BBQ OFF THE BQE

There’s a good chance that your cozy New York City apartment doesn’t have a backyard—or a proper grill for that matter. Show up for a good, old-fashioned spring barbecue at Good Co. in Williamsburg this evening starting at 7 p.m. Hosted by Finger On The Pulse, this after-work party features chef Andrew Gerson, brewmaster Garrett Oliver, and a DJ set from Turing Machine. Nosh on delicious plates of food, sip a complimentary Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale, and enjoy a tasty soundtrack. Season six of the BBQ Blowout is going to bring on the summer.

BBQ Blowout

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DRAWING A CROWD

Grab your pens and pencils—and head to the bar? A drink-and-draw night could soon be coming to a bar near you, reports the Sunday Styles. The New York Times recently headed to Macri Park in Williamsburg for its Sunday night art meetup and observed, “Drawing is busting out of staid ateliers and into the city’s rowdy night life, with drink-and-draw-themed nights popping up at bars in Brooklyn, fringe art spaces in Queens, and Manhattan galleries. Sketching and spirits, it seems, is a combination whose time has come, at least among younger singles forever seeking excuses to hit a bar.” Sounds kind of sketchy—in a good way.

A Cocktail of Beers, Pencils and a Model

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IRISH POP

Hailing from the Emerald Isle, the Guardian called Little Green Cars “a Cranberries for Brooklyn veganites.” Label mates to bands like Mumford & Sons and Two Door Cinema Club, this Irish country-rock band heads straight for the American Heartland—and strums the heartstrings—with boy-girl harmonies and rousing melodies. Their debut single, “The John Wayne,” has made them ones to watch in 2013. Perfectly at home in New York City’s most hipster of hoods, the winsome quintet hits the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight with Rocky and the Pressers.

Little Green Cars at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

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“SWANS” SONG

Emerging out of New York’s No Wave scene in the early 1980s, Swans was a post-punk outfit that played for a decade and half before disbanding in 1997. However, like Boston’s Mission of Burma (which called it quits in 1983 and then reformed in 2002), their swan song wasn’t their swan song at all: The band re-grouped two years ago still led by frontman Michael Gira and has since been on an upward trajectory. Says Pitchfork.com, which gave their most recent release “The Seer” a 9, “like airplanes, Swans take their taxiing and descent as seriously as their flight.” Catch them tonight or tomorrow in Williamsburg.

Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

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THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS DARKLY

“Girl, Interrupted” meets haunted house in Third Rail Projects’new “Then She Fell” theater experience Taking place in the Old Greenpoint Hospital in Williamsburg, the creators of the Steampunk Haunted House have transformed the former outpatient wing into a creepy stage for a dreamlike retelling of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Get lost in a maze of alcoves and corridors, discover hidden scenes, find secret clues, have one-on-one encounters with performers, and even sample some expertly mixed elixirs—just remember to sip the antidote.

Then She Fell

HIPSTER TRAP
What’s the opposite of a tourist trap? If Williamsburg has any opinion
on it, it’s probably something like Tender Trap. This three-month-old
bar feels like “a premillennial throwback” offering up “dirt-cheap
drinks, good music and a goofy, artsy side that makes it feel like a
neighborhood fixture,” according to the Thursday Styles. Described as
“trashy-rustic” (er, we’ll assume that means the love child of shabby
chic and trucker-cap glam), the space is forever tongue-in-cheek with
wooden booths and a mounted American flag. The DJ donning a
“sleeveless T-shirt and porkpie hat” has been known to shout, “I’m on
Mars,” before playing a dance remix to Alicia Keys’ “Un-thinkable (I’m
Ready).”
NYtimes review on Williamsburg’s Tender Trap

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ALLSWELL IN WILLIAMSBURG

Spotted Pig alumni, chef Nate Smith opened his new restaurant and bar in Williamsburg earlier this week inside the former digs of Raymund’s on Bedford Avenue. The new, brightly colored gastropub-style venue called Allswell serves “a bar-centric menu that should change dramatically throughout the week with dishes like shellfish stew, fried tripe, potted pork, and corned beef and cabbage pie,” reports Eater.com. It’s anyone’s guess whether or not savory bites, like anchovy fritters, will draw the A-list celebrity crowd that the Spotted Pig does, however, for now, it’s going to start out as a dinner-only spot, but will add lunch, brunch, and late-night service soon. Allswell that ends well, or in this case is just beginning.

Allswell over at Eater.com

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