We are dangerously slipping into Winter’s dark grasp as the days are getting shorter and the sky a little greyer and those radiators in our rooms just a bangin’ and a clangin’ and a hissin’ into the darkness, keeping us up at night. But we won’t succumb to the darkness. We will glow like fires and we will burn bright and hard and fast, exploding across this skyline because we don’t know how to live any other way.
If that sounds like you, I suggest you keep reading. Because I’ve created a weekend that will burn as bright as that fire within you. Let’s light it up, baby. Your best weekend is highlighted below.
THURSDAY
The Hold Steady “Massive Nights” at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg.
Come support Brooklyn-based rock band the Hold Steady as they play four nights at Brooklyn Bowl with surprise openers. Then let’s all meet at Lake Street, my favorite bar in town and also owned by one of the members of the band. (hint: it’s Bobby.) Celebrate 10 years of this amazing band. Come. Dance. Sing. Rock the fuck out. Tickets, $40 available here. Doors at 6pm, music at 8. 61 Wythe Ave at Brooklyn Bowl,
El Jefe’s Nachoria Pop-Up at the Diamond, Greenpoint.
it’s thursday and that means everyone’s favorite bar in greenpoint (so not biased) will be hosting another international pop-up dinner. this week they welcome back the boss, el jefe’s nachoria who will be making those naughty little flame-torched nachos right before your eyes. an expanded selection means even more chances to find a perfect pairing with diamond dave’s carefully curated drafts. info here, dinner starts at 7pm, beers flow until 2. makeout sessions in the gondola go on all night. 43 franklin st.
FRIDAY
Winter Garden Opening at Midnights in Williamsburg.
Cold weather forces us to cover up and hunker down and forces so many magical rooftops and terraces to shut down for the season. Midnights is fighting for our right to still enjoy dining and drinking (sort of) al fresco with their winter garden. It opens Friday night will be well heated and well decorated, plus plenty of fancy holiday cocktail specials. Come and sit and sip and strip away your layers along with your inhibitions. Follow along here, and I’ll see you out there. 149 N. 6th St.
A Florentine December Dinner at the Tuscan Gun in South Slope.
The holidays bring about a LOT of very traditional cooking, and quite frankly, our tables and tongues could all use something a little fresher than grandma’s cranberry surprise. (which, is never a surprise…) Head to the Tuscan Gun Friday night (such a rad restaurant name) for the first in their December dinner series. Sit around a communal table and learn something about this colorful and flavorful region of Italy. Tickets, $100, are going fast. Buy yours here. 7pm-10pm, 199 Windsor Place.
The Nutcracker *FREE* at Brookfield Place in the Financial District of Manhattan.
I grew up seeing this ballet every year as a kid, and still nothing gets me into the Christmas spirit better than hearing those songs and seeing this magical performance unfold on stage. Go to the ballet. Be fucking classy, Brooklyn. I know you’ve got it in you. It’s FREE and only Friday and Saturday and it’s your reason to cross the river this weekend. And just to balance things out, there’s a great dive bar down the street so you can go take shots of whiskey after. Performances at 7-8pm, all info here. Arrive early. 230 Vesey St.
Buke & Gase, Babyteeth at Elsewhere in Bushwick.
It’s Friday baby and you’ve worked hard all week. Time to rev up the netflix and get into your jammies yeah fucking right. It’s time to move and shake and dance until your hips break because you earned more than a warm spot on the couch in your tiny apartment in the middle of the greatest city in the world. Go jam out to Buke & Gase and Babyteeth at Elsewhere, Brooklyn’s coolest new venue, born out of the ashes of Glasslands. Tickets $12 available here. 7-1030pm, plus the afterparty which lasts until 4 or more. 599 Johnson Ave.
SATURDAY
Renegade Craft Fair, Metropolitan Pavilion, Manhattan.
Oh you little rascal you. Always zigging when you should be zagging, leaving nothing but mischief and whiskey in your wake. Purveying an addictive attractiveness all over town and giving everyone and no one a chance. You’re frisky and risky and embody that renegade appeal, and there’s a craft fair just for you. The Renegade Craft Fair, where crafts are dangerous again! Head to Industry City to peruse among booths and tables of patiently created and curated goods that are guaranteed to charm the pants right off of you. Which of course is fine because there are plenty of hand-crocheted undies to keep you covered. They’ll be poppin’ up and poppin’ off three weekends in December. Full schedule and details here. 11am-6pm, 274 36th St.
Oddities Flea Market at the Brooklyn Bazaar in Greenpoint.
Let’s face it, between our eccentric Brooklyn friends and our weird families, your holiday list is likely very diverse this year. Seek out odd, bizarre finds this weekend at the Oddities Flea Market at the Brooklyn Bazaar. With 70+ vendors already committed, plus a smattering of food vendors and winter cocktails, you’ll find something for everyone. Or at least something really fun to try to explain on Christmas Morning. “Well I guess the jock strap with deer antlers spoke to both the beast and beauty within you.” Saturday and Sunday, 11am-midnight. $5 admission. Info here. 150 Greenpoint Ave.
Winter is Coming: Tasting and Tour at the Bronx Brewery
winter is coming, and thus time for us to evolve our flavor palette along with the seasons and get nice and warm and toasty and toasted together. it’s your best reason to cross two rivers this weekend… head to the Winter is Coming tasting and tour at the Bronx Brewery and sample their seasonal suds and learn a few things too. Tickets, $10 available here. 1-2pm, 856 E 136th St.
Future Perfect at House of Yes in Bushwick.
Ah House of Yes, purveyors of the very best parties and also, rather unexpected wordsmiths. Because I don’t think I could have said this better myself. “Live past this present, Love in your truest form. Tonight we express ourselves as everything we’ve ever wanted to become. We invite you to adorn your flesh to fit your perfected future self, idealize with your eyes and shine your heart the brightest. Reinvent your everything. Reinvent the future. Together we can become as perfect as we already are.” It’s a mad cool dance party that requires some sort of future-forward costume and for you to bring the funk. The event is free before 11 with RSVP which you can do right here. 10pm-4am, 2 Wyckoff Ave at House of Yes, where they put the sensual in consensual.™
SUNDAY
Holiday Pop-Up at Threes Brewing in Gowanus.
Holiday shopping is a pain in the ass, except when it’s accompanied by craft brews and live tunes and leaves you boozing and perusing through booths of vendors with handmade goods in a brewery in Gowanus. Holiday shopping is fun again, Brooklyn. Head to Threes Brewing Sunday for their Holiday Pop-Up and get a head start on your shopping this year. All info here, noon-6pm. 333 Douglass St.
Whiskey Cocktail and Cheese Party at the Gatehouses in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Fall Sundays are made for NFL and wings hahaha yeah right. They’re made for whiskey and fancy cheeses and drinking in a former guard tower in the Brooklyn Navy Yard with all of your best friends. Head to the Whiskey Cocktail and Cheese Party with Kings County Distillery and the Cheese Grotto. Your $10 ticket includes entry, a cheese plate, live music. Buy a flight of whiskeys, all expertly paired with the cheeses and the mood of the evening. Which will be one of finely aged dairy dark smokey liquours and seduction. Tickets, $10 available here. 4-7pm, 299 Sands St at the Gatehouses, which I think you’ve heard of before.
Secret Dungeon Gallery and Artist Talk in Bushwick.
So there’s a hidden art gallery in a storage unit in Bushwick. Yeah, I’m not surprised either. But of course, I’m curious. This hidden storage unit is inside a dusty garage and visitors must call a cell phone to gain access, upon which they will be directed to meet their guide on the corner and venture inside the dark and grimy garage to a secret door in the corner that when opened reveals a pristine, white-walled gallery space. A concept created by 11 artists wanting to present “exceptional programming in an unexceptional space”. Sunday current artist resident Jackie Furtado walks you through her displayed work. Info here, 6-8pm. In a secret dungeon in Bushwick.
See you out there, Brooklyn.
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