X L Lounge   

People have talked smack about the return of nightlife to the Ironbound section of Newark for a long time. But now there is the XL Lounge with its Cristal and Dom Perignon, and its amped-up bass that makes the temples throb and the hips gyrate. The Jersey honeys in the spray-on minidresses and the hair piled to the ceiling. They're packed in tighter than 7:30AM on the PATH out of Journal Square here on the spacious dance floor. It's almost a line dance, with a little side-to-side shimmy. So, yes, it is now fair to say that nightlife has arrived in Newark. There are fruity martinis with cutesy names. Each night brings its own drink specials; as quaintly unoriginal as days-of-the-week underwear. There are big plush maroon couches on which to lounge, and burly men in glossy shirts who appear to be collecting phone numbers for a living.