Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – THURSDAY, JAN. 09, 2014

Author Discussions in Union Square
“For those in search of a quiet post-holiday evening, the Barnes & Noble in Union Square is bringing several larger-than-life individuals to present their latest works this week.

And providing yet another subject and wealth of experience, on Thursday, is Angélique Kidjo — a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and activist. She discusses her memoir “Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music.” (NYT)
Barnes & Noble, 33 East 17th St.,
At 7 p.m./ FREE
(212) 253-0810, barnesandnoble.com

NEIL YOUNG
Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium)
“Young is never idle, but this past year was relatively quiet, by his standards: after 2012, a year in which he released two albums with Crazy Horse (“Americana,” which delivered rough, loud updates of ancient folk standards, and “Psychedelic Pill,” which pulled apart and reconstituted Young’s own hippie dreams) and his long-awaited memoir (“Waging Heavy Peace”), he limited his output in 2013 to one album, the archival set “Live at the Cellar Door,” from 1970. The release offers a fine document of vintage Young, including a rare piano-driven version of “Cinnamon Girl.” He’ll be coming to Carnegie Hall for a solo residency, performing four shows in five nights.” (NewYorker mag)
Carnegie Hall website shows limited availability – better get on it.

FOCUS DANCE
“This annual festival is aimed at arts presenters, but it also allows audiences to catch remounted works that they might have missed. The opening program is a winner. In Vicky Shick’s “Everything You See,” ten vibrantly idiosyncratic dancers spin out a bemusing profusion of solos, duets, and trios, overlapping dances of casual, peculiar detail. Doug Elkins’s “Scott, Queen of Marys” is a brilliant elucidation of the hidden connections between club dance of the nineties and Scottish folk forms.” (NewYorker mag)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th St, Chelsea,
AT 8PM / $10 to $39.
(212) 242-0800/ joyce.org

Marilyn Maye With Billy Stritch, ‘Marilyn by Request’ (through Jan. 12)
“Octogenarian Marilyn Maye makes every night a party.

The exuberant Marilyn Maye makes every night into New Year’s Eve. And spending time with Ms. Maye in early January is particularly meaningful; there’s a transformative power to her music that makes her the perfect accompaniment for the start of the new year. When she sings the dreaded “Here’s to Life” (and somehow all octogenarian singers feel they must), it isn’t self-aggrandizing malarkey, but rather a touching and life-affirming hymn of gratitude.” (WSJ)
The Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd St.,
At 7PM / $35
(212) 206-0440 / metropolitanroom.com

Heather Kravas (through Jan. 13)
“Obsessiveness can hold an artist back, but not so with Heather Kravas, who devises riveting situations — and sometimes unnerving images — through compulsive repetition. Cheerleading, Greek folk dance and classical ballet are a few of the systems she deconstructs in her new work, “a quartet,” part of Performance Space 122’s Coil festival.

Her composer here, Dana Wachs (also known as Vorhees), plays live for the four excellent dancers: Oren Barnoy, Cecilia Eliceche, Jennifer Kjos and Liz Santoro.” (Burke-NYT)
the Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, Chelsea,
at 5 p.m./ $20, $16 for 65+.
(212) 255-5793, Ext. 11, thekitchen.org

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
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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, and of course, pubs  – 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. ================================================================================

◊ 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 Spring 2014)