Simply one of the best combination bar/live music joints in all NYC, Barbes serves up a tantalizing menu of world music in its insanely small back room (maybe it fits 35?). In the front room, 70% of the space is taken up by the bar itself, so maybe another 35 people can fit there, max? Anyway, the point is it's small, intimate, and groovy. Very groovy, especially on Wednesday nights at 10 for the
Mandingo Ambassadors, a great African group that expands to as many as 10 musicians. Last Wednesday there were 10 musicians and about 22 patrons--now that's a great musician-to-audience-member ratio.
