5 Things to Do This Weekend / NYT June 17, 2021

“Our critics and writers have selected noteworthy cultural events to experience virtually and in person in New York City.”

Classical Music / The Tulsa Massacre, Memorialized in Song

Dance / Dreams of a Clown

KIDS / Sounds of Hope and Unity

Theater / Bring On the Requests

Pop & Rock / Freestyling Is Her Forte

Read a fuller discussion of these events HERE

The New York Times has an Arts section second to none. If you want know What’s Happening in the Arts around town this is the place to be.

3 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now / NYT June 17, 2021

“Super-Rough,” a streamlined version of the Outsider Art Fair; two news videos from Frank Heath; and Liz Magor’s new sculptures.”

‘Super-Rough’

Through June 27. Outsider Art Fair, 150 Wooster Street, Manhattan, (212) 337-3338, outsiderartfair.com.

Frank Heath

Through June 26. Simone Subal, 131 Bowery, Manhattan, 917-409-0612, simonesubal.com.

Liz Magor

Through July 2. Andrew Kreps Gallery, 22 Cortlandt Alley, Manhattan; 212-741-8849, andrewkreps.com.

Read a fuller discussion of these gallery shows HERE

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If you are looking for some of the best info on food and drink, restaurants and eating in New York City, then you want to head to New York magazine’s Grub Street.

Right now you want to check out: The Return of Restaurants

“Make up for lost meals. No takeout, no pasta kits, just 66 of the best new (or newly relevant) places to eat.”
Edited by Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld, Photographs by Dina Litovsky

Here are 3 more of my faves:

Take in Park Views With Your Kelewele

Teranga / 1280 Fifth Ave.

The trapezoidal windows at Teranga have long afforded patrons panoramic vistas of Central Park North, but the city’s embrace of outdoor dining has made Pierre Thiam’s West African–leaning venue even more appealing than before. Now you can snack on kelewele (spicy roast plantains) right at the edge of the park, overlooking the verdant trees while enjoying a warm summer breeze. On a recent Friday, I sat near a pair of diners, one of them relaxing in a jujitsu T-shirt, as I made quick work of a yassa bowl: tender chicken thighs slathered in saucy golden onions. If indoor dining is still quiet here, you’ll never feel alone in the alfresco area. Folks zoom by on hoverboards and messenger bikes, shaved-ice vendors pour polychromatic syrups into snowy cups, and people flood in and out of the park.—R.P.S.

Eat to the Beat in Hell’s Kitchen

Guantanamera / 939 Eighth Ave.

The conga drums are back. Their steady beats spill out onto Eighth Avenue, where outdoor patrons sip minty mojitos on white tablecloths. Although this Hell’s Kitchen Cuban canteen served porky lechon asado and garlicky cassava throughout the pandemic, what was missing for months was the music — the prickly guitars and folksy Caribbean tunes that have made the restaurant an accessible spot for everyday salsa dancing. Ceiling fans spin overhead near the open-air frontage as waiters ferry crisp Cubano sandwiches and some of the city’s finest vaca frita: shredded skirt steak that’s seared until it achieves the texture of soft jerky. —R.P.S.

Taste the Middle East on the Upper West

Dagon / 2454 Broadway

Airy and sun-drenched, the dining room pulsates with Israeli pop and a steady conversational hum. If you didn’t know better, you would think you’d wandered into some beachside hot spot in Tel Aviv, not a post-pandemic restaurant in the sleepy West 90s. Chef Ari Bokovza’s Levantine-leaning menu looks similar to others across the city. But the familiar mezze and salads take a fun turn with delectable things like shishbarak (Lebanese mushroom-filled dumplings) and kubaneh, the fluffy Yemenite Jewish bread that you pull apart like Parker House rolls. —B.O.

Also see Eater New York’s interactive map that highlights
these 66 restaurants that deserve your attention.