Selected Events (08/16) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Today’s Elite 8+ > SUNDAY / AUGUST 16, 2015

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.”
We make it as easy as 1-2-3. (click on links for complete event info)

Music, Dance, Performing Arts
SummerStage
>Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito 25th Anniversary concert
+ documentary film screening: “Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives”
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, mid-Park at 69th St. /5-10PM, FREE
“Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia will celebrate their 25th anniversary in the music industry with a concert featuring DJ sets and guest artist appearances. They’ll screen a documentary, titled “Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives,” about Armstrong and Garcia, who in the 1990s, signed a number of major hip hop artists. “ (dnainfo.com)
the film explores the social impact of what the Source Magazine voted “The Best Hip Hop Radio Show Of All-Time.”

>‘See Jane Sing!’ musical comedy show (through Wednesday)
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St. / 7PM+9:30PM, $25-$75
“Jane Lynch brings her cabaret act to Joe’s Pub after a well-reviewed run at 54 Below last year. The actress from “Glee” and Broadway’s most recent revival of “Annie” will bring in guests — like Kate Flannery of “The Office — and perform her take on songs.

> Ballet Festival
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave, at 19th St. / 8PM, $19-$39
“The Joyce Theater celebrates the diversity of ballet with a two-week buffet of companies and choreographers who are molding the form in interesting ways.”
tonight: Amy Seiwert’s Imagery
“Imagery, her contemporary ballet company, is described by The San Francisco Chronicle as performing “classical ballet with a 21st century edge.”

>This is Cabaret – With Ann Hampton Callaway and Special Guest Steve Tyrell
Birdland, 44th St (btw 8/9 ave) / 6PM, $30
“Recasting cabaret as an emotionally engaging experience rather than a place, host Ann Hampton Callaway celebrates intimate performances and heartfelt songs from a variety of genres: jazz, Broadway, folk , singer-songwriter, the blues, and more….”

>Billy Hart Quartet
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave South, at 11th St. / 8:30 +10:30PM, $
“Mr. Hart is a drummer of earthy enlightenment, conversant in every branch of modern jazz but forever connected to its root. His quartet — with the tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, the pianist Ethan Iverson and the bassist Ben Street — will draw partly here from its most recent album, “One Is the Other.”(Chinen-NYT)

>Battery Dance Festival (through Aug 20)
Robert F. Wagner Park, 20 Battery Pl./ 6:30-8:30PM, FREE
“Dance fans can take in some culture — and lovely Hudson River views — during a festival of free nightly performances on an outdoor stage set along the waterfront in the Battery Park City park. The shows will feature a variety of dance companies and styles, including post-modern, classical ballet and Indian.” (dnainfo.com)
today: Polish Dance Theatre, Morales Dance and Battery Dance (doing new work by Tadej Brdnik.

>Harlem Meer Performance Festival
Central Park, Charles A. Dana Discovery Center / 2PM, FREE
“Cuban salsa band Quimbombo brings upbeat dancing to Central Park’s jazz, Latin, world and gospel music festival.”

Smart Stuff / Other
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

>India Day Parade
This event bills itself as the world’s largest India Day Parade, with representation from regions all over India. The parade begins at noon, at Madison Avenue and East 38th Street, and makes its way down Madison to 27th Street. From 11AM-6PM, FREE
food court and shopping on Madison between 25th and 27th Streets.
cultural programs at 23rd Street, from 2:30 to 6PM. (NYT/ST)

Have time for only one event today? Do this:

> Jazz Age Lawn Party
Colonels Row, Governors Island / 11AM-5PM, $35-$95

“If you missed June’s Jazz Age Lawn Party, you’ll get one more chance to whip out your tassels and pearls this weekend. For the second and final time this summer, Governors Island will be overrun with flappers and dapper gents sunbathing, picnicking and hitting the dance floor to the big band tunes of Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra. You can celebrate a decade of this decadent party with the specially curated 10th Anniversary Cocktail and other ’20s-themed beverages featuring St-Germain.” (Metro)

“On the occasion of its 10th Anniversary, Michael Arenella is planning the grandest Jazz Age Lawn Party to date. Once again, the location is beautiful Governors Island, and performers include Arenella’s Dreamland Orchestra, the Art Deco spectacle of The Dreamland Follies and many other Jazz Age inspired artists. Dance lessons, specially curated cocktails, vintage portraits, vintage car and motor bike exhibitions and gourmet food markets await. Tickets from $55.” (dnainfo.com)

“Brush up on your Fitzgerald and Hemingway in time for this outdoor bash which sees Governors Island transform into a Prohibition-era soiree. Over two weekends—the second in August—you can Charleston to Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra, while wearing your finest flapper garb and zoot suits. Then Lindy Hop over to the bar for era-appropriate cocktails (that promise to taste better than bathtub gin).” (TONY)

Bonus – Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:
Greenwich Village:
Village Vanguard – 178 7th Ave. South — villagevanguard.com / 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. — bluenotejazz.com / 212-475-8592
55 Bar – 55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. — 55bar.com / 212-929-9883
Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662
Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.

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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, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

Sometimes you just need a beer and a burger. If so, Corner Bistro is the place you want. Located just outside the hip Meatpacking district, this corner bar and grill is decidedly unhip, but it’s not uncrowded, especially at night. Seems that everyone knows this place has one of the better burgers in town.

In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town.

The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro celebrated it’s 50th anniversary last year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.

Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $6.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.

Corner Bistro seems to attract very different groups of patrons depending on time of day. While it’s crowded with locals in the evening, in the afternoon you hear different foreign languages, and watch groups of euro tourists wander in, led by their guidebooks and smartphones.

For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
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Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:

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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).