3 weekend escapes: NYC, Philadelphia and more
Stop by Bar Sprezzatura for pre-theater dining in Manhattan. Credit: Scott Vogel / Newsday
New ways Long Islanders can celebrate the end of the work week, whether you’ve a few hours, a few days or something in-between:
A few hours: A night on Broadway
Bar Sprezzatura is a new spot for pre-theater dining in midtown Manhattan. Credit: Scott Vogel / Newsday
Too few are the options for a quiet preshow drink in Manhattan’s Theater District, a lamentable situation that Bar Sprezzatura, open barely a week, seeks to remedy. Offering Mediterranean bar snacks, a martini service with a house selection of stuffed olives and more from the Hotel Theta’s 16th-floor rooftop, it boasts expansive indoor-outdoor views, gorgeous Hudson River sunsets and easy access to the St. James Theater.
That’s important, because at present tickets are relatively easy to come by for the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Sunset Blvd," still in previews (Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m.). And that’s important because word is that Nicole Scherzinger is killing it — racking up multiple standing O’s nightly — for her performance as Norma Desmond, which means seats will be at a premium once the musical opens Oct. 20.
After all the postshow plaudits, it’s a cinch you won’t get out of the theater till 10:45, at which point you’ll be searching for a suitable postshow repast, or, you know, a little somethin-somethin to fortify you for the trip home.
Well, you’re in luck.
After 70 years on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Serendipity 3 has opened a second location in the Theater District, a perfect spot for late-night dining and its legendary frozen hot chocolate. Credit: Scott Vogel / Newsday
That psychedelic sanctum of comfort food, Serendipity 3, has just opened a second location — it only took them 70 years — in the lobby of the OYO Hotel near Times Square. Not only is it criminally close to most of Broadway’s theaters, they seat patrons till 11:45 (get reservations!). Oh, and before you ask, yes, they do serve the legendary Frrrozen Hot Chocolates in an atmosphere so crayon bold, it makes the nearby M&M’s store look understated. Doubt any dessert treat could actually be worth $19.95? Dive headfirst into its chocolatey slushiness insulated by a generous corkscrew of (actual) whipped cream and a fine sprinkling of chocolate curls first, then get back to us.
A whole day: Brooklyn
America has a complicated relationship with "Saturday Night Live," NBC’s occasionally-brilliant, often-painful paean to sketch comedy. But surely the fact that the show has just begun its 50th season is testament to — well, what, exactly?
That’s the subject of this long day’s journey into Saturday night, one that begins at Spike Lee Cinema in downtown Brooklyn (formerly the original Alamo Drafthouse, with Jason Reitman’s "Saturday Night," which opens there a week before its national (and Long Island) release. Loosely based on the lead-up to SNL’s first episode in 1975, the film is a disarmingly affectionate look at the show’s birth, one which should stimulate some pointed post-movie conversation over double-patty burgers at Swoony’s in Carroll Gardens, which happens to be owned by SNL alum Tracy Morgan. Finally, polish off your SNL research at the newish Second City Brooklyn. Originally founded in Chicago in 1959 (hence the name), Second City has long been a proving ground for future cast members of the show, including Bill Murray and Gilda Radner. Watch tomorrow’s stars today in "Ruthless Acts of Kindness," a two-hour program of songs and improv by leading young comics.
A whole weekend: Philadelphia
Is it worth traveling all the way to Philadelphia just to boo the Phillies in their hometown? It is after the Mets' dramatic ninth-inning comeback in the Wild Card series last night, which earned them the right to meet the Phils in the NLDS this weekend..
Leave early enough on Friday to arrive in Fishtown at cocktail hour. Is it disturbing that one of the city’s hottest new piano bars is housed in a building that served as a women’s asylum in the 18th century? It is, but Caletta, has a Mediterranean snack list that goes beyond marcona almond usualness, a cocktail menu with the good sense to dub the appletini a "controversial modern classic," and a swanky-meets-moody vibe that’s bound to make it an all-gender asylum soon. Controlled insanity more your speed? Head over to the Wells Fargo Center for the Philly stop of the Gold Over America Tour, an evening of gymnastics headlined by the gravity-defying, nay-sayer-defying goat herself, Simone Biles. Accompanying her are Jordan Chiles and other celebrated Olympians in a program heavy on high-flying skills, production values and, apparently, cowboy hats.
See Billie Eilish in concert at the Wells Fargo center. Credit: Getty Images for LA28/Emma McIntyre
OK, back to the booing. On Saturday afternoon, all eyes at Philly’s gazillion sports bars will be glued to screens televising the game at Citizens Bank Park. (They don’t call it Red October for nothing.) You can expect to be equally unwelcome everywhere, but we have high hopes that the folks at the just-opened Topside Tavern will maintain at least a soupcon of civility even as they serve elevated sports bar fare, from bulgogi beef bao buns to fried cauliflower shawarma.
Not a sports fan? Head to Philly’s legendary food hall, Reading Terminal Market, where a dizzying number of vendors hawk everything from Georgian khachapuri to gator gumbo, or head back to the Wells Fargo center and the Billie Eilish concert, making a quick pit stop before or after at the 24-hour Philip’s Steaks for a provolone-heavy take on the city’s signature cheesesteak.
Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.
