The Blizzard has arrived. Be Smart. Rest up for all the shoveling to come tomorrow.
Stay safe at home and read a good book, maybe a book about NYCity.

The 100 Books Every New Yorker Should Read
by Kristin Iversen, Brooklyn Magazine
today’s picks:

11. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
This magical novel takes readers back to turn of the century Coney Island freak shows—complete with mermaids!—as well as darker historical events like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, all through the perspective of a young woman falling in love for the first time. It’s a romanticized view of that period of New York history, to be sure, but sometimes, a little romance goes a long way.

13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Do I really need to sell you on this classic? I don’t know. Maybe? Well, here you go: Smith manages to unsentimentally portray the hardscrabble life of the Nolan family in pre-bridge Williamsburg in a totally compelling manner, making it impossible for readers young and old not to murmur I’ve been there! every time Francie makes passing mention of a north Brooklyn landmark. This is an essential read for anyone who wants to feel like they really belong in this city of ours.

14. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
It’s so hard to select just one Wharton novel for this list (but, side note, I was determined to have no more than one selection per author for this list), and while The House of Mirth is probably my favorite Wharton, thanks to Lily Bart and those bracelet manacles she bears, The Age of Innocence could not be a more perfect rendition of the pressures put upon women in New York society so many years ago. Luckily, now, everything is perfect for women in New York and there’s absolutely no external pressures to be a “perfect” wife and mother in our modern day and age. Luckily.

15. The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
While The Great Gatsby is obviously Fitzgerald’s most famous New York novel (and just most famous novel in general) The Beautiful and Damned is nonetheless an inescapably provocative look at what happens when young New Yorkers live fast and crash hard. It’s absolutely worth a close read for every young person who can’t quite imagine that the party will ever end.

17. Home to Harlem by Claude McKay
A central literary figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Claude McKay’s Home to Harlem depicts the divergent lives of two young black men whose vastly different pasts have led them to the same place and time—post World War I-Harlem. It’s a fascinating look at the decadent, hedonistic lifestyle, full of dizzying highs and catastrophic lows, of the era.

18. A Walker in the City by Alfred Kazin
Kazin recounts his Brownsville childhood in this memoir, and beautifully evokes what it was to grow up in this once heavily Jewish part of Brooklyn during the early years of the Great Depression. And as was the case for so many other Brooklynites at the time (and for decades after) the future and all the hope that comes with it are all centered around one magical, mythic place: Manhattan.

19. Passing by Nella Larsen
Easily one of my favorite books on this whole list, Passing is a provocative exploration of identity and race and class and womanhood and friendship and, oh god, everything that matters in life, i.e. everything worth fighting about and worrying over. Larsen brilliantly depicts deeply flawed and complex women who don’t quite know how best to make their way through a society that doesn’t really have a place for them, which leads them to, at times, take some pretty drastic measures just in order to survive. If you’re going to read only one book on this list, maybe make it this one. There’s nothing else quite like it.

20. Jazz by Toni Morrison
Morrison experimented with form in this book, and her words evoke the call-and-response technique utilized in the genre of music upon which she centers this novel: death metal. Just kidding! It’s jazz. Even if you’re not that into jazz (and maybe that’s just because you haven’t heard it in the right venue?), the multiple narrators and Morrison’s quickly shifting story line keep readers constantly engaged and in awe of her virtuosic powers.

If your interests lead you to Brooklyn, then be sure to peruse Brooklyn Magazine. It’s a high quality, high info, smart monthly.

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When the weather allows, don’t forget Picasso at MoMA:

A Last-Minute Guide to ‘Picasso Sculpture’ at MoMA
By ROBERTA SMITH – NYT, JAN. 15, 2016

This “once-in-a-lifetime” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art brings together more than 100 Picasso works, including many never seen in the United States. If you can see it before it closes on Feb. 7, here are a few themes to look for. (You can read Roberta Smith’s full review here.)

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This week’s fave and FREE NYCity AppS: 

Trip Advisor
An enormous base of NYCity user reviews (2.1 million) provides the widest coverage of hotels (468), restaurants (12,645) and things to do (yes, 3,246). Have a specific question? Then try one of Trip Advisor’s forums. Just remember that with all those reviews you have to try to find the consistency among the comments, and ignore the outliers.

OpenTable
Instantly locate restaurants near you with open reservations and then place a reservation right from your iOS device. A great interface and the ability to see a menu from the restaurant you’re interested in makes this my go to restaurant reservation app.

Subway Time 
Need to catch your #1,2,3 subway to attend an event? Use the Subway Time app from the MTA to find out when the next train arrives at your station.

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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. (Btw 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 NYCity 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. (Btw 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 a bit less of the insane lines that you find at the Madison Sq. Park location. Worth the wait.

Xi’an Famous Foods – 24 W45th St. (Btw 5th/6th ave)
Try to avoid long lunch lines. Order lamb hand ripped noodles and warm your insides at one of the tables in the back. You’ll return, just remember that even mild is pretty spicy.
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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian / falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed.

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◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available Spring 2016).
◊ Order before May 31, 2016 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.
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