CITY GUIDE:NEW YORK CITY
MIDTOWN
Summer Film
Festival
THROUGH AUG. 19
Settle in Monday nights
at Bryant Park to watch
a mix of classics and
modern favorites.
bryantpark.org
CENTRAL PARK
She & Him
July 6
What started as a fun
one-o; between musi-
cian M. Ward and actress
Zooey Deschanel has
become a bona fide
band with four albums
and tons of fans.
cityparksfoundation.org
Check, Please!
No contest: The best thing about
NYC Restaurant Week is the price.
You can get three-course meals
at some of New York’s best res-
taurants for a low, fixed price. But
that brings us to the second-best
thing about Restaurant Week:
the camaraderie. You’re bound
to strike up a conversation nearly
anywhere you go. At Nougatine,
the casual dining room at Jean-
Georges on Central Park West,
you can taste one of celebrity chef
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s clas-
sic dishes, tuna tartare. And there
you are, sitting at the birch-toned
bar, beaming as you savor it, when
a neighbor leans over and gives
you a knowing nod. Next thing you
know, you’re talking about which
other restaurants you should try
during the promotion—more than
250 participate. You might learn
that the deal started when the
Democratic National Convention
came to New York back in 1992.
( The menus then were priced at
$19.92, too.) You may even come
away with a list of restaurants to
try on your next trip. But even if
you don’t make a friend, you can
always go back to the first best
thing about Restaurant Week:
You can dine out for a song. July
22–Aug. 16. Three-course lunches,
$25; three-course dinners, $38.
Find a list of participating restaurants at nycgo.com
Restaurant Week is New York’s best meal deal
BROOKLYN
Gravity and
Grace
Through Aug. 4
“Gravity and Grace:
Monumental Works by
El Anatsui”—the first
solo New York museum
exhibition by the artist,
a native of Ghana—
shows 30 metal and
wood works, including
12 enormous sculpture-paintings that spill o;
walls onto the floor.
brooklynmuseum.org
CHELSEA
Count Your
Blessings
Opens Aug. 2
At the Rubin Museum of
Art, learn the symbolic
meanings and ritual uses
of Asian prayer beads
while admiring the flour-
ishes, attachments and
tassels on more than 70
sets made of ivory, bone
and even human skull.
rmanyc.org
For additional
event, attraction,
restaurant and hotel
information, go to
arrivecityguides.com
A phoenix rises in Coney Island The most important thing about the annual Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Nathan’s Famous is that here is a Nathan’s Famous at all. Superstorm Sandy all but gutted the restaurant and its Coney Island neighborhood, and the
restaurant was closed all winter. Nathan’s made repairs, vowing to
bring back the contest, which has been a summer staple since 1916.
( There have been t wo years it was canceled: 1941, to protest the war
in Europe, and 1971, to protest civil unrest.) Last year, Joey Chestnut
became the six-time champ, winning $20,000 by consuming 68 hot
dogs and buns in 10 minutes as more than 40,000 fans cheered.
This year, they’ll be cheering the comeback of a classic American
restaurant as well. nathansfamous.com
LOWER MANHATTAN
FringeNYC
Aug. 9–25
The New York Interna-
tional Fringe Festival
showcases the world’s
best emerging com-
panies in 20 venues in
Lower Manhattan, draw-
ing an audience of more
than 70,000 people.
fringenyc.org
