Friday December 31

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Bands: The Roots
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl
Food: Blue Ribbon
Drink: Brooklyn Bowl
Miscellaneous: Bowling at Brooklyn Bowl

Instead of spending your New Years Eve 2011 in the freezing cold of Times Square with all the other tourists, check out The Roots as they take over Williamsburg. Brooklyn Bowl is a self contained playland for adults that you don’t even have to leave, so your night is wrapped up in one venue. For dinner, check out Blue Ribbon, part of the highly rated eateries in the city, you’ll find southern fare including fried chicken and BBQ, some crazy shakes & floats, and more. For drinks, just walk about 20 feet to the bar where they offer nine draft beers from Brooklyn. Finally, and most obvious, there’s 16 lanes of bowling. While the wait is generally long, where else can you throw a strike and see a great band at the same time?

Friday December 31

Location: Meatpacking District, NYC
Event: DFA Records New Year’s Eve Party
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Le Bain
Food: Spice Market
Drink: Plunge
Miscellaneous: Jacques Torres Chocolates

The goal of your New Year’s Eve experience comes down to partying your ass off and who better to do that with than DFA Records New Year’s Eve Party where the James Murphy run label takes over The Standard Hotel and features performances by DFA artists Holy Ghost!, House of House, Nancy Whang (of LCD Soundsystem) and more to be announced. For dinner, if you can get a table, check out Spice Market. Chef and owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten converted this HUGE space into one of the sexiest Asian restaurants in NYC. Serving up exquisite dishes like the onion and chili crusted short ribs with egg noodles and pea shoots ($22), Spice Market impresses. If you choose not to stay at APT for drinks, close by is Plunge. Located at the top of the Hotel Gansevoort, this rooftop lounge offers stunning views of the city. No one makes chocolate as rich and addictive as Jacques Torres Chocolates and being in the Chelsea Market, you can get your fix from their delectable chocolates to their amazing Hot chocolate. A personal fave is the chocolate chip cookie, which they even heat up for you. Delish!

Saturday January 1

Location: Lower East Side, NYC
Bands: Lauryn Hill Get Tickets Here
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Bowery Ballroom
Food: The Stanton Social
Drink: The Magician
Miscellaneous: The Pink Pony

What better way to start off the New Year than spending the first day with Lauryn Hill. Good to see her back on stage singing again. It’s been awhile. Hopefully this means she will have some new material coming out soon! 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 January 1

Location: Tribeca, NYC
Bands: Joseph Arthur
Show time: 8:30 PM
Venue: City Winery
Food: Pakistan Tea House
Drink: Mocca Lounge
Miscellaneous: Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Joseph Arthur is a folky singer/songwriter who has written some compelling music and on top of that is a pretty well-known painter and designer who does the art for his own albums. Joining him is Jolie Holland. 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.

Sunday January 2

Location: Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Art: Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968
Show time: See website for schedule; Through January 9, 2011
Venue: Brooklyn Museum
Food: Chiles & Chocolate Oaxacan Kitchen
Drink: The Gate
Miscellaneous: Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co.

The exhibition Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958–1968 focuses on the role women have played in breaking through in the male dominated field of pop art. More than 50 works will be shown from female artists including Chryssa, Niki de Saint Phalle, Rosalyn Drexler, Marisol, Yayoi Kusama, Jann Haworth, Vija Celmins, Lee Lozano, Marjorie Strider, Idelle Weber, and Joyce Wieland, among others. Ever have Oaxacan food? Chiles & Chocolate Oaxacan Kitchen serves up some fantastic, not exactly Mexican food. Try the smoky flavored Mole Negro, one of the best mole sauces I’ve had in NYC. Before leaving, you must try one of the hot chocolates like the Chiles Y Chocolate. A hint of chipotle without too much heat is a nice kick start for the night. The Gate is a great Park Slope bar with excellent beers on tap and a outdoor courtyard to chill. If time permits, you must, and I mean MUST go to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., a non-profit organization that helps kids with their writing, that’s fronted by a store selling super powers.