One of my favorite moments in the musical Hairspray is when Link tells Tracy, “You look beautiful behind bars,” and she responds, “…it must be the low-watt institutional lighting!”

So, this post is devoted to the second most important thing at a restaurant: the lighting. (The most important thing is how cool the bathrooms are, right?!)

At Brooklyn’s SEA, the scene is set with its huge disco ball, casting white circles all over this modern, club-meets-warehouse Thai restaurant. The food is nummy, the music is rockin’, and the dance party really gets started at dessert time. Go for the banana-filled spring roll!

A lover of hyper-luminous lighting will also enjoy VYNL. Its two locations (Hells Kitchen and Chelsea) are both aglow in neon orange and pink. The theatrical lighting and pop-culture décor aren’t the only “wow-makers” of VYNL…its turkey meatloaf (with a side of mashed sweet potatoes) is the best in town.

Maybe it’s because I love the 80’s, but I can’t get enough neon (I may or may not be the owner of new neon spandex shorts for bike rides this summer—I know you’re jealous!).  Well, it’s neon a’plenty at Chelsea’s Nooch, an Asian-fusion restaurant that  is a feast for the eyes as well as for the tummy.

With the spotlight finally on me, I finish with a cover of Madonna’s “Ray of Light.”

<Slow, dramatic fadeout to black.>