The Weekend Shortlist September 25 to 27
Friday September 25
Location: Long Island City, Queens
Bands: Turntables on the Hudson
Show time: 8 PM; FREE
Venue: Water Taxi Beach
Food: Sripraphai
Drink: Saints and Sinners
Miscellaneous: Baruirs
Turntables on the Hudson present their last outdoor event of the season featuring live music from Dunkelbunt, playing Balkan dub and Gypsy music along with Ancient Astronauts and TOTH founders DJ’s Nickodemus & Mariano plus Nappy G and Christian Rogers on percussion. Being that you’re in Queens anyways, you HAVE to take the 7 train to Sripraphai, one of New York’s top Thai restaurants. What makes it better than most is the fact that the ingredients are fresh, and instead of choosing your entree with a choice of meat, they offer a novel sized menu with pics of every dish, most under $10. Once a heavily Irish neighborhood, Saints and Sinners is one of the best looking Irish bars left. Grab a Guinness at the bar or traditional Irish food. If you can, head over to Baruirs in Sunnyside for one of the best cups of coffee in Queens.
Friday September 25
Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: Jupiter One Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg
Food: Dumont Burger
Drink: Radegast Hall & Biergarten
Miscellaneous: Verb Cafe
NYC based Indie folk sensations Jupiter One make the long trek to Brooklyn to perform at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and bring some infectious songs blending many genres of past and present rock that wrap together nicely. Joining them are Nite Club, The Subjects, and a great NYC band called Demander. With one of the best burgers in Williamsburg, Dumont Burger offers theirs with gourmet toppings, sandwiches, salads, and their amazing mac & cheese. So you consider yourself a beer connoisseur and like to party. You can do all that and eat at Radegast Hall & Biergarten. The Austrian/German menu perfectly compliments the 12 beers on tap and more than 30 German and Austrian bottles at this large beer hall. One of the oldest and best hipster hangout coffee shops, The Verb Cafe offers up excellent coffee and baked goods, a boho vibe, and big windows to watch the days pass while collecting unemployment!
Saturday September 26
Location: East Village, NYC
Theater: ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore Get Tickets Here
Show time: See website for performance schedule; Through October 16
Venue: Teatro Iati
Food Minca
Drink Ace Bar
Miscellaneous Le Gamin Café
John ford’s classic play ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore which explores the boundaries of desire, morality, and paranoia among the rich and elite, gets adapted to the stage once again, but with live original music from Brooklyn rock band Colonna Sonora. Close by is the ramen noodle bar called Minca. After recently trying this place, I’d highly recommend it. The ramen noodles are made fresh and way better than those you’d buy and boil. What makes the soups here great is the broth. Take the Minca Ramen, a mild broth with pork, chicken and dried seafood ($8.50), it has impeccable flavor that hits the spot. Plus it’s way less expensive than other ramen specialty restaurants and just as good. Right across the street from Minca is the Ace Bar. Sort of divey, it’s also where you’ll find people playing skeeball and shooting pool, while drinking some decent beers on tap. For dessert and coffee, Le Gamin Café is the place for crepes.
Saturday September 26
Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn
Event: Showpaper: A Benefit
Show time: 7 PM
Venue: Kidd Yellin Gallery
Food: Red Hook Cafe and Grill
Drink: Moonshine
Miscellaneous: Mazzola Bakery
Looks like another arts publication is not doing so good as Showpaper is in need of some money to keep going. For fans and readers, the lineup for Showpaper: A Benefit is also a great reason to explore Red Hook. Bands performing include The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Shilpa Ray (of Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, formerly of Beat the Devil), Kendrick Strauch (of Harlem Shakes), Rebecca Schiffman, Sarah and Michelle Cagianese, and Your Nature (formerly Frankpollis). There will also be a virtual gallery of Showpaper cover art, and music video screenings. At Red Hook Cafe and Grill you can get your deli fare for reasonable prices. Their breakfast and lunches are where it’s at and best of all everything on the menu is well under $10. Moonshine is a bar that’s part dive and part hipster with a pool table and Big Buck Hunter. It’s a can’t lose situation. Nearby, at the Mazzola Bakery, try the Neapolitan Lard Bread, tasting better than it sounds it’s made with two types of parmesan cheese and a hardboiled egg, seriously!
Sunday September 27
Meret Oppenheim. Object. 1936. Fur-covered cup, saucer, and spoon, cup 4 3/8″ (10.9 cm) in diameter; saucer 9 3/8″ (23.7 cm) in diameter; spoon 8″ (20.2 cm) long, overall height 2 7/8″ (7.3 cm). Purchase. © 2009 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Pro Litteris, Zurich
Location: Midtown West, NYC
Bands: Erotic Object: Surrealist Sculpture from the Collection
Show time: See MoMA website for schedule; Through January 4, 2010
Venue: MoMA
Food: Yoshinoya Beef Bowl
Drink: Rudy’s Bar and Grill
Miscellaneous: Peking Duck House
In MoMA’s exhibition Erotic Object: Surrealist Sculpture from the Collection they take a look at surrealist artists, writers, and poets views on turning everyday objects into sexual and erotic art. Making fast food healthy, Yoshinoya serves bowls of rice, vegetables, and your choice of beef, teriyaki chicken, veggie, or a combo of meats. Super cheap, it’s a favorite spot of mine in midtown. A great dive, Rudy’s Bar and Grill serves up cheap beer by the pint or by the pitcher, and as for the grilling, that includes free hot dogs and popcorn! Though slightly on the expensive side, if you’re in the mood for duck and are a couple or in a group of four or more, Peking Duck House makes some of the best duck you will ever likely have.