FRICTION NYC

FIVE5 is back! After a short hiatus, we return with an Outer-Borough Special. That’s right all you Manhattanite snobs, get out there and experience what makes New York well, New York. Besides, you won’t have to deal with all those B&Ts coming into your neighborhood bars on the weekends:

1. WILLY-B

Annoyingly hip, but still one of the best nightlife neighborhoods. Our ideal night would start out with drinks at Giando’s on the water. Nestled between the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Domino Sugar plant, this restaurant/banquet hall is home to Italian mob-types that eloquently match the over-gaudy décor. Grab a drink at the bar from Joey and gaze at the unparalleled views of the Willy Bridge and Manhattan skyline from the bar or from the outdoor deck along the water.

A few blocks from Giando’s is our favorite ‘diner’ in the city, Diner on Broadway and Berry. You can’t deny the charm of this cozy, 1927 dining car. The menu is far from typical diner-fare and is ever-changing. Affordable and delicious.

After dinner we’d make our way up Berry to The Levee (212 Berry). This unpretentious bar welcomes everyone with their famous Texan hospitality. I think our single CU members will enjoy the sign “Beware of Pickpockets & Loose Women,” while chugging brews ($4 to $7) that include options like Chimay Blue and Delirium Tremens, or one of the delicious specialty drinks ($6), like a Creamsicle (Stoli Vanil and Sunkist orange soda) or a Beam Cream (Jim Beam and cream soda).

Finally we’ll end up at Funhouse on Bedford: A cavernous, raw, converted garage space beckons beyond the giant clown head by the entry, with non-stop, arty projections on the paint-chipped walls compete with cool pyramid installations under whirring industrial fans. Inexpensive beers ($2 Buds, $3 Guinness), a free MP3 jukebox, and a cute, young clientele all warrant a CU thumbs up.

2. WARM IT UP

We’re hitting LIC this Saturday for the hot-hot Warm Up at P.S. 1. Dance in the museum courtyard, or lounge in the “beach” installation. The line up this week features: Lovebug Starski (original hip-hop legend) + Very special guest Jason Blackkat (Blackkat Soundsystem, NYC). Get there before the masses to avoid massive lines, and leave before it dies; we’re heading over to Astoria Beer Garden afterwards to cool down with some tasty brews.

3. BIKE THE BROOKLYN WATERFRONT

New York Metro recently had a nice feature on City bike tours. A few CU members plan to take this one on Sunday: Brooklyn contains multitudes, and that’s just along the river. Cross the Brooklyn Bridge and pass the gorgeous townhouses of Henry Street from Brooklyn Heights through Carroll Gardens. At the end of Red Hook’s trendy-industrial Van Brunt Street, past the bake shops and faux-nautical bars, is the squat, redbrick Beard Street Warehouse, with views of the Statue of Liberty. At Valentino Pier, amateur fishermen enjoy condo-quality sight lines. The return trip offers more conventional prospects—the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Fulton Landing. Farther still is Dumbo and its neglected cousin, Vinegar Hill, a Georgian Revival ghost town. Then it’s a quick coast back over the Manhattan Bridge.
Directions

4. SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK FILM SERIES

Next Wednesday, August 17 at 8PM, we’ll be at Socrates Sculpture Park sampling regional Brazilian cuisine from neighborhood restaurants, picnicking on the grass as the sun sets over the city, enjoy performances by local musicians and dancers and, as the sky darkens, watching Central Station, by Walter Salles on a large format screen. Central Station is about a young boy and an aging woman joining up for an unlikely journey across the Brazilian landscape in a film that combines heartwarming yet unsentimental drama, social commentary, and beautiful landscapes. It’s FREE and you can bring wine, food, and your DOG!

5. KUNG FU FIGHTING

CU is very excited about BAM’s new movie series, Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting, The Shaw Brothers. With roots dating as far back as the silent era, the Shaw Brothers studio revolutionized the way movies were made in China and beyond. Known mainly for their incredible martial arts epics (both serious and tongue-in-cheek), the Shaws also produced Neal’s favorite classic, The Five Deadly Venoms. Get Tickets and schedule info here