Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – FRIDAY, DEC. 20, 2013

Caroling at The Morgan (also Sun. Dec. 22, from 3 to 5.)
The Morgan Library and Museum, which is currently displaying Charles Dickens’s original manuscript of “A Christmas Carol,” has singers from Mannes College The New School for Music roaming its halls, performing seasonal fare.
Morgan Library, 225 Mdison Ave. (btw 37th/36th St.)
From 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Free with museum admission. No tickets or reservations required.
Admission: $18 Adults, $12 Seniors (65 and over)
N.B. Admission is free on Fridays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
212-685-0008, themorgan.org

Darlene Love*
“Her lovelorn “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is a holiday rock showstopper for the ages; her annual year-end festivities are a New York institution. Truly, Ms. Love, Phil Spector’s former protégée, has been an indelible voice in pop from the 1960s onward, and has reaped extra rewards lately — the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted her in 2011 and the documentary “20 Feet From Stardom,” released this year, followed her rise reverently.”(Anderson-NYT)
B. B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd St
At 8 p.m./ unfortunately, looks sold out, but the venue says tickets may be available the day of the show. Here’s the deal – another show on Jan 4, 2014 has been added – get your tickets now.
bbkingblues.com, (800) 745-3000

‘Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting From the Mauritshuis’ (through Jan. 19)
This is one of the most anticipated shows of the year.

Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” has not been seen in New York for nearly 30 years, but it’s only one of 15 quality paintings in this show on loan from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, which is under renovation.

The NYT art critic thinks that Carel Fabritius’s palpitating little “Goldfinch” is the star of the show, but there are also four Rembrandt’s and Jacob van Ruisdael’s well respected “View of Haarlem With Bleaching Grounds,” among others. Pick your own favorite.
Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street, Manhattan,
The Frick has been tweeting: “psst: insider tip: we’re keeping the show open free next 2 Friday evenings 6-9pm. Tends to be oddly quiet after 7pm”. Sounds like a plan.
288-0700, frick.org

A Broadway Christmas with the Philharmonic (also Dec. 21 @ 2PM)
There’s no better place than the New York Philharmonic for the holidays, especially with Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell to bring alive all your favorites — from “White Christmas” to “The Little Drummer Boy,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and much more.
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center
At 7:30 p.m. (Dec. 21 at 2 p.m.) / Orchestra tickets $59
212-875-5656, nyphil.org/holidays

Bobby Womack* (through Sunday)
“A slyly radical soul music veteran, Bobby Womack wrote and recorded songs like “It’s All Over Now,” which the Rolling Stones covered (and it became their earliest No. 1 hit). At 69, he has had his share of health problems, and this year he opened up about suffering from memory loss.

After spending years away from the spotlight, he re-emerged last year with his first record of original songs in nearly two decades, “The Bravest Man in the Universe.” The album, co-produced by Damon Albarn and Richard Russell of XL Records, features a jazzy duet with Lana Del Rey (“Dayglo Reflection”) and plenty of indomitable attitude.” (Anderson-NYT)

If you want to hear one of the iconic NYCity songs of all time, hunt up a copy of his “Across 110th Street”. If he still sounds like that, then this performance will be a nice holiday treat, and the City Winery is a wonderful place to hear music.
City Winery, 155 Varick St., near Spring St., South Village,
At 8 p.m./ $90 to $125.
608-0555, citywinery.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, 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 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)