Mano a Mano

On Thursday night, both Gotham and Cosmopolitan magazines toasted their annual crops of hot bachelors, as featured in each of the pubs' current issues. (Gotham feted 100 from New York; Cosmo celebrated a stud from each state.)

If ever there was a study in contrasting brands, this was it. Case in point: Two of the men selected included Stephen C. Brandman, co-owner of the Thompson Hotels Chelsea (a reasonably attractive, professional-looking guy with a receding hairline) and Oliver Foley, a ski instructor with perfectly proportioned facial features and a killer six-pack. Have a guess as to who was featured in which pages?The Hawaiian Tropic Zone, located along the Seventh Avenue madness of Times Square, served as the setting for Gotham's bash. The venue is a partner of the magazine's, but Niche Media group marketing director Emily McLintock noted that the venue was also a good fit for the event. "We host the event at a typically male-centric location," she said. While as many as 50 of the bachelors from the list made the scene, the real eye candy was, of course, the lithe, tanned, and curvy servers from the Hawaiian Tropic Zone, who passed drinks and hors d'oeuvres while dressed in black miniskirts and bikini tops. (Photos of the top 100 bachelors—not all of them particularly flattering—flashed on screens above the bar, but the overall message of the event was that these guys were winners in New York's significantly higher-stakes "beauty" contest: They were successful, rich, and single.)

Gotham's event didn't ignore the adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach: David Burke inventively presented a seemingly endless  supply of stellar appetizers, including oyster sake shooters, lobster rolls, and truffle rice balls.

The scene at Cosmo's testosterone-fueled event was decidedly different. Marquee provided the backdrop, and there, it was a crowd of women doing the objectifying: The magazine flew in all 50 of the ridiculously attractive young bucks for the evening. Video of the bachelors (featuring lots of pecs and flat stomachs) looped above the bar, serving as a nice distraction while one waited for a drink. The official introduction of the bachelors, conducted as a sort of truncated fashion show under prominent Cosmo signage, prompted much hooting and hollering from attendees, who were only egged on by many contestants repeatedly removing their shirts as they took the stage. The grand moment of the evening—the announcement of the Bachelor of the Year as determined by Cosmo readers— revealed 23-year old Brian Watkins from Ohio as the winner; he took home a $10,000 check for being OMG super hot. (Get this: His sister nominated him.)

Unlike Gotham, Cosmo was not about to let the festivities go undocumented: A red carpet provided photo ops and interviews, camera crews taped the proceedings, and in the corner of the club, Cosmo Radio on Sirius broadcast live throughout the event.

Iowa's rep, 21-year-old Brad Horan, was impressed with the proceedings. "I think it's ridiculously awesome," he said, taking a break from the packed crowd on the edge of the space toward the end of the evening. "But I thought we'd be spread out more, so we can talk to each other. It's kind of hard. At least people are leaving now, so you can move around."

Aside from the gender-biased dueling eye candy at event, perhaps the biggest difference between the Gotham and Cosmo celebrations was the identification of the men being toasted in each room. Gotham's high-rolling rich guys mingled among the crowd anonymously, perhaps not wanting any more attention (or gold diggers). Cosmo, however, helpfully clad its stable of guys in easily spotted black T-shirts emblazoned with their home states in bright white type. Which, we suppose, is just how Cosmo's "fun, fearless females" like their beefcake: clearly labeled.