Friday December 2
Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Music: Tori Amos Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Beacon Theater
Food: Hummus Place
Drink: Jake’s Dilemmal
Miscellaneous: Alice’s Tea Cup
Singer, pianist, composer, Tori Amos is an amazing performer, which is one reason to see her live. Plus she consistently puts out great albums, and her newest Night of Hunters is no different. Joining her is opener Thomas Dybdahl. Cheap yet not too heavy, Hummus Place serves up surprisingly great hummus in the uptown version of their original downtown location. More a game room for adults than a sports bar, Jake’s Dilemmal offers more than 50 beers to choose from while you can play pool, video games, or foosball. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Alice’s Tea Cup is as much for adults as it is for kids. Get one of a vast assortment of teas flown in from around the world here or a gorgeously designed slice of cake.
Friday December 2
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Band: Swedish Energies
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Issue Project Room
Food: El Viejo Yayo
Drink: Buttermilk Bar
Miscellaneous: The Chocolate Room
Swedish Energies, a two-night program features a huge lineup of some of Sweden’s most exciting experimental musicians. Performances will include collaborations between U.S. and Swedish artists as well as a cross-section of Swedish groups, such as the prolific The Skull Defekts (joined by C. Spencer Yeh), and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, one of the most important free jazz and improv musicians working today. Leif Elggren will open the event with a reading of his “The North is Protected.” Tonight’s performers include Ikue Mori & Ida Lundén, CM von Hausswolff, Kathy Hinde & Daniel Skoglund, Altar of Flies, and Hanna Hartmann. Keeping the night going, try El Viejo Yayo for dinner. This gorgeous and warm restaurant has an elegant dining room and an affordable menu offering Dominican/Latin cuisine. The outside of Buttermilk Bar may look non-descript, but looks are deceiving . . . just not in this case, as this low-key watering hole is where you can grab a cheap drink in a friendly atmosphere, while playing a board game or two. With a near insane menu of chocolates from coffee and tea to delectable dessert, and even beer, The The Chocolate Room is a great way to end the night on a high note.
Saturday December 3
Location: Tribeca, NYC
Music: Yacht Get Tickets Here
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Santos Party House
Food: Pakistan Tea House
Drink: Mocca Lounge
Miscellaneous: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
The brainchild of electronic musician and multimedia artist Jonathan Warren Bechtolt, Yacht also features Claire Evans on vocals to make up an offbeat listening experience that is part electronic, part experimental, and highly fun to listen to. Nearby, Pakistan Tea House is a buffet style Indian restaurant where you can choose between chicken, meat, fish and vegetables. It’s affordable and very good. For drinks, check out Mocca Lounge. With a funky interior and a menu of Italian inspired fare, it’s also a bar with a large list of coffees with or without alcohol, beers, and frozen shots. Smack dab in the heart of Chinatown, the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory makes gourmet ice cream flavors like Black Sesame, Ginger, Durian, and more exotic flavors like Taro and Wasabi. Don’t worry, they have the go-to’s like Vanilla, fruits, and chocolate flavors too.
Saturday December 3
Location: Chelsea, NYC
Art: Incomparable Women of Style
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 20
Venue: Fashion Institute of Technology
Food: Pop Burger
Drink: Gaslight Lounge
Miscellaneous: Amy’s Bread
Incomparable Women of Style: Selections from the Rose Hartman Photography Archives, 1977-2011 will display more than 60 photographs, including rare vintage silver prints developed by Hartman in her home studio, as well as some of her most well-known work reproduced on a large scale. Hartman, who has been chronicling iconic moments in fashion, style, and culture for more than 30 years, captured New York City nightlife, fashion shows, parties, clubs, and openings. From Studio 54 to the Mudd Club to Chelsea art galleries today. Burger joint in the front, upscale lounge in the back, the menu at Pop Burger includes basics like 2 pop burgers for $5 for a quick fix or if your lounging, the likes of tuna tartar with soy truffle jus ($15). The Gaslight Lounge, a great hotspot bar in the meatpacking district, is dark and cozy while affordable for the area. If you don’t know Amy’s Bread, when you order a sandwich at a café or restaurant in the city, ask where they got the bread. There’s a good chance it’s from Amy’s because she’s one of the best bread makers in the city.
Sunday December 4
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.
