Friday October 5
Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Animal Collective
Show time: 6 PM
Venue: Williamsburg Park
Food: Wild Ginger Pan-Asian Vegan Café
Drink: Teddy’s Bar & Grill
Miscellaneous: Verb Café
Experimental psychedelic band Animal Collective have been putting out a string of super interesting albums since 2000 that really resonate with listeners, and their newest album Centipede Hz does not disappoint. Same with their live show. Don’t forget openers Micachu & The Shapes, who are definitely worth getting there early to see. 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 October 5
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn
Music: Jay-Z
Venue: Barclay’s Center
Food: El Viejo Yayo
Drink: Buttermilk Bar
Miscellaneous: The Chocolate Room
Who better to break in the brand new Barclay’s Center located in the heart of Brooklyn than one of it’s owners? Jay-Z starts things off here in a stadium he’s not only a part owner in but also part owns the team playing there, the Brooklyn Nets. Keeping the night going with Latin flavor, 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 Chocolate Room is a great way to end the night on a high note.
Saturday October 6
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Music: Adam Ant
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Best Buy Theater
Food: Empanada Mama
Drink: Circus
Miscellaneous: Vintage
Adam Ant was big in the early 80s New Wave/Post Punk scene, and created two of the most memorable 80s songs in “Strip†and “Goody Two Shoes.†Although he was inactive from the late 1990s to the late 2000s, he’s back and this show may be a sleeper hit. Though small, Empanada Mama packs a hefty punch with more than 40 kinds of empanadas. Choose from a wheat or corn flour shell to start as ingredients include basic rice and beans to what they have dubbed “Viagra,†a wheat flour empanada stuffed with shrimp, scallop, and crab ($3). Appropriately, at Circus, you’ll get free hot dogs, peanuts, and popcorn without the animals, screaming babies, and clowns at this Rudy’s Bar spin-off that has been just as cheap and a neighborhood feel. If cheap beer ain’t your thing, Vintage has a wine list with over 200 wines by the glass or bottle from most of the boutique wineries in Long Island and Upstate New York.
Saturday October 6
Location: Soho, NYC
Art: Miami Makeover: Almost Anything for Beauty
Show time: See website for schedule
Venue: The Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art
Food: Nha Trang
Drink: Naked Lunch
Miscellaneous: La Esquina
Miami Makeover: Almost Anything for Beauty is a collaborative exhibit featuring the work of Aline Kominsky-Crumb and Dominique Sapel. Enthralled by the cultural standards of accepted beauty and what some women are willing to do to achieve it, Kominsky-Crumb and Sapel set out to entirely re-imagine their body image. Donning new outfits, wigs, jewelry, nails, makeup and padding in just the right places, the two artists remade themselves in the image of a modern Miami woman. One of the best affordable Vietnamese restaurants in the city, Nha Trang is right near the downtown courthouse, making it a high volume place. Despite that, the food is great and the Pho (rice noodle soup) dishes are $5 and under. Named after William S. Burroughs novel, Naked Lunch is a cool and comfortable bar where local artists usually gather. No shooting up though! One of the best taqueria’s in the city, the Mexican food at La Esquina is authentic and to die for. While tacos will set you back $3, plates are in the $6 to $7.25 range.
Sunday October 7
Location: Upper East Side, NYC
Art: Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years
Show time: See website for schedule; Through December 31, 2012
Venue: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Food: Barking Dog Luncheonette
Drink: The Auction House
Miscellaneous: Uptown Lounge
Through approximately forty-five works by Warhol alongside one hundred works by some sixty other artists, Regarding Warhol: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years juxtaposes prime examples of Warhol’s paintings, sculpture, and films with those by other artists who in key ways reinterpret, respond, or react to his groundbreaking work. What emerges is a fascinating dialogue between works of art and artists across generations. If you love dogs, not hot dogs but real doggies, then you’ll really love the Barking Dog Luncheonette, as the décor features everything with a dog on it. The food, is your regular diner fare with plenty of burger, sandwich, and hot plate options. Grab a drink and feel like you were transported to the late 1800’s at The Auction House. With ornamental red velvet couches, exposed brick walls, and vintage chandeliers, this hidden gem of a bar is cozy. Beautifully designed, Uptown Lounge is a bar and restaurant serving American fare like Apple Peppercorn Pork Chops ($18), while being big enough to stick around afterwards for drinks.
