Idlewild used to be a bar on Houston Street and Second Avenue in New York City, located next to the Sunshine Cinema. Named after the airport, Idlewild was a theme bar without the idiocy associated with other bars of the type (see Beauty Bar or Pharmacy).
The interior of the bar was fashioned after the cabin of an airplane. 747-type seats flanked the main aisle, clustered in groups of four around low tables. In-flight magazines were scattered here and there, and it was technically possible to call a waiter with the overhead Call Attendant buttons on slow nights. The bar proper was at the back, where drinks were mixed (and mixed extremely well) by a friendly and drop-dead gorgeous collection of bartenders. The bar was famous (or notorious, depending on the circumstances) for their free drinks nights - the open bars would technically last from 10 to 11 PM, but the owner left at 11, so...you can imagine what kind of disasters awaited the initiated after that.
Idlewild is, sadly, no more. The management wanted to attract a slightly less disreputable crowd, so the bar was completely remodeled about 6 months ago. Its new incarnation, White Rabbit, has lost some of the charm of the original and seems to attract an odd collection of book editors and Japanese hipsters. Totally swingin' on a good night, yet it's missing something. Might be nostalgia creeping into my memories of the place, but it's not quite as much fun as it used to be.
Luckily, the bartenders haven't changed one bit.