but Caren’s has managed to create a scene with the right kind of magic. With its entire leather wall and miniature custom-made chandeliers (Walters found one in an antique store, and had six more reproduced) Caren’s is a hipster's version of a fondue party.

Dark, plush and polished, with woodwork buffed to a high shrine and the pungent scent of wine wafting through the room, Caren’s evokes an air of sophistication, of people who know one another from boarding school engaging in witty banter, sipping wine and looking down on the rest of us. Two levels continue with the same vibe (meaning no VIP area), so find a seat you like and try to capture the spirit. The mix includes not just Nesbitt Burns boys, which is HQ'd uptown, but also visiting Four Seasons types and the much-desired urban cocktail crowd.

When exactly did pots of cheese garner enough ‘hip-status’ to deserve placement at cool lounges? Does the younger club generation realize the extraordinary phenomenon they're taking part in? Probably not. If they did, it might make them self-conscious and spoil their fun. Baudelaire claimed you needed drugs to achieve the "systematic disordering of the senses" that leads to poetry; Caren’s does it with music, cocktails and a bowl of melted cheese. And it's legal. - D.E