We made a new year’s resolution to check off one thing from our Rochester To-Do List each week, so last night, we headed out to the High Falls entertainment zone, or whatever its official name is, a reclaimed mill and warehouse area over looking the High Falls that is now filled with offices, bars, clubsm and shops. It is middle of January, yes, but it was a Friday night, nearly 60? out (Rochester, where is your famed winter? Oh wait, here it is. It dropped 30 degrees and now it’s snowing), and it was still nearly deserted. We headed into Tiki Bob’s, but it was totally empty, except for a few bartenders, so we headed to the top floor, the home of Lounge Eleven. We had a drink as the place filled up with people who made us feel underdressed – the atmosphere was strange for Rochester, best described in the article as “a plush setting worthy of a railroad baron’s Euro-chic bordello.”

From Eleven, we headed over to Keys Martini & Piano Bar (beware of the noisily interactive website), equally deserted despite the prime location and weekend hour. We hung out at the bar and listened to umpteen renditions of the songs of Billy Joel, John Mayer, the Barenaked Ladies, and Ben Folds. The place seemed like it would be a lots of fun if there were more people around, and it might seem a little more normal if it weren’t still bedecked with Christmas decorations. We can say we’ve been, though, and we had a good time. Maybe we’ll be back, if we win the drawing for the free party; no one else had entered, as far as we could see.