5 Things to Do This Weekend in NYC

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

Film Series

First Look Offers Second Chances

Art & Museums

Scenes From Prospect Park

KIDS

Young Lives, Adult Burdens

Jazz

Reclaiming a Former Perch

Comedy

A Renewed Home for Improv Groups

Read a fuller discussion of these gallery shows 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 in NYC to See Right Now

“Alan Ruiz’s architectural installations; New Red Order’s Indigenous provocations; and “Wish,” a group show exploring productive pleasures.”

Alan Ruiz

Through July 31. The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, Manhattan; 212-255-5793, thekitchen.org.

New Red Order

Through Aug. 21. Artists Space, 11 Cortlandt Alley, Manhattan; (212) 226-3970, artistsspace.org.

Wish

Through July 30. Metro Pictures, 519 West 24th Street, Manhattan; (212) 206-7100, metropictures.com.

Read a fuller discussion of these gallery shows HERE

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Best new restaurants in NYC

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,

Here are 3 more of my faves:

Meet in Midtown for Hunanese

Blue Willow / 40 W. 56th St.

When this terrific Hunan restaurant opened last year just down the street from Trump Tower, the owners had trouble attracting customers because security arrangements limited access to the block. But true fans of Hunan cuisine — which can be just as spicy as Sichuan, with a broader array of sharp flavors — have a way of sniffing out talent and overcoming obstacles in their path, and Blue Willow gradually became a word-of-mouth hit, especially among Chinese Americans. Now, with the barriers gone, the restaurant draws diners looking for dishes like house-smoked Hunan bacon (thick swatches of pork belly stir-fried with cloves of garlic) and “snow red greens” (minced mustard greens riddled with pickled red chiles). —R.C.S.

Share Thai Disco Fries at a New-Wave Diner

Thai Diner / 186 Mott St.

It’s clear while sitting at Thai Diner’s packed outdoor setup on Mott and Kenmare that Nolita, a reliably bustling corner of the city that felt eerily quiet throughout the past year, is very much alive these days. At this, Ann Redding and Matt Danzer’s latest spot, they’re serving Uncle Boons (RIP) favorites, such as khao soi and crab fried rice, alongside cheeseburgers, fried-chicken sandwiches, and Thai disco fries smothered in curry sauce, which we recommend pairing with a notably strong martini while ogling the ecstatic-to-finally-be-out-and-about passersby. —R.P.S.

Gorge on Russian Spa Food

Matryoshka at Wall Street Bath & Spa 88 / 88 Fulton St.

The Russian bathhouse isn’t just about cleansing; it’s about restoring and nourishing, which is why the indoor-dining ban hit the banya so hard. You were permitted to sweat it out on Fulton Street, but you couldn’t seek rejuvenation through hot borscht and cold beer. Now, after a few rounds in a sauna set to a screaming 220 degrees, you can once again bring your body back to life in a cafeteria with other dripping-wet patrons wearing very few clothes. Consider filling up on slippery Siberian pelmeni drenched in butter, fried potatoes slicked with enough garlic to qualify as a medicinal supplement, and Georgian lamb soup that will scorch your tongue for days, which means it’s precisely the right temperature.—R.P.S.

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