PAPER MAGAZINE - Click here for original review From the folks who brought us the lovable, '70s rec-room-style staple Welcome to the Johnsons comes Sweet Paradise: the bar equivalent of what would happen if Welcome to the Johnsons turned 35, moved out of its parents' basement, started studying the real estate section of the Times and developed an appreciation for leather. Sweet Paradise is located on the up-and-coming lower-Lower East Side (joining the Good World-Les-Enfants-Terribles-Brown trifecta), and, according to a scraggly-hot bartender, is housed in a formerly shady karaoke bar/candy store. Staying true to their kitschy roots, the owners decided to keep both the absurd name and the candy, and for $3 you can purchase a movie theater box of Goobers to go with your more reasonably priced $4 bottle of Bud. But the quirk lives side by side with the sleek: The back of the bar features low-to-the-ground dark leather booths, lit only by the glow of a jukebox, and in addition to Buds and $2 cans of Genesee Cream Ale, Sweet Paradise serves Sofia Coppola Blanc de Blancs. In conclusion, ditch your friends at Pianos and head south for some sweet, Sweet Paradise. - Alexis Swerdloff