All the best ways to celebrate the resurfacing of Leap Year, the relentless recurrence of NYC Beer Week, and how to stay cool and get hot this weekend. Get going, Brooklyn.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Thursday
Astoria Bar Crawl with Big ALICe Brewing
Bar crawls are something you outgrow after your last friend turns 21 in college. But, if those crawls evolved into a highly-curated beer discovery led by some of the best brewmasters in town, then perhaps we should all agree that we can regress a little to progress forward, together. In celebration of NYC Beer Week, the lovely folks at Big ALICe want to lead you and your pals around Astoria to show you their favorite haunts, dives and watering holes. So come thirsty and leave later than you intended and in a cab. Info here. 6:30-10:30. (also, there’s this other bar crawl I keep hearing about…)
Grand Street Restaurant Week Ends This Weekend
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 and this is the last weekend, so go. all info you need is here, including menus! Along Grand St.
The Princess Bride Entirely From Memory at Littlefield in Gowanus
How much do you really remember about most of your nights out? Or, I don’t know, from last weekend, let’s say? The crew from Ten Bones Theatre Company totally feels you, and will hit the stage to blindly act out one of our favorite childhood films completely from memory after watching it just once, and requiring that they incorporate lines from the audience and also whatever sound effects are played by the tech booth. Goddamn, that’s hilarious. In the words of Ten Bones, “Love the movie? We got you covered. Never seen it? We got you covered. You think you saw it once and you kind of remember it? You’re probably in the show.” You don’t want to miss this. Tickets, $10 available here. Doors at 7:30pm. 635 Sackett St.
Sputnik Disco Yoga and Immersive Dinner at Bogart House in Bushwick
I mean… isn’t it immersive enough to be stacked tight and downward-dogging with strangers in a rather confined space while being asked to perform some sort of circular breathing ritual? Well, if it isn’t, head to this yoga event with an immersive dinner to follow, and, obvs, a hip-compromising dj-induced playlist to ensure that this night is absolutely more than you asked for. Get down, deep, and dirty immersed with some new friends and future lovers, because you’ll be seductive and flexible come dancing time. Tickets, $50 available here. Doors at 6:30pm, 230 Bogart St.
Last Chance to see Cat Video Fest at Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn
And also, a good chance to have what will likely be a last date with someone. This national cat video festival is, well, adorable. And entertaining. And honestly polarizing for anyone who is just kind of luke-warm about cats. Choose your date wisely but don’t miss the very last night of this rabble-rousing cinematic adventure. Tickets to see it at the Alamo are available here right now. 445 Albee Square West
Things to do in Brooklyn on Friday
Underground Soundsystem and friends play the Sultan Room in Bushwick
Dance the night away at this seductive venue hidden above what could be Brooklyn’s most unique dining experience- a supper club that was physically transplanted from rural Wisconsin. But it isn’t the novelty that will make this show the best music experience of the weekend- it’s the absolutely irripressible sounds from Underground Soundsystem and the perfect accompaniment of bands that are equally pushing the sonic boundary to bring you a night of wildly dance-worthy disco grooves. This is the party you are looking for this weekend. Get tickets here now. 235 Starr St.
Into the Jungle at House of Yes in Bushwick
To refer to this city as the Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made is quite a euphemism. I feel like it’s more of a cement maze with a relentless dangling carrot ahead of you and a nagging need for weather-proof yet trendy shoes and one too many mindless distractions in the form of societally-pretty sex objects saying phrases like “hey baby, let me buy you a drink” all the while luring you into a deep, dark corner… this, however… this is that jungle that you wished you’d found here, complete with costumed revelers and all of the things that you wish you’d heard here- afro-funk beats, flirty people’s advances, bartenders making drinks while dancing and winking at you, and a pandemic of jungle fever. Get into the jungle Friday night in NYC like Jay-Z always promised it would be. Info here. 10pm-4am, 2 Wyckoff Ave.
Sicilian Dinner at Archestratus in Greenpoint
Let’s face it- most of this city is filled with transplants. Which means, more often than not, we might get a little sad missing the comforts of home. My favorite way to cure said homesickness is with the warm and inviting dinners Paige LiPari hosts in the back of her charming little cookbook shop in Greenpoint. Using her grandmother’s recipes and opening her doors to the community, your $35 ticket will get you a full plate and a homey feeling you can’t get anywhere else in this city. Beer and wine available for purchase. Tickets and info here. 6:30-10pm, 160 Huron St.
Dance the Night Away at JJ’s Hideaway in Williamsburg
Hey there sneaky. Tryin’ to get your dance on this Friday night but you want to do it right? Come on down to JJ’s Hideaway and disco-dance the night away on their light-up dance floor. Because you don’t want to hide those moves- you want them to be illuminated from beneath and radiated from within and felt loud and proud. Don’t waste your time or your energy on dull dance floors- let your spirit come alive at JJ’s Hideaway. DJs spinnin’ all night, and the dance floor is lined with church pews in case you feel the need to repent. (and, I hope you do feel that need) Info here. 97 N. 10th Ave.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Saturday
This is the last 29th of February for the next 4 years, meaning also, that you’ve only experienced this day 25% of the number of times you’ve experienced all the other days. Damn. Wild, huh? So spend this Friday doing something completely out of your comfort zone. Be bad, intentionally, knowing that 75% of this will be forgotten completely. Don’t bother talking to your statistician friends about this, no need for them to confirm my logic. Also, actually, no need for you to talk to you statistician friends anymore at all. Fuck them and their ‘theories’. Tonight is the night to get 4 times as crazy as you intended. Dance all night. Stay up ’til dawn. Don’t do the math as you try to set your alarm with one hand over one of your eyes. It’s too late. Whatever. Who cares. Here are some very out-of-the-ordinary, leap-year-worthy things to do to get you to that bleary-eyed, alarm-setting state of utter discomfort.
Get Cold then Hot at the William Vale and A Bathhouse in Williamsburg
It’s actually going to be damn cold on Saturday. Which means it will feel like winter. Which means you should find ways to embrace it, in all of your extremities, with all of its extremities. Do so by ice-skating atop the tallest non-private building in Brooklyn, and then descending way down beneath the borough and into the steam at the Bathhouse. Ice-skating tickets are available here, and day passes to the bathhouse are right here. Get cold. Stay hot.
Ribbon Cutting of Greenpoint Pizza in the old Carmine’s
Do you think, in your lifetime, you’re more likely to perform a ceremonial ribbon-cutting or christen a ship with a bottle of champagne? I sincerely want to know. And, since there’s a ribbon-cutting this Saturday in Greenpoint, I might ask the ribbon cutter if he’s also christened a ship. Maybe these things go hand-in-hand. Maybe once you start doing ceremonies to introduce something new into the uncharted waters of the ocean or, say, the New York City pizza scene, you kind of can’t stop. Once I get my answer, I plan to sink my teeth into what (I hope!!!) will be a pizza finally worthy of the old Carmine’s spot. Yep, they’re bringing pizza back to 93 Norman Ave and once that daunting little ribbon is severed, we can partake. See you there, and probably drunk late-night lots in the future. (The cut will happen at 10am)
Hartstop Leap Day at Rubulad, location TBA
There are very few rules to the party scene in Brooklyn – but one you should follow is this: if Rubulad is having a party, that’s where you should go. These guys have managed to keep their party group alive and underground for over a decade now, and it hasn’t lost any of its edge. They’ll be taken over by Hartstop this leap year to bring you a night worthy of this very painful 4-year wait. DJs spinning all night, plus tattoo artists (special 4-year disappearing ink!), handmade artisanal things to buy, grilled cheeses, and more. $8-10 entry, 5pm-late. Info here, RSVP for address (It’s off the Jefferson L).
Banter Bar’s 9th Anniversary in Williamsburg
There are few places I like to drink more during the day than at Banter Bar in South Williamsburg. There is something about a European-focused soccer bar that brings the spirit of a 3pm rival game in Madrid to a 10am, bleary-eyed band of misfits that are barely hanging on that holds a very special place in my heart. Go, celebrate their 9th anniversary along with Finback Brewing and KCBC a bunch of soccer fans yelling and chanting and drinking the day away. Info here. 132 Havemeyer St.
A Good Bar Just Opened in Greenpoint
That fateful little triangle spot at the very beginning of Bedford Ave, the longest road in the city of New York (yep, cool huh?) has once again changed hands, hoping to settle into a following as relentless as Frankel’s, the overly famous deli that occupies half the base of this isosceles space. They’ll reopen this weekend as Good Bar, thus enriching Greenpoint’s penchant for intentionally vague establishment names (A Bar, No Name, Good Room, The Place), Good Bar promises to bring us good music, and we can trust them, because it’s the Good Room people who are behind it. Come, listen to good tunes. Get a good burger. Have a good time. Happy hour is 5-7pm daily, music will be spinnin’ until late. Info here. 1 Bedford Ave.
The Day that Doesn’t Exist at Threes Brewing
It’s easy to pretend that nothing ever happened if there isn’t a paper trail. So what, so maybe you smell like beer and treats from the Meat Hook and disappeared with friends for a few hours on Saturday… but, there’s no record of it. So did it actually happen? Roll the dice this Leap Day and head to Threes Brewing. Enter a raffle to have your entire bill erased. Discuss alibis over beers anyway, just to be safe. Info here. 333 Douglass St.
Things to do in Brooklyn on Sunday
Spend a Day in the Brooklyn Navy Yard with Rooftop Reds
It’s opening day at Rooftop Reds and that means it’s a great excuse to spend the day in the Navy Yard. Pop into the Gatehouses for made-on-site whiskey, get lost for a bit trying all of the samples at Wegman’s, celebrate the finale of NYC Beer Week at the new Transmitter Brewing, and sip wine and play games at a rooftop vineyard at Rooftop Reds. Reserve your spot there here first, the rest is on your own.
Bern Fest at Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg
Now is the time, guys. Now is the time to show our support for Bernie Sanders and show the city and state that this is our candidate. All proceeds from this party and concert will go towards his 2020 campaign and you’ll spend the day building confidence and energy with like-minded people. Get your ticket here now. Party starts at 4pm. 146 Broadway.
Come Drink With Me This Sunday in Greenpoint
If you’re looking for me this Sunday, find me at brunch at Le Fanfare (serving bloody mary’s, not exactly partaking… because, fuckbrunch ), sipping cold brews on a cold rooftop at Greenpoint Beer and Ale, enjoying a hyperlocal negroni at The Greenhook Gin + St. Agrestis Tasting Room, and inducting a few new members into the Sneaky Spirit Social Club. Does this sound cool to you? Book a tour here. Come along and drink with me. I promise things will get weird.
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