The Dude abides tonight in Tompkins Square Park; plus, 'The Big Lebowksi,' pizza

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with "The Big Lebowski," plus pre-movie music by Main Squeeze Orchestra. And! A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event. Which means free pizza.

And the movie's plot, in case that you've never seen it... via Wikipedia:

The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to (and also refers to himself) as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named Jeffrey Lebowski. When the millionaire Lebowski's trophy wife is later kidnapped, he commissions The Dude to deliver the ransom to secure her release. The plan goes awry when The Dude's friend Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) schemes to keep the full ransom.

Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, Julianne Moore, Tara Reid, and John Turturro star in the film, which is narrated by a cowboy known only as "The Stranger," played by Sam Elliott.

Anyway, whatever you do, don't go over the line tonight...



And, as always:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Aug. 23 — (rescheduled from July 26) Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Donnie Darko,' pizza

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with the time-traveling weirdorama of "Donnie Darko," plus pre-movie music by The Rad Trads. And! A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event. Which means free pizza.

As for the movie, which I recall seeing at the Pioneer Theater adjacent to Two Boots during the two years or so that it played there ... here's the trailer for the tragicomedy....



And a bonus song from the soundtrack... Tears for Fears circa 1985...



And as we've cutted-n-pasted (heh) all summer long:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Aug. 23 — (rescheduled from July 26) Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

[CANCELED] Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 007, Pussy Galore and Goldfinger

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with "Goldfinger," with pre-movie music by The Luddites. This is the third in the James Bond series, starring Sean Connery as 007 and Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore.

Here's what Bosley Crowther had to say about the film in The New York Times in 1964:

[I]n this most gaudy of his outings—the most elaborate and fantastic to date—he manages to bestow his male attentions on only a couple of passing supplicants. One is a pliant little number who expires early, sealed in a skin of gold paint, and the other is a brawny pilot who remarkably resembles Gorgeous George. Neither is up to the standard of femininity usually maintained for Mr. Bond.

Why this neglect of his love life is difficult to imagine—except that Mr. Bond's off-handed conquests were always open to a certain amount of doubt, a certain amount of skepticism as to how much of a Lothario he actually is. Indeed, they have often intimated a bland contempt for, or, at least, a slippery spoof of the whole notion of masculine prowess. One might question whether Bond really likes girls.

Oh, Bosley!

And now, some friends channel Shirley Bassey...



And as we'll cut-n-paste all summer long:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

CANCELED due to the weather... no makeup date yet...

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: 'Summer of Sam'

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam," with pre-movie music by The Debonairs and Brendan O’Hara...

The trailer...



And as we'll cut-n-paste all summer long:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

July 26 — Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

Free tonight in Tompkins Square Park: Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox,' whimsy

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with "Fantastic Mr. Fox," including pre-show music by Dandy Wellington And His Band.

Per Wikipedia:

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated film based on the Roald Dahl children's novel of the same name. This story is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way into the foxes' home. However, the animals are able to outwit the farmers and live underground.

The film features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray. For director Wes Anderson, it was his first animated film and first film adaptation.

And as we'll cut-n-paste all summer long like Bruce Brown:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

July 19 — Summer of Sam, Music by The Debonairs and Brendan O’Hara

July 26 — Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

You may 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' tonight for free in Tompkins Square Park

The Films in Tompkins series continues tonight with "Exit Through the Gift Shop."

Per Wikipedia:

Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film is a film by graffiti artist Banksy that tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles, and his obsession with street art. The film charts Guetta's constant documenting of his every waking moment on film, from a chance encounter with his cousin, the artist Invader, to his introduction to a host of street artists with a focus on Shepard Fairey and Banksy, whose anonymity is preserved by obscuring his face and altering his voice, to Guetta's eventual fame as a street artist himself.

Meant to see this film... never got around to it.

And as we'll cut-n-paste all summer long like the Beach Boys:

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

July 5 — Exit Trough The Gift Shop, Music by Church of Betty

July 12 — Fantastic Mr. Fox, Music by Dandy Wellington And His Band

July 19 — Summer of Sam, Music by The Debonairs and Brendan O’Hara

July 26 — Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

Tonight, 'Taxi Driver,' plus more about 'Films in Tompkins' this summer

A few weeks, Scoopy at The Villager had the scoop on the free summer movie series in Tompkins Square Park... We received the news release on Tuesday... a quick note before the cut-n-paste job below. The lineup looks to have changed by one film ... "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is off the list that Scoopy had ... "Donnie Darko" moved slots to cover that night ... and "Goldfinger" is the new addition to the lineup, which definitely sets us up for a Pussy Galore reference.

From the EV Grieve inbox...

Free. Gates Open at 6 p.m. Music Starts ½ Hour before the Start of the Film (sundown)

June 28 — Taxi Driver, Music by Mr. Reed

July 5 — Exit Trough The Gift Shop, Music by Church of Betty

July 12 — Fantastic Mr. Fox, Music by Dandy Wellington And His Band

July 19 — Summer of Sam, Music by The Debonairs and Brendan O’Hara

July 26 — Goldfinger, Music by The Luddites

Aug. 2 — Donnie Darko, Music by The Rad Trads
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 9 — The Big Lebowski, Music by Main Squeeze Orchestra
A Two Boots 25th Anniversary Event with Free Pizza!

Aug. 16 — Poltergeist, Music by Timbila

Dates subject to Rain Delays.

Films In Tompkins is sponsored by Ella, The Blind Barber, Two Boots, Grolsch, GalleryBar, Tower Brokerage and NYC& Company.

Reminders: CB3/SLA meeting tonight; what is Nice Guy Eddie's future?

CB3's SLA Licensing Committee meets tonight at 6:30 — JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery. We looked at the agenda here. The full docket is here.

Here's a recap of a few of the more interesting items on the docket:

• Major alterations are in store for the public spaces at the Standard East Village (April 12)

• 34 Avenue A is now off this month's CB3/SLA docket (April 9)

• Joe's Bar is joining the Sophie's-Mona's family (March 29)

Meanwhile, it looks as if Nice Guy Eddie's run on Avenue A at East First Street is coming to an end. (As far as we know, CB3 member Dave McWater is still involved with the current ownership of Eddie's.)

An entity called Downtown Dining LLC is looking to open a restaurant in this space, according to documents on file at the CB3 website (PDF).

The applicant's paperwork doesn't mention anyone by name. However, in the section about principals having other businesses in this area... three are listed: Tower Brokerage, Ella and The Gallery Bar...

Knowing that Josh Boyd is a principal at Ella and The Gallery Bar, I sent him a message via Facebook about the Nice Guy Eddie's space... Boyd responded that he isn't involved with the new venture; that his partner Darin Rubell is.

Rubell, who's related to Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell, is also the founder of Mercadito on Avenue B.

In any event, at this point, I don't have any other details on the venture... no word on the fate of Chico's Kiss mural either...

[Old photo of the mural via Eater]

East Village bars and restaurants with 0 violation points from the DOH

The DOH closure of Ray's this week really prompted this post. We often (or, maybe, always) write about the bars or restaurants that the DOH shutters.

So, what about all the places in the neighbor with spotless records? (Well, at least spotless as of their last inspection.) There are a good number of places with O violations points. (Also quite a few with just 2 violation points.)

Here's the list with 0 Violation points:

• Il Bagato and Il Postocanto on East Second Street

• Juicy Lucy on Avenue A

• Matilda on 11th Street

• Drop Off Service on Avenue A

• Yerba Buena on Avenue A (This comes after a bad score led to their closure in February.)

• Beauty Bar on 14th Street

• Something Sweet on First Avenue

• The Continental on Third Avenue

• Dunkin' Donuts on 14th Street

• Ella on Avenue A

• Numero 28 Pizzeria on Second Avenue

• Scarab Lounge on First Avenue

• Pinkberry on St. Mark's Place

• Brio Bar on Astor Place

And the DOH even makes the widget available for bloggers and who not...

EV Grieve Etc: Mourning Edition

Why a 31-year veteran of the LES is moving to Iowa (The New York Times)

A class war in Little Italy? (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Subway scenes from yesteryear (Stupefaction)

East River relocates to Houston and Allen? (Runnin' Scared)

Queens neighborhood where Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and other prominent African-Americans lived now a historic district (Curbed)

Inside the new Italian cafe on East Houston near Norfolk (BoweryBoogie)

F Train woes this a.m. (Gothamist)

The return of Freddy's in Brooklyn (NYPress)

Staten Island Chuck sees early spring, doesn't bite Bloomy (NYPost)

Posts that I never got around to posting: Ella's new "spin on Hollywood glamour and the roaring 20's"?

A reader asked me if I knew what was going on with Ella, the upscale piano bar/speakeasy that opened last fall at 9 Avenue A.

Uh, I do not. I've never heard much about it. Eater ran Ella's epic opening press release:

For immediate release ˆ September 2008 - Carleton Varney, one of America's most innovative and respected interior decorators, brings his Dorothy Draper touch downtown to Avenue A. This fall, Varney and the young architect Robert Stansel III (GalleryBar), will showcase their designs of the new cocktail/piano lounge, Ella. Mr. Varney, best known for his work on Joan Crawford's homes and the Waldorf Towers, has proudly lent his flair and vision to his nephew Josh Boyd's next venture. Nightlife entrepreneurs Darin Rubell (cousin to Steve Rubell), Josh Boyd and Jordan Boyd have made what they call the LEV (Lower East Village) their place of business and community for the past eight years. Ella will be their third nightlife venture following the successes of New York City staple, Plan B and alternative art-space, GalleryBar.

"Ella is our spin on Hollywood glamour and the roaring 20's. We want to capture the energy and flair of the time by bringing it back with our music, design and staff", says owner Josh Boyd.

The dynamics of music at Ella will range from solo musicians to small bands. Emerging and established pianists and eclectic New York City DJ's will host nightly shows in the intimate piano bar. This downstairs room will seat 40 people for performances and exclusive private events. Musicians such as Regina Spektor, G Love, Alexa Ray (daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley) are slated to perform. The 1700 square foot top floor of the space will have a combined feeling of the décor of Hampshire House, The Carlyle and Hollywood's Lake Arrowhead Springs Hotel as well. Door designs from the original Camellia House in Chicago's Drake Hotel, will enhance Varney's decorations in the Dorothy Draper style ˆ a style Varney used this year at the 80th Academy Awards Architectural Digest Green Room design.

A list of $12 specialty cocktails, such as the Plum Gin Fizz (Muddled sour plum, 2oz Gin, splash of simple syrup, splash of lemon juice, shaken in a Collins glass) will be served nightly. Bottles of beer are $7 and glasses of wine will range from $10 to $20. Rotating selections of bar snacks, such as prosciutto, olives, and Gus' Pickles, from neighboring stores and the farmer's market, will be offered daily. The Ella staff will fit the theme dressed in classic sexy and sophisticated 1920's attire.

Anyway, the reader sent along what Ella hosted Tuesday night...

Now and then at the Rainbow Room

The Rainbow Room, where the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie entertained well-dressed crowds on the 65th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, is now in its 75th year of operations. The Post made note of what the United States was like when it opened:

When the Rainbow Room first struck up the band in 1934, the Great Depression was in full swing. Bank closings and home foreclosures were rampant and unemployment rates soared. The Giants had won the NFL championship by spoiling a foe’s otherwise perfect season. A Harvard-educated lawyer from the Democratic party had recently wrestled the presidency from the Republican incumbent with a message of hope — and, in doing so, secured House and Senate majorities. And, by no coincidence, strong yet fancy cocktails were all the rage.

Sound familiar?

The club, which is now only open two weekends a month, is awaiting word to see if they will get landmark status from the city.

Noted

Speaking of Time Out's bar guide, here are the five East Village places they selected as "the best for winter":

Blind Pig

Bourgeois Pig

Ella

Grape and Grain

Section 8

Hmm. Reaction?

The guy who decorated the new bar in edgy Alphabet City

The real estate section in the Post this week includes a profile of renowned interior designer Carleton Varney. He designed the fancy new cocktail lounge Ella, 9 Ave. A, in the Lower East Village -- as its owners refer to the area -- that serves $12 cocktails. (Reservations are referral only.) Here's a passage from the Post:

Later, down in edgy Alphabet City, a rather different crowd raised the roof at the public unveiling of Varney's latest design project, a duplex cocktail lounge and piano bar called Ella.

At first glance, Varney, 69, hardly seems an obvious choice to decorate a bar on Avenue A. As chronicled in "Houses in My Heart," the designer built his considerable reputation working in far more upscale enclaves.

Previously on EV Grieve:
New bar on Avenue A has pianos, fancy drinks and referral-only reservations

New bar on Avenue A has pianos, fancy drinks and referral-only reservations

Thrillist has the following item today on Ella, the piano bar at 9 Ave. A that opens Thursday:

From the Gallery Bar guys, Ella's a semi-private, bi-level, black-lacquered and mirror-bedecked lounge that aims to provide classy ivory tickling from both accomplished house acts and the occasional signed artist (read: people no longer offering music lessons). The intimate, b&w-tiled downstairs sports a jet-black upright Yamaha, a small stage for jazz/blues/torch singers, and a DJ booth, all under a multi-colored lit ceiling evocative of Willy Wonka's terrifying psychedelic tunnel. For a break from the crooning, walk up to the chandeliered, Tinseltown-chic bar & lounge: floral-print couches and semi-circular red suede banquettes fresh from the '07 Oscars flanking a 15-seat bar, which slings speciality cocktails inspired by post-WWII cinema, e.g., the vodka & muddled grape Daisy Kenyon, and the ginny Mildred Pierce ("if you loved Working Girl...").

Ella's opening Thursday, reservations are referral only, and the door policy is doorman's discretion -- so there's a decent chance you'll be stranded outside with Paul and Davy, who's still in the Navy, and probably still hasn't finished The Duplex Supremacy.

Oh, and here's their drink menu.

More fancy $12 cocktails coming to "the Lower East Village"

Eater brings news of Ella, the newest nightspot on the "Lower East Village," as its owners are calling the area. The bar will be at the site of the former Julep at 9 Avenue, next door to the Library.

A list of $12 specialty cocktails, such as the Plum Gin Fizz (Muddled sour plum, 2oz Gin, splash of simple syrup, splash of lemon juice, shaken in a Collins glass) will be served nightly. Bottles of beer are $7 and glasses of wine will range from $10 to $20.

"The Ella staff will fit the theme dressed in classic sexy and sophisticated 1920's attire."