Dressing the room at strip house

With the space secured, the name decided, and the concept out on the table, the Glaziers called upon architectural visionary David Rockwell to dress the room. Rockwell moved the design past the clubby era of traditional steakhouses to a modern, sultry, and sexy feel, while still maintaining a wink to the past.

In 1925, when amateur singer-turned-restaurateur Adolpho Mariani opened a small speakeasy in the East Village, he had no idea it would become a landmark restaurant that would attract everyone from opera stars to boxing champs. He was just an Italian who loved to sing opera, so all of the restaurant staff, from chefs and bartenders to the hatcheck girl and even Adolpho himself, would perform nightly for diners. In the end, the restaurant walls were covered with over a thousand autographed photos of the many frequent stars, including Jerome Hines, Rocky Marciano, Gian Carlo Menotti, Babe Ruth, and Joan Sutherland. It was a relaxed family business that was passed onto Auggie Mariani upon the death of his father.

When Penny, Peter, and Mathew Glazier acquired the legendary space, they turned to David Rockwell to guide the interior design for their new restaurant. From the start, they all agreed that the concept should reflect Asti's long-standing reputation as a place for joyous celebration. While the wall of more than 1,200 celebrity photos and the original tile floor remain, Rockwell reinvented the Asti's space to appeal to both men and women. The interior features rich, luxurious materials including silk, velvet, and leather, with red as the predominant color. The custom-made wallpaper and carpet include silhouettes of strippers. The cocktail lounge has coffee tables made of glass and plush red leather seating. The maître d stand designed in the shape of a woman, the bouillon fringe on much of the custom furniture, and the custom lamp shades with beaded trim are all details that evoke images of femininity-overwhelmingly saucy, sexy, and perhaps a bit brothel.

The women's bathrooms have penny-tile floors, vintage wallpaper from the 1930s, and solid mahogany seats. Each stall has several images of burlesque women. It could almost be a boudoir, with antique mirrors and lamp shades made with leopardprint material. The men's bathrooms have lamp shades made from men's shirting fabric.