Today’s “Fab 5″+2/ Selected NYCity Events – SATURDAY, JUNE 14, 2014.

The Ultimate Hall of Fame Spectacular
The 7th Annual, pre-Father’s Day doo wop event is a tradition at the Beacon. Throughout the years, loyal patrons have requested many of the original artists of the era, and we were able to fulfill those requests. Except for one. Until now. One name says it all….Dion.

Headlining, will be the “King of the New York Streets”, who has been our #1 requested artist for good reason with scores of #1 hits and dozens of hit albums. A very rare occasion, this is the first time in over a decade that Dion has performed in a Rock ‘n Roll extravaganza in NYC!

Dion is revered by such luminaries as Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Billy Joel and the late, great Lou Reed to name just a few. Not only timeless, but he is the embodiment of rock and roll and its history. Hall of Famer, Dion, will do a full concert encompassing the entire second half of the show.

He will be supported by a stellar cast befitting this special concert, Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductees all: Charlie Thomas’ Drifters, Shirley Alston-Reeves, original lead singer of The Shirelles, the Soul Stirrers featuring Willie Rogers with a tribute to Sam Cooke plus acappella and the Blue Suede Orchestra.*
Beacon Theater

Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess
Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess is a New York City based ensemble specializing in American music from the late 1800’s-1930’s, primarily jazz and blues reminiscent of The Ziegfield Follies, The Great American Song Book, and early medicine shows. The group features Jessy Carolina on vocals and washboard, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton on piano, banjo, and vocals, Jordan Hyde on guitar, Jay Sanford on bass, Mario J. Maggio on clarinet and saxophone, an Satoru Ohashi on trumpet and trombone.
Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess @6:00PM / $15
followed by the Saron Crenshaw Band @10:00P
Terra Blues, 149 Bleeker St.
terrablues.com

Anat Cohen (also Sunday, June 15.)
“The accomplished Israeli-born clarinettist and saxophonist personifies the multicultural and pan-stylistic eclecticism that are hallmarks of the contemporary-jazz scene: she is comfortable flitting from Middle Eastern strains to Brazilian choro to swing, bebop, and modal idioms. The drummer Matt Wilson and the bassist Martin Wind will be Cohen’s support team, and special guests are promised.” (NewYorker)

“What’s not to love about a young clarinetist and saxophonist who plays everything we love—modern jazz, world music, “hot” New Orleans style jazz—and does it all brilliantly?” (WSJ)

I have said this before, I’ll say it again. This is one of NYC’s Jazz treasures playing at an iconic NYCity Jazz Club. You gotta go.
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village,
212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.

Eric Alexander Quartet
“As is the case on his most recent album, “Chicago Fire,” the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander enlists trusted partners in this hard-bop quartet: the pianist Harold Mabern, the bassist John Webber and the drummer Joe Farnsworth.’ (Chinen-NYT)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street,
212-864-6662, smokejazz.com;
At 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.,/ $38 cover, with a variable minimum.

The Duckathlon
Food fests are a dime a dozen these days but food fest competitions are something else altogether. Enter this Saturday’s Duckathlon, a culinary competition that tests your knowledge of all things edible while also treating you to some tasty eats prepared by some notable chefs and farmers. Here’s how it goes: 25 teams endure some interactive challenges (identify cuts of meat using a map; swine anatomy; squab husbandry, etc) with winners taking home fancy wines, fancy knives and gift certificates to fancy restaurants. All throughout, eats and bites and general revelry and some music to boot. The whole shebang is put on by D’Artagnan, a top supplier of all-natural and organic poultry and game.
Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th St., btw Sixth and Seventh Aves.
noon to 5 p.m / teams can enter or snag single $60 tickets
metropolitanevents.com / 212-463-0071

PlusTwo /
Bonus Picks – off the beaten track, but definitely worth  a detour:

The Feast of St. Anthony
Head to what Bronx locals claim is New York City’s real Little Italy this weekend for The Feast of St. Anthony. A highlight today is the “The Dancing of the Giglio” from 2 p.m. The giglio, a 50-foot-high handmade wooden structure weighing several tons, depicts images of saints and is the focus of a traditional procession in Italian neighborhoods throughout the world. 2014 marks the third year that a locally made giglio has been built and carried through the streets of Bronx Little Italy. 2 to 6 p.m., Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, on Belmont and East 187th Street, Bronx.

‘Biggest Subway Birthday Bash Ever!’
Transit aficionados will get a chance to ride vintage subway cars between two Brooklyn stations. As Laurel Graeber writes:
“Saturday’s “Biggest Subway Birthday Bash Ever!,” which will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the Interborough Rapid Transit and raise funds for museum education programs, will briefly revive the HH shuttle, a train that from 1936 to 1946 traveled between the old Court Street station and the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn Heights.”

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

♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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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, jazz clubs, 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 (except for certain jazz clubs).

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 essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide (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 Fall 2014)