Friday October 29

Location: Midtown West, NYC
Event: The Zombie Prom Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: The Delancey
Food: Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant
Drink: Verlaine
Miscellaneous: Gus’s Pickles

Start your Halloween weekend off with the living dead at The Zombie Prom. Dress up in costume and celebrate Halloween with prom photos, “Thriller” led by Thrill The World, a 50/50 raffle and $3 PBR’s. Best costumes win awesome prizes and are crowned Zombie Prom King and Queen. With live performances by Cocaine, The Band, The Falsies, The Hollows, and Thrill The World. For din-din, check out Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant. Serving up sandwiches, omelletes, and baked goods for breakfast and lunch, for dinner expect the likes of Pan Seared Halibut with sweet corn succotash, herb roasted tomatoes, and summer squash ($19). Named after the poet Paul Verlaine, the bar offers an asian food and drink menu. While you can’t order the absinthe that probably helped kill the poet, you can order drinks like the El Chupacabra, which is better tasting with a kick of its own. If you like pickles, Guss’ Pickles has been around since 1910, it’s a landmark spot, and still makes a great pickle.

Friday October 29

Location: Union Square, NYC
Theater: Boo(zy) Get Tickets Here
Show time: 9 PM
Venue: The DR2 Theatre
Food: Momofuku
Drink: The Village Pourhouse
Miscellaneous: Sundaes and Cones

In Boo(zy), five of Chicago’s most twisted and original writers join five of New York’s most talented actors for two nights of Halloween tales. From getting freaked out to getting their freak on these storytellers tell twisted tales to get you in the Hallows’ Eve mood. These stories are accompanied by a live musical soundscape by Ryan Blotnick and are paired with a boozy drink, one that best embodies the theme of each story. If you like ramen noodles and pork, then Momofuku is your spot for food. The Berkshire pork is the best I’ve had and it’s the only place I’ll eat pork period, which should tell you just how good Momofuku really is! The Village Pourhouse looks like a neighborhood bar to watch sports but is actually has three more rooms, where you can order food or find a quiet place to smooch! For dessert a little left of the dial, Sundaes and Cones offers eclectic flavors like wasabi and corn and many more flavors that are familiar.

Saturday October 30

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: A Sunny Day in Glasgow Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Mercury Lounge
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony

Though they’ve had several line-up changes, the Philadelphia bred (not Scotland) band A Sunny Day in Glasgow have always been led by Ben Daniels who initiates the creation of ethereal shoegaze music out of its members. Joining them is the band Candy claws. 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 October 30

Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Band: Antony and the Johnsons
Show time: 7:30 PM
Venue: Alice Tully Hall
Food: Symposium
Drink: Broadway Dive
Miscellaneous: Sip

On Antony and the Johnsons new album Swanlights, Antony Hagarty bares his soul with a quivering voice both gorgeous and soul stirring, making this a must-see show. Low priced anything near Columbia University is getting harder to find, but at Symposium, you’ll get Greek food that won’t force you to take a mortgage out. The Pastitsio (baked macaroni with ground meat $9.95) is out of this world. Not the kind of dive bar you’re thinking, though Broadway Dive has a single malt scotch and bourbon menu big enough that you won’t even know where you are after a few. A coffee bar that also serves liquor, tapas, and baked goods all in one place? Sip sounds good to me.

Sunday October 31

Location: Noho, NYC
Event: Nightmare: Superstitions Get Tickets Here
Show time: See website for performance schedule; Through November 6
Venue: Noho Event Center
Food: Babbo
Drink: The Dove
Miscellaneous: Café Reggio

The haunted house has become quite a tradition here in NYC in the last few years as the concept has evolved into a first person experience fit for a horror film. At this year’s Nightmare: Superstitions the setting is an insane asylum and superstitions will set you free and there will be plenty of frights along the way. One of the six Italian eateries of celebrity chef Mario Battali, Babbo takes Italian American cooking to another level. While the food can be expensive and reservations would be the best way to get a table, this place is highly regarded among food connoisseurs is is nothing short of amazing. Disguised as a lounge The Dove is really a neighborhood bar dressed up in red, white, and gold décor with a nice selection of beers on tap and a very good mixed drink menu featuring delicious martini’s. One of my favorite coffee houses, Café Reggio has the most literate and West Village atmosphere I have been to. A real slice of New York, it was also in the movie Superfly. Go there or be square!