I wanted to stay up in the “city that never sleeps”.  I relied on the New York Public Library and networking to help me discover my best options. A Musician friend told me about a couple of places he had performed at. I chose Silvana because its location on West 116th Street.  

During the day the street level storefront is a coffee shop and restaurant. In the evening, the door to the far left leads downstairs to a music haven open until 3:45 AM.

I arrived at 1:30 AM. The minute I stepped...