offManhattan

What: A Tri-Borough Bi-lingual Play

Where: Bronx and Queens (and Manhattan)

When: August 13-16th

Why: Think West Side Story, but with Sol beer, Cohiba cigars, and fist fights that are live right in front of your face. Oh, and this isn’t a romantic musical.

It’s called Decomposition, written by Mexican playwright Alfonso Carcamo involving a story of two Mexican men from separate social classes who make sacrifices in order to fulfill their dreams. The collective hope of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and The Internationalist producers is that the unique interactive bilingual production will create a cultural bridge for audiences in each of the three participating venues in Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan—folks are encouraged to take a step out of their comfort zone to see this performance.

What: Free Peruvian outdoor concerts for Live at the Gantries

Where: Gantry Plaza State Park, Queens

When: July 28th, 7:00 p.m. (Pachamama Peruvian Arts), August 25th, 6:00p.m. (Afrodita)

Why: As the city’s second largest borough, Queens also has the largest Peruvian population in New York. So, it’s only fitting that Pachamama Peruvian Arts—the Queens-based organization promoting cultural interchange through music and dance—will grace the Gantries along the East River this evening to commemorate Peru’s Independence Day.

What: Makers Market

When: Friday, June 5-6

Where: Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens

Why: Long Island City has more than Manhattan views and water taxi beach to offer this weekend; with the sun finally shining (please, oh please), come visit the giant, pause-worthy structures while browsing through one-of-a-kind goods and wares. Presented by American Craft, The Noguchi Museum, and R 20th Century Gallery, Makers Market in Socrates Sculpture Park is showcasing over 50 craft makers from New York to California, including Daniel Michalik / DMFD Studio, Elyse Allen Textiles and Esque Studio. You’ll find unique textiles, ceramics, turned wood bowls, glassware, bicycles, jewelry, furniture, motorcycles and other creative goodies. If you’ve been putting off hanging pictures and decorating your cozy New York space, or just can’t stand your cheapo LACK coffee table anymore, here’s your chance to pillage beautiful, reasonably priced designs while supporting the arts and drinking cocktails. Score!

What: Films About Food (and Food From Films)

Where: Water Taxi Beach, Long Island City, Queens

When: Saturday, June 13 – Friday, June 19

Why: These days the phrase “dinner and a movie” sends dollar signs a-rolling almost as quickly as “Opera at the Met.” Enter George Motz and Harry Hawk, whose NYC Food Film Festival, in its third year, is sure to satisfy all your cravings. Literally. The roster of more than 20 films to be screened includes Buttermilk: It Can Help, Mr. Okra, and Eat or We Both Starve. On the menu? Tastings of food shown in the films, such as mutton from the Chelsea hotspot RUB (during Mutton: The Movie, about Kentucky barbecue) and Clam Pie (for the movie by the same appetizing name).

What: Queens Art Express Festival

Where: Along the No. 7 Subway Line

When: Weekends of June 6th & 7th, June 13th and 14th

Why: For two weekends, from Jackson Heights to Sunnyside to Flushing and Long Island City, the beer garden-filled borough will make staycationing seem like a smart choice, at least for the month of June. Instead of moping about hard times, ride the No. 7 train through 20 cultural spaces representing more than 100 different cultures within a seven-mile radius.

Natives would say that the best way to appreciate Spain’s cultural heritage is through its food. Whether you want to spice up your palate with saffron and paprika-infused stews or you’re seeking an assortment of premium products for your next dinner party, Despaña Brand Foods in Jackson Heights, Queens, is a culinary hot spot and your quickest ticket to Spain.

Beginning as a chorizo factory in 1971, Despaña now offers a selection of sausages, olives, hams, anchovies, spices, and other high quality goods that are essential to any Spanish kitchen (and hard to find all together anywhere else in town). If you have the time, the 45 minute subway ride is worth the trek for the best free-range ham Iberico Bellota, paelleras pans or microwave and oven-friendly cazuelas, estate bottled olive oils, and the choice of 50 cheeses imported from Asturias, Galicia, and the Basque Country. With the rise of avant-garde Spanish chefs like Ferran Adrià creating an international buzz over their culinary innovations, a renewed interest in Spanish ingredients like chorizo sausages, serrano ham, and piquillo peppers has fueled a hunger for tapas and wine. And some of New York City’s top restaurants and stores have lined up to order supplies from Despaña, including Daniel, Casa Mono, Zabars, and Bar Jamon.

In an effort to recreate my two week trip to Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens, Greece, this Lower East Sider headed to Astoria, Queens to indulge in her romantic fantasies of all things Greek. And while there may be no endless white sandy beaches in Astoria, there are some delicious treasures to be found just five stops from Manhattan on the N train.

What: Lunar New Year Celebrations

When: Saturday January 31, 2009

Where: Flushing, Queens, NY

Why: Celebrate the Year of the Ox in the second largest Chinatown in the US (smaller than San Francisco’s, but yes, larger than Manhattan’s Chinatown). This weekend, don’t just watch the festivities unfold on TV in a series of fireworks and panoramic shots of parading people. Join an authentic Chinese celebration and discover how riding the 7 train and slurping back a bowl of hand-pulled noodles will become a new annual tradition.