The best things to do in NYC this weekend

“The best things to do in NYC this weekend include Daybreaker, the NY Burlesque Festival, BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! and more

Edited by Shaye WeaverContributor Time Out New York contributors

Looking for the best things to do in NYC this weekend? Whether you’re the group planner searching for more things to do in NYC today, or you have no plans yet, here are some ideas to add to your list for this long summer weekend. Don’t miss the return of Daybreaker on the rooftop of Harbor, Shakespeare in the Park, or BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! festival or find an outdoor movie screening or take a hot tub boat tour. There’s much more to do this weekend—all you have to do is scroll down to plan yours!”

Things to do in NYC this weekend

Time Out New York has 85 best things to do this weekend.

These are just a few of my faves. Want more? Find your faves right here

1. Panorama Room

Roosevelt Island has its first-ever rooftop bar and lounge open to the public. Panorama Room just opened atop the newly opened Graduate Roosevelt Island hotel on the southern end of the island and the views are really unparalleled — perhaps even the best of any rooftop lounge. Located on the 18th floor of the hotel, the “jewel box” space by Med Abrous and Marc Rose, who are food and beverage partners of the hotel and co-founders of the hospitality group Call Mom, opens up to incredible views of the boroughs, the bridges and the East River, which shine like stars at night. Designed by James Beard Award-winning design firm Parts and Labor Design, Panorama Room is visually dramatic. Its palatial vibes are set by luxurious velvet vintage-inspired tubular lounge sofas, chrome and marble touches, mosaic tile columns and its giant, tubular acrylic chandeliers that hover above the massively long bar. It’s not only luxe but it’s somehow simultaneously futuristic and retro. 

7. Afterlives: Recovering the Lost Stories of Looted Art

• Central Park Aug 20, 2021Jan 9, 2022

The Jewish Museum’s new exhibit explores the subject of art looting during World War II, focusing on the Nazi’s theft of artwork and the journey these some 1 million works (And 2.5 million books) took as they traveled through distribution centers, sites of recovery, and networks of collectors, before, during, and after the war. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, and Judaica that survived this traumatic period of violence and upheaval against tremendous odds. By tracing the fascinating timelines of individual objects as they passed through hands and sites, their myriad stories will be brought forward, often in dialogue with archival documents and photographs that connect them to history.

Afterlives will include works by major artists that were looted from Jewish collections during the war as well as treasured pieces of Judaica. Rare examples of Jewish ceremonial objects from destroyed synagogues; works by such renowned artists as Pierre Bonnard, Marc Chagall, Paul Cézanne, Gustave Courbet, Paul Klee, Franz Marc, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Camille Pissarro, among others; and rarely seen archival photographs and documents will all be on view. 

8. New York Burlesque Festival

Chelsea Aug 21-Oct 3, 2021

This world-renowned festival, now in its 19th year, features burlesque artists from around the globe pulling out the stops (and tassels) to showcase the finest the art form has to offer. This year’s lineup of festivities includes a Summer Sizzler Showcase at City Winery that’ll be set to live music by The L Train Brass Band, and entertainment by the king of showbiz, Murray Hill, and a cavalcade of stars like Dirty Martini, The Evil Hate Monkey, Julie Atlas Muz, Angie Pontani, Mr. Gorgeous,  Qualms Galore, 2 to Fly, Fem Appeal, Miss Saturn, Tigger!, Gin Minsky, Dandy Wellington and DJ Momotaro. You can also shop sexy vendors at the Burlesque Homecoming Boutique here, too.

Don’t miss the festival’s other events, The Teaser Party at The Bell House (Sept. 30), The Premiere Party at Brooklyn Bowl (Oct. 1), The Saturday Spectacular at Sony Hall (Oct. 2) and The Golden Pastie Awards at Le Poisson Rouge (Oct. 3).

10. Browser Battle Trivia

Browser Battle is the trivia game where Googling the answers isn’t only allowed—it’s required. Bring your phone, connect to wifi, and compete to answer questions that will lead you to fascinating stories, surprising facts, and weird places in the depths of The Internet. And if you’re really good, it may lead you to a prize! If you’re the kind of person who gets sucked into late-night Wikipedia rabbit holes or thoroughly Googles your Hinge matches to the point where it’s maybe a little creepy, you’ll be great at Browser Battle Trivia. Hosted by Reed Kavner at Caveat (21 Clinton St.) on Sunday, starting at 4pm. Tickets are $12. Proof of vaccination is required.

13. Somewhere in Nolita

Somewhere in Nolita, a new rooftop bar from Rivers and Hills Hospitality Group, the team behind popular Lower East Side Thai restaurant (and Time Out Market New York vendor) Wayla and Japanese-Italian restaurant Kimika, just opened atop The Nolitan Hotel (30 Kenmare St.). Bright, refreshing craft cocktails were designed to emulate the unparalleled open view of Lower Manhattan, and a menu of playful snacks and summery New England seafood-inspired dishes will keep summer going after Labor Day. Plants and green banquets are designed to create a chill, relaxing atmosphere, which is currently table service only. Highlights off the cocktail menu include the Heat Map (tequila, mezcal, watermelon, basil and calabrian chili); Pineapple Over the Sea, which is a tropical take on a Manhattan with Scotch, plum whiskey, plantation pineapple, giffard pineapple, cardamaro and choya umeshu; and Oolong Time Comin, a negroni stirred with pisco, carpano bitter, yellow chartreuse, Pimms, dolin chambery blanc, fino sherry and oolong tea.

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amNY Weekender: Seven great things to do, Aug. 20-22

By Dean Jamieson

Friday, Aug. 20

Image First Date – but live. Watch as two New Yorkers are brought together on a first date in front of a live studio audience, and see the comedy that ensues, in this charming, high-octane adventure into the world of dating. $25. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., Rebel Café and Garden, 2 Knickerbocker Ave., Brooklyn. 

Battery Park Dance Festival: New York City’s longest-running dance festival, the Battery Park Dance Festival is giving live-streamed and in-person performances this weekend for their 40th anniversary. Come on Friday to see Ballet Nepantla, the Battery Dance Company, Flamenco Vivo II, and many others. 7-9 p.m., Robert F. Wagner Park, 20 Battery Place, Manhattan. For more information, visit batterydance.org.

Movies Under the Stars: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure: The 1985 children’s-comedy classic Pee Wee’s Big Adventure is coming to Murphy Brothers Playground this Friday as part of the Parks Department’s ‘Movies Under The Stars’ series. Spread a blanket, enjoy the end of the heatwave, and enjoy. Begins at 8 pm, but come early, as space fills up. 8-10:30 p.m., Murphy Brothers Playground, Avenue C near FDR Drive and East 17th Street, East Village.

Saturday, Aug. 21

Museum of the Moving Image: The Cube and Rarities from the Henson Vault:Fans of Jim Henson, the master puppeteer and animator, should come to the Museum of the Moving Image this Saturday for a special screening of the directors’ lesser known work. The Cube, a 1969 television special, and one of Henson’s few live-action films, will be shown alongside a number of rare shorts and television commercials. $15 per person, $11 seniors and students, $9 youths (ages 3-17). 1 p.m., Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Ave., Astoria, Queens.

Summer on the Hudson: The Count of Monte Cristo: A classic of Western literature, and a favorite of adventure fans for centuries, The Count of Monte Cristo is being performed by the Hudson Classical Theatre Company this Saturday as part of the Parks Department’s Summer on the Hudson series. Enjoy the twists and turns of Alexander Dumas’ 1844 novel all-over again in the Theatre Company’s fun-for-the-whole-family adaptation. 6:30-9:30 p.m., Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument, West 89th Street and Riverside Drive, Manhattan.

We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert: New York City’s massive celebration concert is happening this Saturday at Central Park. This historic, once-in-a-lifetime concert will include by performances by Bruce Springsteen, John Batiste, Earth Wind & Fire, and Patti Smith, to celebrate the City’s reopening and, hopefully, the soon-to-come end of Covid. Reserve tickets at nyc.gov/homecomingweek.

Sunday, Aug. 22

Outdoor Skills: Primitive Survival Skills: If you were dropped in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on your back, what would you do? Come to Van Cortlandt Park this Sunday to learn tips and tricks from Urban Park Rangers well versed in outdoor lore. Free, and perfect for kids. 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Van Cortlandt Park Nature Center. For information, call 718-548-0912.

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Best New NYC Restaurants

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:

Eat All Your Chinese Vegetables

Fat Choy / 250 Broome St.

It’s one thing to offer a $335 meat-free menu for the one percent (see Eleven Madison Park 2.0). It’s another to charge $10 and under for veggie-centric Chinese food for everyone: the curious carnivores, the certified vegans, and the dedicated superfans like Deborah from the Upper West Side, who loves the food and the vibe so much she literally hiked down the West Side Highway from 88th Street to Broome and Orchard one recent Saturday afternoon just to tuck in to paper-boatloads of chewy rice rolls topped with gai lan and juicy bok choy showered with crispy fried garlic. We know she did this because Fat Choy is the kind of place where diners who have navigated the scrum of Lower East Side streeteries — bars, vegan-cupcake shops, more bars — start conversations with strangers to recommend dishes, offer bites, and generally share communal moments of vibrantly flavored, inventively conceived culinary bliss. —Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Sip a Sazerac in a Secret Garden

Villanelle / 15 E. 12th St.

This elegant Greenwich Village establishment has flown so far under the radar that many regulars (ourselves included) were afraid it would close forever when disaster struck. Miraculously, unlike with the still-shuttered Gotham Bar & Grill across the street, the opposite has happened. Owner Catherine Manning fitted the space out back with tables and little enclosed “garden rooms” that have become a hit during the outdoor-dining craze. The Sazeracs we enjoyed on a recent summery evening were exceptional, and you can also addle yourself with $9 cocktails during the new happy hour. The talented young chef Tyler Heckman (Ferris, Le Turtle) took over the kitchen last fall, and he’s slowly added the kind of variety and style to the aggressively seasonal menu (braised spring lamb on our visit, white-asparagus velouté, gnocchi with escargot) that threatens to turn this sleepy local favorite into a proper big-city dining destination. —Adam Platt

Sample the Latest Fusion Cuisine on New York’s Original Open Street

The Migrant Kitchen / 45 Stone St.

Long before 2020 brought alfresco eating to every corner of our city, Stone Street was a pedestrian paradise, and it still is, a cobblestoned car-free wonderland for outdoor pints, pizza, and mozzarella sticks. The Migrant Kitchen, which opened last fall, brings Middle Eastern–Latin fusion to this Fidi pub-grub zone. Owner Nasser Jaber, who operates out of the Dubliner bar’s kitchen, sends out sumac-butter-slicked fried-chicken-and-falafel waffles, mariquitas (fried plantain chips) nachos, and pastelon mahshi, a Dominican-style maduros-and-beef riff on the traditional Palestinian stuffed gourd. And since many office workers are still Zooming in from home, Stone Street feels distinctly chiller and less suits-y these days. —Ryan P. Sutton

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

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