The Weekend Shortlist March 1 to 3

Friday March 1

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl
Food: Blue Ribbon
Drink: Brooklyn Bowl
Miscellaneous: Bowling at Brooklyn Bowl

Preservation Hall Jazz Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter. The band play New Orleans style jazz so if your still in the Mardi Gras mood, this is the place to be. 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 March 1

Location: Union Square, NYC
Music: Eels
Show time: 10:30 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Chat ‘N’ Chew
Drink: Pete’s Tavern
Miscellaneous: Whole Foods

Indie rock band Eels have a new album out called Wonderful, Glorious that’s filled with songwriting gems. Catch them play their new material along with all of your favorite hits live. Also on board is the incredible Nicole Atkins. For food with southern flair in Union Square, Chat ‘N’ Chew makes some kickass fried chicken, pork-chops, and meatloaf. In the running for oldest bar in NYC, Pete’s Tavern has been around since 1864 and was made famous by author O. Henry who wrote “Gift of the Magi,” in one of its booths. One good thing about the Union Square location of Whole Foods is that it’s not only a reprieve from this tourist heavy area, but with it’s huge windows, you can sit, get healthy organic food and drink, and watch the insanity like it’s a movie.

Saturday March 2

Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Music: Monogold
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Knitting factory
Food: Fette Sau
Drink: Spuyten Duyvil
Accessory: Union Pool

Brooklyn indie pop band Monogold make really good music that shines live. Definitely worth catching. If you’re feeling German BBQ, you can head over to Fette Sau (fat pig in German), where the owners of nearby bar Spuyten Duyvil have opened up this meat only restaurant serving up some of the best pork and beef in NYC. For drinks, Spuyten Duyvil is a beer lovers dream, with a selection from all over the world, friendly and knowledgeable bartenders and a neighborhood feel, it’s no wonder this place has been so successful. If you’re still ready for more, you must hit Union Pool, where there’s always a band playing, great DJs, and plenty of action.

Saturday March 2

Location: Union Square, NYC
Event: The Awesome 80s Prom
Show time: 8 PM
Venue: Webster Hall
Food: Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar
Drink: McSorley’s Old Ale House
Miscellaneous: Mudd Cafe

Relive the best and worst of coming of age in high school at The Awesome 80s Prom. This interactive show is part musical and full-on party as the audience gets to drink, dance and vote for the Prom King and Queen. For eats, check out Thai Me Up Sandwich Bar, a sandwich shop offering Thai sandwiches with 7 Steamed Fried Vegetables and a choice of chicken, veggie, tofu or beef on a baguette with 3 types of sauces for $7. One of the city’s oldest bars, at McSorley’s Old Ale House you can feel the history when you enter as memorabilia, since its beginnings in 1854, are all over the walls. Aside from it being a frat hangout nowadays, it’s worth the trip. You’ve seen that orange Mudd coffee truck parked on Astor Place and on various other streets, but check out their Mudd Cafe on East 9th for coffee and a healthy, vegan, and vegetarian menu.

Sunday March 3

Location: West Village, NYC
Art: Dieter Roth + Björn Roth
Time: See website for schedule; Through April 2013
Venue: Hauser & Wirth
Food: Le Gigot
Drink: ‘Ino Café & Bar
Miscellaneous: Washington Square Park

Dieter Roth + Björn Roth, is a landmark exhibition of masterworks that highlights this remarkable twenty-year collaboration and, through it, the diversity of the practice that has established Dieter Roth as one of the most inventive and influential artists of the second half of the 20th century. Afterwards, skip your main course and go straight to what’s most important—dessert. Le Gigot offers some of the best sweets, especially their Le Gateau au Chocolat à la Crème Anglaise and La Banane Flambée au Cognac. Later, head over to ‘Ino, and take hold of something full-bodied and European. No no, I don’t mean that mysterious Parisian man behind the counter, I mean a nice chianti or merlot! And to finish off the evening, a delightful stroll in Washington Square Park.