Today’s “Fab 5”+1/ Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, OCT. 09, 2013

NYCity’s Biggest PIZZA PARTY
All slices are just $1 each at the annual “slice out hunger charity event”. with 40+ pizza shops including di fara, grimaldi’s, lombardi’s, motorino, two boots and more, plus 4 gluten-free and 7 vegan options, there’ll be a slice for every taste and budget. all proceeds benefit the food bank for nyc. this sells out quickly, so arrive early!
St. Anthony’s church (154 sullivan st @ houston)
6pm / FREE

New York Cabaret Convention
Features Cahn and Van Heusen

The show, “Come Fly With Me: the Songs of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen,” brought another infusion of youth and animal spirits to the convention in its 24th season. The pop music historian Will Friedwald, was the curator for the evening, and the television personality Bill Boggs hosted. The show’s special guest, the snowy-maned pop-jazz crooner Jack Jones, making his convention debut, was introduced by Mr. Friedwald who described him as the last of an all-but-vanished breed of Las Vegas entertainer.

ICP Lecture Series: New Media in the Museum
These distinguished panelists will address questions about the most recent developments in new media and whether the term itself continues to have meaning.

Panelists include Karen Archey, art critic and curator; Julie Lazar, founder and director of the International Contemporary Arts Network; and Glenn Wharton, Clinical Associate Professor of Museum Studies at New York University. This panel will be moderated by ICP Curator Carol Squiers.

Watch the lectures live online on each date at 7 pm ET at lectures.icp.edu.
School at ICP, Shooting Studio, 1114 Avenue of the Americas
at 7:00pm / $15
212-857-0000

Brad Mehldau and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Leaderless, but not directionless.
 In Beethoven’s youth, what a composer did in public was extemporize at the piano and then write the best improvisations down. That’s precisely what the jazzman Brad Mehldau does today, and the conductor-less chamber orchestra Orpheus opens its season with Beethoven, Brahms, and some fresh Mehldau (Variations on a Melancholy Theme).—(Justin Davidson/NYMAG)
Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
At 8 p.m./ $14.50 to $110
(212) 247-7800, carnegiehall.org

“Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us,” with Jesse Bering 
Part of the NYPL Midtown Branch’s Author @ theLibrary presents series.
The author of “The Belief Instinct” and “Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?”, Jesse is a frequent contributor to Scientific American and Slate.

This illustrated lecture builds on the author’s Scientific American columns to look at the rich and misunderstood topic of human sexual deviance. From the perspective of a psychological scientist, he casts a wide-ranging eye over the field of sexual deviance, including clinical case studies, basic details of sexual development, research practices in the scientific study of sexual behavior, and debates about diagnosis and treatment. The material presented will be explicit. Discretion is advised.
MID-MANHATTAN LIBRARY, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
455 FIFTH AVENUE (40TH STREET AND 5TH AVENUE)
At 6:30PM / FREE
212-340-0989 / nypl.org/events

Ethan Iverson, Oliver Lake, Sam Newsome, Andrew Cyrille*
“A convergence of four fearless improvisers stationed at slightly different aesthetic coordinates, these musicians are more than capable of finding communion. Mr. Lake, a saxophonist, and Mr. Cyrille, a drummer, are the elder statesmen of the bunch, both well-traveled within the post-1960s avant-garde. Mr. Newsome is a brilliantly expressive soprano saxophonist, and Mr. Iverson is a pianist of limitless inquiry; both should find plenty of stimulus in this setting.” (Chinen-NYT)
Smalls Jazz Club, 183 West 10th Street, West Village
at 9:30 p.m. / $20 cover
smallsjazzclub.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi  /  32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker/W4th St.)

Café Vivaldi is a classic, intimate club located in Greenwich Village on Jones Street, the street featured on the cover of Bob Dylan’s second album, “Freewheelin’ ”.

Each night Ishrat, the long time proprietor and impresario, carefully curates and schedules an eclectic series of musicians. You can often see him at his table in the corner, hard at work reviewing music videos and listening to cd demos on his laptop, scouting out future bookings. Musicians come from all over to play and sing in a club in Greenwich Village. Some are local New Yorkers, others are just passing through, in town for a few days.

There is a small bar, seating maybe 10. It’s close to the stage and I find it’s a perfect spot to sip a glass of red wine while listening to the music. The room itself has the performance area at one end and a cozy fireplace at the other. The performance area here is small, dominated by a large black Yamaha Grand piano. Tables are bunched together and most people at the tables are eating lite meals or sampling the wonderful desserts.

There is also a good selection of wines and lite meals, fairly priced, but you are here because of the music. You can never be quite sure what you’re going to find, and that’s half the charm of this place. It’s not a home run every night, but many nights it’s pretty special.

I remember the night I saw the most talented bossa nova group, just in from San Paulo. As I listened, I wondered if there was any better music playing anywhere else in New York City that night. And at Caffé Vivaldi there is never a cover charge. I should note that their recently redesigned web site does give you a better idea of the type of music playing each night.

At one time Greenwich Village was filled with clubs just like this, but times change. Real estate interests have impacted the village, and not for the better. Even Caffé Vivaldi had a rough time recently, when a new landlord raised the rent exorbitantly. Fortunately, Ishrat has built a loyal following over the years, and a fund raiser and slightly more reasonable rent has kept Café Vivaldi in business.

When Woody Allen and Al Pacino wanted to make movies featuring the timeless quality of Greenwich Village they came to Vivaldi. It’s important that we keep this special place alive, for if we lose Cafe Vivaldi, NYC will have lost a piece of it’s soul.

Website: http://caffevivaldi.com/
Phone #: (212) 691-7538
Hours: Music generally 7:30pm – 11pm, but varies
Lunch/Dinner 11am-on
Subway: #1 to Christopher st
Walk 1 blk S on 7th ave S to Bleecker st, 1 blk S/left on Bleecker to Jones st, 50 yards E/left on Jones st to Caffe V

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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, cocktail lounges, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge.

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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3 Good Eating places 

It’s not difficult to find a place to eat in Manhattan.
Finding a good, inexpensive place to eat is a bit harder.
Here are a few of my faves in this neighborhood:

Fish – 280 Bleecker St (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $8 gets you 6 of the freshest oysters or clams + a glass of wine or beer. Don’t know how they can do it, but I tell everyone I know about this place. And it’s located right in the heart of some of the best no cover music in town.

Bleecker Street Pizza – 69 7th ave S (corner of Bleecker)
The place is tiny and not much to look at, but this is one good slice. They like to brag that they have been voted “Best pizza in NY” 3 years in a row by the Food Network. I believe them. I would have voted for them.

Num Pang – 21 E 12th st (btw. University place/5th ave)
This is a Cambodian banh mi sandwich shop that kept me well fed while I was in class nearby recently. You may have to wait a few minutes, because everything is freshly made, but it’s worth it. Can you believe – an unheard of 26 food rating by Zagat.

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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

That covers a wide range of food – pizza,  burgers,  food trucks/carts,  vegetarian/falafel,  ramen,  chopped salad & salad bars,  hot dogs,  bbq,  soup & sandwiches,  picnic fixins’,  raw bars &  lobster rolls. No reservations needed. ================================================================================

There are also some casual dining, chain restaurant locations in this neighborhood that have decent food, provide a good hotel breakfast alternative, and have free Wi-FI:

A. Pret a Manger @ 821 Broadway (betw 12/13 st)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st; transfer to n/q/r to 14th st/union sq

B. Potbelly @ 41 W14th st (betw 5th/6th ave)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th st

C. Cosi @ 53 E 8th st (betw greene/mercer)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st; transfer to n/r to 8th st

◊ For a few more PremierPubs and Good Eating places see previous Featured Neighborhoods in the right sidebar.

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places and descriptions of my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods (plus 27 casual dining places with free Wi-Fi) order a copy of my e-book: “Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($3.99).
(available Winter 2013)