AUTHOR: Hot Plate DATE: 7:17:00 PM ----- BODY: I am eternally on the look out for a good neighborhood spot. Though I love the wasabi peanuts at Spice Market, the garden at 5 Ninth, a glass of wine at Ara, a margarita at Tortilla Flats or the crowds at the Spotted Pig, sometimes all you want is a seat, a beer and a waitress (not an actor, model or musician) without attitude. As the meatpacking district rides the expansion wave with a new nightlife impresario opening an exculsive high-end club every other week, neighborhood spots that fit this bill are becoming scarce (NY Post). Enter the Brass Monkey. Past the neon lights of the Highline and down the block lined with meat delivery trucks, this new bar rests quietly just steps from the west side highway. The modest exterior leads you into a cavernous space lined with oversized wooden booths spacious enough for big groups but intimate enough for smaller ones. You will never be short for a seat at the bar which extends down the length of the room leading you into an additional rear room dotted with bar tables and stools. If you're hungry you can order from the typically pub style menu that lists mussels as the specialty of the house and at $13 it could be worth a try. If you're prone to exploring more traditional British fare the Monkey (what I imagine I will be calling it soon) offers fish and chips, shepard's pie or bangers and mash. Of course you can always have a burger and if you would rather fill up on beer there are salads or a smoked salmon platter to choose from. Though relatively quiet on Wednesday night, there was a couple on a date at the bar, some post happy hour revelers in the back and other groups scattered casually throughout. One young lady fresh off the boat and in New York only two weeks revealed she had been drawn to the Monkey by her cousin, whose couch in Brooklyn she was sleeping on and who had discovered it after her shifts at Tortilla Flats. Though locals in the know seem to be coming, the word on the Brass Monkey is definitely not out yet. That is fine by me because I will definitely be back to sample the extensive beer list, for the mussels and most importantly for a seat. Brass Monkey 55 Little West 12th (212) 675 6686 --------