The Weekend Shortlist November 18 to 20

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Friday November 18

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Small Black
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Glasslands Gallery
Food: Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café
Drink: Teddy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: Verb Café

Brooklyn’s Small Black had a gem of an album last year with New Chain, that is indie rock doused with synths and drum machine beats. Hopefully a new album is coming soon. Either way, this band is worth checking out live as they are generally great. Also performing is Heavenly Beat. For vegetarians and those not in the mood for meat, Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café offers Pan-Asian cuisine in a relaxed earth-toned environment with a menu featuring veggies, tofu, seitan, and soy. The best thing about Teddy’s Bar & Grill is that it’s just got this great neighborhood vibe that’s warm and friendly, while also having a great menu of drinks and American bar food favorites like burgers, salads, sandwiches, and steak. A great place to get good coffee, take a seat, and watch the passing hipsters stroll by, Verb Café even has excellent sandwiches and baked goods to snack on before the show.

Friday November 18

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Photo: Harper’s Bazaar: A Decade of Style
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 8, 2012
Venue: International Center of Photography
Food: Zip Burger
Drink: Subway Inn
Miscellaneous: Kinokuniya Bookstore

In the ten years since Glenda Bailey became Editor in Chief of Harper’s Bazaar, she and Creative Director Stephen Gan have carried on the magazine’s tradition of publishing high-impact photography. This exhibition, Harper’s Bazaar: A Decade of Style, distills that decade into a choice group of nearly thirty images by some of the most important photographers working today, including Peter Lindbergh, Jean-Paul Goude, David Bailey, William Klein, Patrick Demarchelier, Sølve Sundsbø, Tim Walker, Mario Sorrenti, Hiro, Melvin Sokolsky, and Karl Lagerfeld. Among the artists represented are Nan Goldin, Ralph Gibson, and Chuck Close. At Zip Burger they offer farm-raised, organic, and grass-fed meat and poultry, letting you build your own burger with plenty of gourmet toppings. The first time I went to Subway Inn I thought it was completely strange that there was a dive bar off Lexington Avenue, especially in this neck of the woods, but somehow it works. Born in the 30s, this bar has somehow remained, and thank god, as it’s easily the cheapest place in the area for a drink. For fans of Japanese pop-culture, Kinokuniya Bookstore has a large selection of Japanese themed books, videos, CDs, magazines, comics, and stationary.

Saturday November 19

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Art: Terry Richardson
Show time: See website for schedule; Through December 4
Venue: Half Gallery
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Accessory: The Pink Pony

Famed fashion photographer Terry Richardson pays tribute to his parents, his dad, late fashion photographer Bob Richardson and mom, a former Copacabana dancer, stylist and Jimi Hendrix paramour. Awesome! For dinner, The Stanton Social has earned a reputation for being a beautifully designed restaurant/lounge while serving up some delicious multi-ethnic cuisine. For drinks, a favorite of mine is The Magician, this bar’s chill atmosphere just may be the cure for a well-earned night of rocking. A great way to end the night? Stop by The Pink Pony. This boho café has been serving French food and coffee since the 80s and has a relaxing vibe. It’s as punk as that neighborhood gets nowadays.

Saturday November 19

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Music: John Zorn Improv Marathon
Venue: The Stone
Show time: 8PM
Food: Supper
Drink: Barramundi
Miscellaneous: Kudos

One of improv music’s greats, saxophonist John Zorn hosts and plays the John Zorn Improv Marathon with money going to The Stone itself to pay the rent, sort of like rent parties from the 40s and 50s. So be prepared for plenty of music on the fly and plenty of special guests contributors stopping by. A favorite restaurant of mine, Supper has a dimly lit, all-wood interior giving it a rustic vibe. They even have what looks like a bar overlooking the chefs cooking for you to watch. The Italian menu offers some fantastic food too. Though it might sound like it has to do with Buddhism, Barramundi is actually an Australian owned bar that has infused vodkas, sangria, and a laundry list of mixed drinks like the Champagne Cocktail made with sugar and bitters with Courvoisier, topped with bubbly. If coffee and a snack is your thing, Kudos is an inexpensive place to get baked goods, a cup of coffee and chill before the show.

Sunday November 20

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Theater: Venus in Fur
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 23, 2012
Venue: Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Food: Sullivan Street Bakery
Drink: Rudy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: The Shops at Columbus Circle

Based on Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s erotic novel, Venus in Fur makes its Broadway debut at MTC. Vanda (Nina Arianda) is a preternaturally talented young actress determined to land the lead in Thomas’ (Hugh Dancy) new play based on the classic erotic novel, Venus in Fur. Her emotionally charged audition for the gifted but demanding playwright/director becomes an electrifying game of cat and mouse that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. Arguably one of the top bread makers on the east coast, and good to get gourmet pizza’s and sandwiches, Sullivan Street Bakery makes exquisite food using ingredients you’d see on the Food Network! More bar than grill, Rudy’s Bar & Grill is like going back to college, minus the books. The beer is cheap and by “grill,” they mean free popcorn and hot dogs. If you have trouble finding the bar, just look for the 6 foot tall fiberglass pig standing outside! To get out of the cold and see what an upper-class mall is like, stop by The Shops at Columbus Circle. Expensive restaurants like MASA and shops like Williams Sonoma are fun to browse through to see how the other half lives.

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