I see you out there, Brooklyn. Looking for trouble in all the right places. Chasing the sunset until it rises again. Drinking more tequila than you will ever own up to, especially not to your hangover the next morning (“I only had like two drinks last night…”) I see you out there, and I like you. I like your spirit. I like your song. I like that little dance you do when you think no one, or everyone, is watching. And I’ve made plans for you this weekend- the only kind of plans that are worthy of your time.
Just trust me and dive in to your weekend guide, then get going. It’s all out there waiting for you.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Thursday
Eat a Paczki in Greenpoint for Fat Thursday
It’s Fat Thursday. Which is the non-Americanized way to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Which means if you live in Greenpoint, you indulge in round little sugary delights called paczkis before holy week and fasting and such begins. But more than anything, it’s a damn good excuse to connect with the cultural heritage of the neighborhood… maybe, with a side of borscht at my new favorite little pierogi spot. Make yourself a little fatter and get your paczkis today at Peter Pan, Polka Dot, Old Poland Bakery (it’s on Manhattan and Kent), Pierozek, or in Williamsburg at Northside Bakery.
Bingo Night with Lukas Volger at Archestratus in Greenpoint
What if Marie Kondo could also get inside of our refrigerators and kitchen cabinets and help us weed out all of the nonsense to leave only, simply, the foods that bring us joy? Well, she kind of is, in the form of Lukas Volger this Thursday night in the back of a cookbook store in Greenpoint. Volger’s new book Start Simple: Eleven Everyday Ingredients for Countless Weeknight Meals, will show you how to do a whole hell of a lot with a little. And comedian Mike Albo will help give you a little hope, in a few rounds, during Bingo! Free arancini ball with the purchase of beer or wine, so dinner’s on the house. Info here. 6:30-8:30pm, 160 Huron St.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Friday
Grand Street Restaurant Week, Williamsburg
Ah, restaurant week in New York- a highly anticipated and seemingly a great way to have a new experience for a great value! …And then you get there and it’s overrun with people who don’t know how to dine out and the food lets you down and everyone is on top of each other and you order too many drinks to deal with your frustration and then you’re paying way way more than anticipated for a mediocre experience… which I guess is also exactly what it’s like to live in Manhattan. Let’s just do this shit our own way. It’s Grand Street Restaurant Week, and just as every time you’ve ever subbed one experience for another across the river, it will be so much grander on our side. 15 amazing restaurants, now through March 1st. all info you need is here, including menus! Along Grand St.
Carnaval at House of Yes in Bushwick
Consider that round little sugary ball of dough you took as a sacrament on Fat Thursday as your entry into the sinful world that will be overtaking House of Yes this Friday night. Because after all, how can we abstain and truly repent if we don’t indulge to the utmost? All of the colorful magic and life of Brazil will be poured into the wild warehouse walls in Bushwick to let you dance and sing and love and feel alive. And do it all dressed in costume. Looks, inspiration, and all the other info you need is right here. Free before 11pm with an RSVP and a good getup. 10pm-4am, 2 Wyckoff Ave. #getuptogetdown
Mean Jeans, Dirty Fences, and Bower at TV Eye in Ridgewood
Oh, hey. It’s you. I know you. You. that person who wants to be the first of your friends to discover the hottest new spot in town. And I know why you’re here- because you trust me to hip you to those places. Enter, your Friday night plans- you and your crew going to see Mean Jeans, Dirty Fences, and Brower at TV Eye in Ridgewood. Because finally, Brooklyn is bringing back the bar/venue combos that formerly allowed us to drink and float fluidly between chilling and rocking out (I miss you, Cameo Gallery. Spike Hill, Glasslands) and this is the one you should have on your radar, from now until death by gentrification due us part. Get tickets here now. Get dinner and cocktails before the show at Bun-Ker.
Pschemagik and Love Tempo at Good Room in Greenpoint
Sometimes you just want to have a wild night with your friends that just kind of happens that way. Not too much planning, no required costumes or dress code, no necessary logistical coordination, just your pals and some booze and whatever other things you prefer to ingest and some damn good dance music, all night. This is the party that will make that night happen tonight. BIT favorite Love Tempo (Justin Strauss + Billy Caldwell) joins Psychemagik and friends at Good Room, my favorite place to do bad things. Get your tickets here (they’re cheaper than at the door) then meet at Lake Street and walk over. And do bad things that feel good. 98 Meserole St.
Battle of the Bands at Our Wicked Lady or anything else at Cobra Club
It’s Saturday. You find yourself stumbling somewhere around in Bushwick, trying to find something worthwhile or at least that doesn’t require a wild burning-man-esque costume or your dodging finance douchebags who wanted to “Brooklyn” tonight. Does adding some heavy rock music and a little additional combativeness to your evening sound better? Head to Our Wicked Lady for their Winter Madness battle-of-the-bands competition. And then head across the street at the Cobra Club for shots. Of whisky. And likely unwelcome conversation that you’ll pretend to forget in the morning or, a damn good time that starts in the bathroom. Our Wicked Lady is located at 153 Morgan Ave, and Cobra Club is down the street at 6 Wyckoff Ave.
NY Beer Week Kickoff at the Expo Center in Greenpoint
Yeah. I know. I usually hate these festivals. But our city and state are brewing some damn good beers, and to have (almost) all of them under one roof, being poured by the brewers who will be able to tell you all about the passion behind their pilsners and the love in their lagers is not something you want to miss. It’s the kickoff to NYC Beer Week which also means, now is not the time to restart that carb-free New Year’s Resolution. It’s happening at the Expo Center featuring 75+ breweries, unlimited tastings, a locally-sourced food court, games, music, and the best by-the-slice pizza shop in town just across the street to soak up all those suds after. Tickets and info here. 72 Noble St.
Beer Week Kick-Off After-Parties, at Brouwerij Lane and Threes Brewing in Greenpoint
For those of you who take this really seriously or at least don’t mind being around people who do the same, head to Brouwerij Lane after the fest for unique sips and telling drunk stories that you disguise as “beer experiences”. Info here, 78 Greenpoint Ave.
Or, head to Threes Brewing… for a slightly more low-key yet still very celebratory after-party. Show them your Beer Week badge for $5 Vliet Pilsners all night. The DJ starts at 8pm so pace yourself. Or, don’t. No sweat really either way. It’s your Saturday. Party starts at noon and doesn’t end until you do. Info here. 113 Franklin St.
Tasting Room at St. Agrestis and Greenhook Ginsmiths in Greenpoint
Listen. Fuck Brunch. For real, it’s lame and just for people who feel the need to find an excuse to start day drinking and who also don’t know how to make eggs at home. Make eggs at home. And then decide you need no excuse to drink whenever you want, but you do need to take advantage of one of the coolest and still semi-undiscovered watering holes in Brooklyn. Because it’s only open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays and it’s guaranteed to lift your spirits by stirring theirs together and into a glass just for you. Stop by anytime between 1-6pm or sign up for the tour at 2pm. 233 Eagle St.
Rhymes with Opera at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in Prospect Park
I’m a big, big fan of opera in intimate spaces. This past summer, I was fortunate enough to be dining atop a mountain in Tuscany while a harpist and opera singer performed for just the 6 of us, and had us all in tears within minutes, and I’m anxiously awaiting the return of LoftOpera. For now, I’m so excited to see Rhymes With Opera this Saturday. An intimate performance that is part of the Brooklyn Conservatory’s Parlour Room Sessions, it will bring you through what promises to be a beautifully orchestrated emotional roller coaster. Get tickets here now. 5:30-7pm. 58 7th Ave.
National Margarita Day, everywhere apparently.
Don’t you hate it when social media decides it must designate a day for every fucking thing and then push it off into the trend surf and watch everyone lose their minds while their Instagram feeds all become some cohesive slop of feigned artistry while their lives are completely and utterly unchanged? Yeah. Me fucking too. In other news, it’s National Margarita Day. Here’s a link to where you can mindlessly pretend that’s a thing while you get drunk.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Sunday
Hotbox Mobile Sauna Pop-Up in Bushwick
Was your red-hot weekend of love a little lukewarm this year? Don’t fret it, baby… sweat it. Our favorite little hot box will be opening its doors (but you know, just like for a quick moment each time) this Sunday so you can get hot with some strangers. Hot Box is a traveling sauna and it’s guaranteed to cure those winter blues and the chill in your bones and potentially the loneliness in your heart. Reserve your spot here, and maybe just hold onto your sauna hat unless you see other people wearing them. 2-6pm. 26 Vandervoort Pl.
Pale Ramon at Threes Brewing in Gowanus
On Fridays, I like to be taken to dinner and have long conversation over and endless bottle of wine, followed by tequila at some dark, seductive little dive bar. On Saturdays, I like to drink negroni’s a little too early and end up dancing too late into the night to retain my dignity. And on Sundays? Well on Sundays, I like to go see live music. Often, it’s Stephane Wrembel at Barbes in Park Slope or honky-tonk at Skinny Dennis, but this Sunday it’s Pale Ramon at Three’s Brewing in Gowanus. Because there’s nothing more enticing than the raw, melodic sounds of this Brooklyn-based band, especially with a beer in hand. They’re playing with other people, but I’m going for them. Info here. Doors at 7:30pm. 333 Douglass St/
Petitioning Pick-Up at Teddy’s in Williamsburg
Between the heated on-stage debates and the unavoidable at-bar debates we’ve all been having as the presidential race heats up. Let’s keep in mind that so much of what affects our daily lives can be changed right in our own neighborhoods. Teddy’s, everyone’s favorite little neighborhood bar in Williamsburg, wants to help you have the last word in any heated political discussion (“I just know that I’m doing everything I can right here, in my neighborhood”) by giving you petitioning packets to help you Rep Your Block and have a say on who is on our County Committee. Because when the future of our political landscape feels as intangible as Amy Klobachar’s hairstyle, we need to take it to the streets. Stop by anytime from 2-6pm. Info here. 96 Berry St.
Come see me and Ceri at Elder Greene!
That’s right, I’ll be working alongside my partner-in-crime at one of our favorite local haunts in Greenpoint. Why? Well because Ceri kind of works everywhere, and she needed back-up… and while things can only get so crazy working behind the bar at Le Fanfare, semi-soberly slinging shots on a Sunday until 4am is bound to leave me with some great new material! Note: your entry counts as permission to be used unknowingly in some story on Brooklyn, I’m Trying, and gives me the right to do anything I can to loosen those lips of yours. 160 Franklin St.
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