Today’s “Fab 5”+1 / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, DEC. 16, 2013

Festival: Watch Renowned Sculptors Carve Ice Sculptures
Celebrate the winter holidays with two free afternoons of live ice carving in midtown. For the third year in a row, master artisans from the renowned New York City-based artist collective Okamoto Studio will transform ordinary blocks of ice into a menagerie of frolicking canines. Chainsaws will roar and ice chips will fly as spectacular pooches take shape.
Grace Building Plaza, 1114 Ave. of the Americas, @ W. 43rd St.
at 12:30PM / FREE
1-212-417-7000

Inez & Vinoodh Book Signing
“If you’re a fan of photography you’re likely aware of the work Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. The Dutch pair’s photographs have appeared in advertising campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Chanel, in editorial spreads for magazines like Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as in galleries around the world. Prince, Lady Gaga, Bjork, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Natalie Portman, Bill Murray and Daniel Day-Lewis are just sampling of their celebrity subjects.

In 2011, a drool-worthy 3-volume limited edition book offering a comprehensive overview of the duo’s work was published. Clocking in at upwards of $700, “Pretty Much Everything” wasn’t your average stocking stuffer. But now, a fully illustrated single softcover version is available for a more affordable $69.99. Today, you can pick up a copy and have it signed by the artists at the Gagosian Shop.’ (Mindy Bond, Flavorpill)
Gagosian Shop, 976 Madison Avenue
at 5pm / FREE
212.796.1224 / gagosian.com/shop/

Arthur Darvill & Friends
Join us as we say goodbye to Arthur Darvill from Broadway’s ONCE. Arthur will be leaving New York City and the ONCE cast this December. He’s celebrating his time in NYC with one last performance, incorporating Broadway performers and musicians he has met during his stay. Arthur is also well known for playing Rory Williams in the BBC series Doctor Who.
Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St.
8pm./ $20, $10 Minimum Per Person
Proceeds to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids & Macmillan Cancer Support (UK).
212-414-5994, highlineballroom.com

Spotlight on Broadway: New York’s Theater Design and Architecture
Enjoy a special evening featuring Spotlight on Broadway, a multimedia project of the City of New York exploring the design and architectural history of the Broadway theater district.

The evening will begin with a tour by curator Donald Albrecht of the theater designs on view in Norman Bel Geddes: I Have Seen the Future. Then join Commissioner Katherine Oliver of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment as she introduces a panel of distinguished theater artists for a discussion about how their work intersects with Broadway’s design, architecture, and cultural legacy.

Video clips of Spotlight on Broadway will introduce viewers to the unique history of several individual Broadway theaters.
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave., New York
at 6:30 pm / $16; $12 seniors and students; free for members
212-534-1672 / Museum of the City of New York

Chris Botti (through Jan. 5)
“Mr. Botti, whose adult-pop savvy and controlled but brooding trumpet sound have made him a high-gloss global superstar, descends on the Blue Note each year around this time for an extended run. As usual he has a slick but substantial band, and the clout to call on the occasional unbilled celebrity guest. $75 cover at tables, $40 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.” (Chinen-NYT)
Blue Note, 131 West Third St., Greenwich Village
At 8 and 10:30 p.m., $75 cover at tables, $40 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
(sound is fine at the bar seats, vision decent)
475-8592, bluenote.net

The Graff Family Holiday Special
One of Broadway’s most beloved musical families conquers our stage! Ilene Graff, Randy Graff, Todd Graff and Nikka Graff Lanzarone, along with special guests Liz Callaway, Joanna Gleason, Max Von Essen, Julia Murney & others, will perform a host of holiday favorites & tunes from their various forays on the Great White Way. In the tradition of the Andy Williams Christmas specials that warped them as children, expect tight, four-part harmonies, color coordinated hats and mufflers, indoor sleigh rides, audience participation, mistletoe & plenty of high belting. As a bonus, watch in wonder as Nikka dances all the parts to Turkey Lurkey Time in a four by four foot space! It’s gonna be terrifying!
54 Below, 254 W. 54th St.
At 7pm / $30-$40
646-476-3551/ 54 Below
Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change ================================================================================

A PremierPub + 3 Good Eating places 

Jimmy’s Corner  /  140 W 44th St (btw B’way & 7th ave)

Jimmy’s Corner is right in the heart of Times Square, but you won’t find it on the corner, it’s mid-block. Enter this long narrow bar and you are struck by the walls covered with mostly black-and-white boxing photographs, and memorabilia. Soon enough you learn that “Corner” refers to proprietor Jimmy Glenn’s long career as a corner man for some of boxing greats – Liston, Tyson, even “the greatest”, Ali.

Jimmy’s is a sort of time machine, taking you back to a time and place that no longer exists. All around you Times Square has cleaned up, grown up, assumed a new identity. Jimmy’s probably hasn’t changed a bit since it first opened in 1971. Certainly the bar itself looks original and the prices haven’t changed much either. When I brought a friend, who owns her own bar, she was surprised when she got the small tab for a round of drinks. Figured there must be a mistake, that maybe they forgot to charge for all the drinks.

Times Square today is filled with neon glitz and wandering tourists from Dubuque, but not Jimmy’s. You’ll likely find some old timer’s at the bar nursing their drinks, some younger locals at tables in the back, and maybe a few adventuresome tourists clutching their trusty guidebooks. There’s no food served here because this is just a bar, and sometimes that’s all you need.

On nights when no local team is playing, it’s a fine place to sip some drafts and listen to a great old time jukebox (40s, 50s, R&B, and soul). On sports nights this very narrow bar can get a bit claustrophobic, filled with excited fans watching their team on the TVs. Either way, Jimmy’s is the place to be if you are looking for an old time bar in the new Times Square.
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Website: are you kidding !
(although there is a facebook page with lots of photos –
facebook.com/jimmyscornernyc)
Phone #: 212-221-9510
Hours: 11am – 4 am, except Sunday they open 12 noon
Happy Hour: not necessary, low prices all day, every day
Subway: #1,2,3 to TimesSquare 42nd st
walk 2 blks N on 7th ave to 44th st; ½ blk E to Jimmy’s

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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges  – 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 finding 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:

Patzeria Perfect Pizza – 231 W46 st (Betw 7th/8th ave)
Perfect name for a pizza joint. On a street filled with Broadway theaters, this is a real hole in the wall, but don’t let the dive look scare you away. You can never go wrong with a slice of NYC pizza, and this one is a classic thin crust. Only a few seats here, but pizza was made to eat standing up.

Shake Shack – 691 8th ave (Betw 43rd/44th st)
Danny Meyer has revolutionized the high quality burger in this town. Now he has a branch on the West Side that was desperately needed, with none of the insane lines that you find at the Madison Sq. Park location. Plus, it may be the cleanest joint to eat in all of Hell’s Kitchen.

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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 other casual dining options in this neighborhood that provide good food, especially as alternatives to overpriced hotel breakfasts, and most importantly,
have free Wi-FI:

>Pret a Manger @ 11 W 42nd st (Betw 5th/6th)
Subway: #1/2/3 to 42nd st / times square

>Potbelly @ 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Betw 49/48 st)
Subway: #1 to 50th st

>Pret a Manger @ 1200 6th ave (Betw 47/48)
Subway: #1 to 50th 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)