NYC-Arts Top Five Picks: July 16 – 22

“Interesting. Unusual. Uniquely NYC. Highlights of this week’s top events include Bruce McCall’s New York, Dawoud Bey: An American Project, Onyedika Chuke: The Forever Museum, and more. Get the NYC-ARTS Top Five in your inbox every Friday and follow @NYC_ARTS on Instagram or @NYCARTS on Twitter to stay abreast of events as they happen.”

Wall Power! And Storied Quilts

Hudson River Museum

Manhattan

Fri, Jun 18, 2021 – Tue, Sep 28, 2021

“Wall Power! Spectacular Quilts from the American Folk Art Collection.” As an art form, quilts have deep roots in American life and experience. For more than three centuries, artists, primarily women, have created highly individualized expressions in this medium that are both yielding and unforgiving, challenging the maker to test the limits imposed by cutting and piecing bits of fabric. Each work on view is a graphically striking example that embodies a sense of “wall power,” …

Dawoud Bey: An American Project

Whitney Museum of American Art

Manhattan

Sat, Apr 17, 2021 – Sun, Oct 03, 2021

Since the mid-1970s, Dawoud Bey (b. 1953) has worked to expand upon what photography can and should be. Insisting that it is an ethical practice requiring collaboration with his subjects, he creates poignant meditations on visibility, power, and race. Bey chronicles communities and histories that have been largely underrepresented or even unseen, and his work lends renewed urgency to an enduring conversation about what it means to represent America with a camera. Spanning from his earliest street portraits …

Spencer Lewis: Susan Mary

Vito Schnabel Gallery

Manhattan

Thu, Jul 15, 2021 – Sun, Sep 26, 2021

Vito Schnabel Gallery is pleased to present “Spencer Lewis: Susan Mary,” the gallery’s first exhibition dedicated to the Los Angeles-based artist. On view from July 7 through September 26, 2021, “Susan Mary” will feature the presentation of four new paintings by the artist in the intimate setting of the Vito Schnabel Gallery’s Clarkson Street space in New York, beginning June 22. Born in Hartford, CT in 1979, Spencer Lewis is recognized for his works on cardboard and …

Onyedika Chuke: The Forever Museum

Building 110: LMCC’s Arts Center at Governors Island

Sat, Jun 12, 2021 – Sun, Oct 31, 2021

Onyedika Chuke is an artist and archivist who, since 2011, has been focused on “The Forever Museum Archive,” an ongoing project that brings together a disquieting collection of sculptures, text and images that serve as reference points through which to trace the systems of power that shape contemporary society. LMCC and Pioneer Works now present the most recent iteration of this project, “The Forever Museum Archive_Circa 6000BCE.” This large-scale installation, a culmination of research conducted by …

Bruce McCall’s New York

New-York Historical Society

Manhattan

Fri, Apr 23, 2021 – Sun, Aug 15, 2021

Showcasing the vibrant and humorous work of the prolific artist, “Bruce McCall’s New York” presents colorful visions of a fantastical version of New York City—where pterodactyls fly down Central Park West, King Kongs wait to audition for the role of a lifetime, rooftop farms reach far up into the sky, and ubiquitous orange parking tickets are part of the fall foliage. On view in the Pam and Scott Schafler Gallery at the New-York Historical Society and …

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So many things to see and do, to eat and drink in NYC.

Here are 10 of my NYC faves:

The Best New Pizza In NYC – New York – The Infatuation

NYC Restaurant Week

The Infatuation NYC Guide To Summer 2021 – The Infatuation

From the Purveyors of New York’s Best Mozzarella, a New Cafe – The New York Times

The Best Oyster Happy Hours In NYC – New York – The Infatuation

20 Best Summer Rainy Day Activities in NYC – newyorkfamily.com

The Best Outdoor Breweries In NYC – New York – The Infatuation

The 25 best cheap eats in NYC – time out ny

Where To Have Dinner In The Middle Of The Street In NYC – New York – The Infatuation

How to Eat in New York City on a Budget – nomadicmatt.com

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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.