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February
2010
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The stars have lined up for a multiple holiday weekend this February 12th to the 15th. The festivities start off on Friday, February 12th the traditional date for celebrating Lincoln's Birthday (before Congress passed the Monday Holiday Act - of course they left the Fourth of July alone!). And that evening you can toast Honest Abe while watching the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Saturday is a major day to celebrate Mardi Gras or as we call it in NYC, Carnevale! Sunday is a double header: Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year’s – the Year of the Tiger! We can all rest up on Monday, Presidents Day! Happy Birthday George! So get out your patriotic songs, beads and doubloons, fortune cookies and dancing shoes cause it’s all “ashes ashes all fall down” for 40 days of Lent!. What a weekend!
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February 14th is the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year. On Sunday afternoon in Chinatown, the firecracker detonation, with expected attendance by local politicians and community leaders, is intended to ward off evil spirits. A large stage will feature all-day cultural performances by traditional and contemporary Asian-American singers and dancers. Plus, a dozen lion, dragon and unicorn dance troupes will march through Mott Street. On New Year's Day, it is beneficial to celebrate, to be happy, to have smiling faces, and to refrain from scowling, quarreling, or criticizing anyone. If you are born in the year of the Tiger, you are a natural born leader filled with power, passion and daring. Many restaurants will be offering elaborate banquet menus.
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New Orleans is not the only city that celebrates Mardi Gras or in Italian, Carnevale. Over at Tommaso’s Restaurant in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the fun starts two weeks prior to “Fat Tuesday.” The word Carnevale means “goodbye to meat” in anticipation of 40 days of fasting for Lent. Their special menu for the season includes a multi-course dinner with various antipasti, pastas, sausages, meats and vegetables and elaborate desserts. Tommaso, a student of the Juilliard School, serenades all with Neapolitan songs and operatic arias. Down in SoHo, SOB or Sounds of Brazil celebrates with Carneval samba and salsa. And over on Restaurant Row, Bourbon Street Restaurant celebrates in Cajun style. “Let the good times roll!”
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On President’s Day, take a stroll from the site where George Washington was inaugurated our first president down Broad Street to Fraunces Tavern for lunch in Lower Manhattan. This tavern/restaurant played a role in NYC Revolution history. The building, located at 54 Pearl Street and owned by Sons of the Revolution since 1904, and claims it is Manhattan's oldest surviving building. After British troops evacuated New York, the tavern hosted an elaborate "turtle feast" dinner on December 4, 1783 in the building's Long Room for U.S. Gen. George Washington. He bade farewell to his officers of the Continental Army by saying "with a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." Note: Fraunces Tavern will close on February 13.
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On Valentine’s Day, the perfect place to pop the question is at the restaurant, "One if by Land, Two if by Sea” in Greenwich Village. It’s New York's most romantic dining experience. Sit in what was once Aaron Burr's carriage house surrounded by flowers, warmed by dual fireplaces, lulled by the mellow stylings of the resident pianist—and you may wish you had a ring in your pocket. If you can’t make it happen there, you can’t make it happen anywhere!
Openings:
Faustina
BLT
Bar & Grill
Teddy's
Cellar
Closings:
Craftsteak
Fraunces
Tavern
Briggs, Inc. - 1501 Broadway
- New York, NY 10036 - 212-354-9440
Email:
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