5 Things to Do This Weekend / NYT June 24, 2021

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

Jazz / Blue Note Beckons Us Inside

Art & Museums / The City Is Their Canvas

Film Series / From Martians to Malcolm X

KIDs / Pride for All Ages

Comedy / Corporate Wokeness, Roasted

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 23, 2021

“Magdalene A.N. Odundo’s ceramics, Ming Smith’s photographs and Tetsumi Kudo’s sculptures..”

Magdalene A.N. Odundo

Through July 3. Salon 94, 3 East 89th Street, Manhattan; (212) 979-0001, salon94.com.

Ming Smith

Through June 26. Nicola Vassell, 138 10th Avenue, Manhattan; (212) 463-5160, nicolavassell.com

Tetsumi Kudo

Through July 30. Hauser & Wirth, 542 West 22nd Street, Manhattan; 212-790-3900, hauserwirth.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:

Experience Arthur Avenue Alfresco

Zero Otto Nove / 2357 Arthur Ave., Belmont

Zero Otto Nove has been a mainstay of the Bronx’s Little Italy since it opened in 2008. But Open Streets’ weekend transformation of Arthur Avenue into the car-free Piazza di Belmont has brought a fresh and breezy feel to this first-rate southern Italian trattoria. Previously, restaurants along the strip rarely set up for outdoor dining, confining the festivities to the often-curtained dining rooms. Now and hopefully forever, the celebratory and communal open-air atmosphere brings the action (and all the neighborhood characters) outdoors, where diners partake in lively people-watching while enjoying dishes like citrusy seafood salad, butternut-squash pizza, and mafalde cooked in tinfoil.—Terri Ciccone

Rediscover the Joy of Big Round Tables

Hwa Yuan / 42 East Broadway

There are many good reasons to revisit Manhattan’s Chinatown these days. But if you’re in the mood for a quick Peking-duck banquet or a taste of Shorty Tang’s famous dry-sautéed crispy beef in a crowded, near-celebratory post-pandemic atmosphere, this East Broadway destination is the place to be. When we dropped in on a Friday evening not long ago, the streets outside were still eerily empty, and so were the dining booths set up on the sidewalk. But inside the brightly lit two-floor restaurant, parties of revelers from uptown, across the river, and around the neighborhood filled the round tables. For those acclimated to dining in the great indoors, we guarantee a bite of Peking duck (or crispy beef) never tasted so good.—A.P.41

Nosh Bagels and Lox Off Madison Square

Mark’s Off Madison / 41 Madison Ave.

At Mark’s, which opened in November, the Queens-born chef Mark Strausman (Freds at Barneys, Coco Pazzo, Campagna) delves into the Jewish and Italian dishes that have come to define his 30-year career: lush eggplant parm, rich pappardelle with brisket ragù, and a killer chicken soup named after his grandmother Estelle. In nice weather, the outdoor terrace, with its view of Madison Square Park, gets fairly packed with a tony mix of locals and Strausman groupies from his Freds days. On weekends, starting at 9 a.m., the place doubles as a Jewish bakery whose bagels and bialys and black-and-white cookies put most of the competition to shame. —R.C.S.

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