The Daily Shortlist March 25

Shinjo Ito Works on One of his Most Famous Sculptures, The Great Parinirvana Image.

Location: Chelsea, NYC
Art: The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito
Venue: Milk Gallery
Food: Better Burger
Drink: Turks & Frogs
Miscellaneous: City Bakery

The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito celebrates this great Japanese artists sculpture, calligraphy, and photography work in this exhibition. A devout Buddhist too, he helped create Shinnyo-en Buddhism which also played a role in his art. The name says it all in it’s mission to serve a burger as Better Burger uses organic, antibiotic, hormone & nitrate free meat and poultry in its quest to offer up a healthier alternative to the classic patty. A great little wine bar in Chelsea, Turks & Frogs has a menu of wine and beer from all over the world, including Turkey, while having the ambiance of being in someone’s home. A must if you’re in Chelsea, City Bakery offers one of the best chocolate chip cookies and thickest and richest hot chocolates in the city. The food is a gourmand’s delight.

The Daily Shortlist Feb 21

Daniel Johnston at Home and at Work

Location: Chelsea, NYC
Bands: Daniel Johnston + Spanish Prisoners
Venue: Highline Ballroom
Food: Better Burger
Drink: Passerby
Miscellaneous: ’sNice

Bipolar and autistic, Daniel Johnston is also a brilliant singer/songwriter and performer who combines music and art to create childlike songs inspired by comic books, love, and religion that have inspired many songwriters like David Bowie and the Flaming Lips. Hormone and antibiotic free, Better Burger focuses on serving a fresh and healthier alternative to the grease burger you can get anywhere. With a tiled floor that lights up, other than that, Passerby is a non-descript bar, which is why it’s a place artists flock to for a cocktail without being disturbed. While not the best named coffee shop, ‘sNice is a nice and quiet coffee house offering vegetarian sandwiches and baked goods, while being a large enough space to spread your legs out and not worry about stealing another seat from someone.

The Weekend Shortlist Feb 1-3

Come Party with Hot Chip Saturday at the Highline Ballroom

Friday Feb 1

Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Band: Joanna Newsom
Venue: BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Food: Juniors
Drink: Moe’s
Miscellaneous: Tillie’s

Music critics and fans were happily blown away when singer/songwriter and harpist, Joanna Newsom, released her lush and ambitious second album Y’s. Tonight with the help of conductor Michael Christie and member s of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, they recreate it. Known for their amazing cheesecakes, Juniors offers a pretty damn good menu too. Though it’s your old school deli style food, personally, my favorite dish is the Bar-B-Q fried chicken and the Mac & Cheese is officially the best traditional version of it I’ve ever had. Probably one of the best bars in the area simply due to its ethno-Brooklyn vibe. Everyone looks cool here and is friendly. Good music and great drinks, its a great place to chill. For dessert, stop by Tillie’s. It’s one of the best places in the area to get coffee, cupcakes, and cookies. The environment here is laid back.

Friday

Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Bands: Black Rock Coalition:Rachid Is Rasalus + Honeychild Coleman
Venue: BAM Café
Food: Thomas Beisl
Drink: Stonehome Wine Bar
Miscellaneous: O’Connors

What better way to start off Black History Month than with Bam Café’s Black Rock Coalition bringing you solo artist Rachid Is Rasalus, playing rock, pop, soul, and electro, while Honeychild Coleman takes you into the world of dub music. Right across the street from BAM, Thomas Beisl, a Viennese Bistro and bar, offers staple food like Wiener Schnitzel ($15) and Beef Gulash ($16), while even offering something for vegetarians like the Polenta Gratin with fontina cheese mushroom ragout, roasted peppers, and curried coconut lentils ($14). Cozy and eclectic like the surrounding area, Stonehome Wine Bar features a very thorough wine list hitting all the best winemaking spots in the world. O’Connors, though dark, has cheap pints, and the half hipster half old man clientele makes the vibe here all the more interesting, plus Eliot Smith drank himself silly here on many a night.

Saturday Feb 2

Location: Chelsea, NYC
Bands: Hot Chip + Devlin & Darko
Venue: Highline Ballroom
Food: Il Bastardo
Drink: APT
Miscellaneous: Café Grumpy

With their recently released third album, Made in the Dark, Hot Chip return with a great album that will have you dancing long after the show ends. Spank Rock DJs Devlin & Darko join the party with genre-bending beats. For fans of Italian, Il Bastardo offers itself up as a Tuscan grill, raw bar, and wine bar. Spacious and romantic, yet cutting edge, exposed brick walls meet modern design. The menu, filled with mostly Northern Italian fare, is heavier on the meat than on the sauce, creating fantastic food in a beautiful environment. Not just a hot spot for top DJs, APT is also a lush lounge where you can get great cocktails and sit among the city’s most interesting hipsters. Probably one of the top coffee spots in the city due to a newly designed coffee machine called “The Clover,” Café Grumpy grinds out the freshest cup of Joe you’ll ever have.

Saturday

Location: Upper West Side, NYC
Band: They Might Be Giants
Venue: Beacon Theater
Food: Josie’s
Drink: Candle Bar
Miscellaneous: Emack & Bolio’s

Eclectic and quirky are just two ways to describe the music They Might Be Giants have been creating since the 80s. Now they can add ipodcasting and children’s songwriters to their credit. See what they’ll bring to Beacon Theater. Dairy free, organic, and free-range are things that come up often on the menu at Josie’s, offering dishes like the Warm Macadamia-Crusted Natural Chicken Breast Dinner Salad ($17.75), several tofu and seitan specialty dishes and the Freshly Ground Char-Grilled Brandt Natural Beef Cheeseburger ($15.75), so everyone here will walk away happy. Comfortable and dimly lit, the Candle Bar has a pool table in the back and drink specials daily. For some of the best and most interesting ice cream in the city, Emack & Bolio’s offers some eclectic flavors like Deep Purple Cow (Black Raspberry ice cream with white and dark chocolate chips and blueberries). This place thakes their ice cream serious.

Sunday Feb 3

Location: Chelsea, NYC
Event: Reverend Billy’s Hot and Holy Highline Revival with the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir + Not Buying It Band
Venue: Highline Ballroom
Food: Better Burger
Drink: The Half King
Miscellaneous: Chocolate Bar

Somewhere between activism and performance lies Reverend Billy, a performance artist and anti-consumerist who lives it and preaches it through song. This will undoubtedly be informative and entertaining!Owner Louis Lanza, owner of Josie’s has created a burger joint with organic meat and ingredients that are healthier than any fast food restaurnat you can think without losing the taste. Better Burger offers hot dogs and burgers made of 100% meat. And yes, fries do come with that shake! Named after a Seneca Chief from the 18th century, The Half King is a great Irish bar offering pub food and beautiful wood décor. Grab a pint and hang at a table or sit in the backyard.I hope you like chocolate, because the Chocolate Bar, which looks like a chic café is a great NYC chocolatier run by Alison Nelson and creates retro wrapped chocolate that is as delicious looking as it tastes.