Who: Ringo Deathstarr
What: Rocky Road showcase at the Northside Festival
Where: The Grand Victory, 245 Grand St., 347-529-6610
When: Thursday, June 11, $13, 10:30
Why: Sure, Ringo Deathstarr has one of the best band names ever, but the Austin trio also knows its way around trippy psychedelia shoegazing, taking listeners on its own version of a magical mystery tour on such records as God’s Dream and Mauve. Elliot Frazier, Daniel Coborn, and G. G. Alex are headlining the Rocky Road showcase at Northside Festival on Thursday night at the Grand Victory with Casual Strangers, New Myths, Armstrong Leigh, and RIG1. The Northside Festival runs through June 14 in venues all over Brooklyn’s north side, featuring film June 8-10, innovation speakers, panel discussions, and a trade-show expo June 11-12, music June 11-14, and art walks June 13-14; among the other bands performing on June 11 are White Suns at Aviv, Health at Baby’s All Right, Femi Kuti & the Positive Force at Brooklyn Bowl, the Rosewood Girl at Pete’s Candy Store, and Sharkmuffin at the Gutter.
twi-ny recommended events
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL 2015: (T)ERROR
Documentary sheds light on curious side of FBI counterterrorism efforts
(T)ERROR (Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe, 2015)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Sunday, June 14, $14, 9:00
Festival runs June 11-21 at multiple venues
ff.hrw.org/new-york
www.terrordocumentary.org
(T)error is a great name for a horror movie, but even though it turns out that Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe’s debut is not part of that genre, there still is plenty scary about it. Winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Break Out First Feature at Sundance, (T)error is a surprising look inside one aspect of the FBI’s counterterrorism program. Shortly after Saeed “Shariff” Torres, a friend and neighbor of filmmaker and photojournalist Cabral’s, suddenly disappeared, he contacted her, eventually letting her inside his secret career as a longtime FBI informant. A Muslim and former Black Panther revolutionary, the sixty-three-year-old school kitchen employee and father of a young son goes on camera as he takes on what he claims will be his final assignment, cozying up to a Pittsburgh man named Khalifa Ali Al-Akili, previously known as James Marvin Thomas Jr., who the FBI thinks might be involved in terrorist plots. It’s not exactly the most thrilling game of cat and mouse; Cabral and codirector Sutcliffe (Adama) follow Shariff as he goes about a lot of mundane business, arguing over how much money the FBI gave him, text-messaging back and forth with agents and his prey, examining Facebook pages, and Skyping with his son, whose face is blurred for protection. And Sharrif is not quite the kind of well-trained operative you read about in books or see in action-packed movies, making one wonder just what the FBI is thinking — and how it’s spending our money — especially after a major twist occurs about halfway through the film, turning everything around and inside out, providing a new vantage point that makes the whole sting operation even more bizarre and surreal. But it’s all too real, and rather frightening in its own very strange way. (T)error is screening June 14 at 9:00 at the IFC Center as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, with Cabral and Sutcliffe participating in a Q&A with Human Rights Watch deputy Washington director Andrea Prasow. The festival runs June 11-21 at IFC, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and the Times Center, featuring such other socially, culturally, and politically sensitive and important works as Marc Silver’s 3½ Minutes, Ten Bullets, Laurent Bécue-Renard’s Of Men and War, Laura Nix’s The Yes Men Are Revolting, and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence.
NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL 2015 VIDEO OF THE DAY: “HUNGER” BY ZOLA JESUS
Who: Zola Jesus
What: Scenic & Northside Festival Present
Where: Warsaw @ the Polish National Home, 261 Driggs Ave. at Eckford St., 718-387-0505
When: Sunday, June 14, $25, 10:45
Why: Zola Jesus’s dark, gothic sound and style has been building buzz for quite a while now. It’s a treat to see her again, this time at Northside; the last place we saw her was when she went wild onstage at the 2012 Catalpa Festival on Randall’s Island, so we’re, um, hungry for more. Zola Jesus will be at Warsaw on Sunday night with Container, and Blanck Mass. The Northside Festival runs June 8-14 in venues all over Brooklyn’s north side, featuring film June 8-10, innovation speakers, panel discussions, and a trade-show expo June 11-12, music June 11-14, and art walks June 13-14; among the other bands performing on June 14 are Sleigh Bells at 50 Kent Avenue, Hard Nips at Black Bear Bar, Future Punx at Cameo, Viet Cong at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and Sun Ra Arkestra at Rough Trade.
TWI-NY TALK: BURLAP SACK’S MIGUEL FRANCO AND JARED RINGEL
Chef and co-owner Miguel Franco makes a dish to order at Burlap Sack (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
BURLAP SACK POTATO EATERY
507 Third Ave. at 201 East 34th St.
646-912-9975
burlapsacknyc.com
“I want my food to hug people,” Burlap Sack Potato Eatery co-owner and chef Miguel Franco says on a beautiful spring day, the doors of his new restaurant open onto the busy intersection of Thirty-Fourth St. and Third Ave. And what is more comforting than the spud, the versatile starch that is the world’s number one vegetable crop. “Everybody eats potatoes,” Franco, formerly of Dos Toros Taqueria, adds, explaining why he and partner Jared Ringel, cofounder of the business development agency First Dynamic, chose to make potatoes, a member of the nightshade family that is low in calories and rich in vitamin B6, potassium, copper, and vitamin C, the staple of their menu. They were also heavily influenced by poutine, the late-night Canadian staple beloved by people with a buzz on, which combines French fries with brown gravy and cheese curds. At Burlap Sack, diners get to choose the type of potato base — baked traditional or sweet, baked medallions, traditional or sweet fries, or tater tots — then select toppings and combos including grilled chicken or steak or ground miniature turkey meatballs, cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, or Parmesan cheese, vegetables (broccoli, scallions, chives, diced onions, garlic, olives, pico de gallo, sauteed mushrooms), and sauce (chipotle aioli, garlic aioli, red pepper aioli, buffalo, queso, sour cream, or “Dad’s marinara,” a recipe from the father of a silent partner).
Burlap Sack has moved into a Murray Hill corner with quite a history (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Everything is freshly made except for the tater tots, and all ingredients are carefully sourced from organic, free-range, non-GMO farms; Franco, who hails from Colombia and has an engineering degree, and New Jersey native Ringel (along with another silent partner, a childhood friend of Ringel’s) hope to add egg, tofu/tempeh, and pork options soon, as well as other surprises, all of which are gluten-free. They spent more than six months trying to find the right location, ultimately deciding on a spot that has seen many businesses come and go. Franco knows the area well, having stayed there as a child many times when his family traveled to New York City to go Christmas shopping at Macy’s. Franco and Ringel answered some additional questions shortly after the restaurant officially opened.
twi-ny: What are your personal favorites combinations?
Jared Ringel: Hand-cut sweet potato fries, grilled chicken, sautéed peppers and onions, pepper jack and cheddar cheese, scallions, broccoli, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, chipotle, and garlic aioli.
Miguel Franco: Baked potato, grilled steak, pepper jack cheese, sautéed peppers and onions, sautéed mushrooms, olives, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, red pepper aioli and sour cream.
Burlap Sack offers unique spins on potato dishes (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
twi-ny: What about with patrons?
JR: With over three thousand different possible combinations, there is no one customer favorite dish. We will say that the most popular base is one of the baked options, as people have embraced it as a healthy lunch option. Beyond that there is no clear-cut favorite combination. People love the fries too, though. There’s not many places that hand-cut, double-fry, and fry-to-order.
twi-ny: How has the neighborhood taken to the restaurant?
JR: The Murray Hill community has been amazing since before we opened. Business owners and neighborhood patrons would stop by to check out our progress while we were in construction. Since we’ve opened, our customers have told us they’ve been anticipating the opening for some time and that the food has exceeded their expectations. Some of our regulars bring new coworkers and friends every time. It’s great to see support like that.
twi-ny: Of course, you realize you’re in a space that has been through a slew of changes over the years, to ice-cream and frozen yogurt shops to a Colombian deli and a Pie Face that took off in the middle of the night.
MF: I’m confident we can break that curse. I love cooking. I want to create a memory with every bite.
MUSEUM MILE FESTIVAL 2015
Uptown institutions stay open late and open their doors for free for Museum Mile Festival
Multiple locations on Fifth Ave. between 82nd & 105th Sts.
Tuesday, June 9, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Admission: free
www.museummilefestival.org
There’s really only one main problem with the annual Museum Mile Festival: It’s too short. On Tuesday, June 9, from 6:00 to 9:00, nine uptown art and cultural institutions will open their doors for free and fill Fifth Ave. between 82nd & 105th Sts. with family-friendly activities for the thirty-sixth year. There will be live outdoor performances by Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, Paul Miller aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Evolfo, Kim David Smith, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Sammie & Trudie’s Imagination Playhouse, Silly Billy the Very Funny Clown, and Magic Brian, in addition to face painting, art workshops, chalk drawing, and more. The participating museums (with at least one of their current shows listed here) are El Museo del Barrio (“Under the Mexican Sky: Gabriel Figueroa — Art and Film”), the Museum of the City of New York (“Saving Place: 50 Years of New York City Landmarks”), the Jewish Museum (“Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television,” “Laurie Simmons: How We See”), the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (“How Posters Work,” “Making Design”), the National Academy (“The Annual 2015: The Depth of the Surface”), the Guggenheim (“Storylines: Contemporary Art at the Guggenheim”), the Neue Galerie (“Gustav Klimt and Adele Bloch-Bauer: The Woman in Gold”), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (“Van Gogh: Irises and Roses,” “Robert Motherwell: Lyric Suite”), along with the Africa Center (which is building a new home). Don’t try to do too much, because it can get rather crowded; just pick one or two exhibitions in one or two museums and enjoy.
NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL 2015 VIDEO OF THE DAY: “ALL I WANT IS TO BE YOUR GIRL” BY HOLLY MIRANDA
Who: Holly Miranda
What: Northside Festival
Where: Knitting Factory Brooklyn, 361 Metropolitan Ave., 347-529-6696
When: Saturday, June 13, $15, 10:00
Why: It took five years for Holly Miranda to follow up her debut album, 2010’s The Magician’s Private Library, but her eponymous sophomore record came out in May, and it features a more wide-ranging, diverse sound, in addition to fiery lyrics. “The days are shorter but the nights are long / We could fuck in the sun and dance till dawn / and all I want is to be your girl,” she proclaims on the disc. Miranda, formerly of the Jealous Girlfriends, plays piano, drums, guitar, and bass on the record, joined by bandmates Timmy Mislock, Maria Eisen, and David Jack Daniels. Suffering from writer’s block, she wrote the tunes, which also include “Mark My Words,” “Pelican Rapids,” “The Only One,” and “Hymnal,” in the desert in Joshua Tree, then recorded them in Brooklyn. Miranda will be performing at a Northside Festival showcase on Saturday night at the Knitting Factory with Shigeto, the Landing, Lord RAJA, Coastgaard, the Fantastic Plastics, Vivid Dreams, and others; each ticket comes with a free digital download of Miranda’s new record. The Northside Festival runs June 8-14 in venues all over Brooklyn’s north side, featuring film June 8-10, innovation speakers, panel discussions, and a trade-show expo June 11-12, music June 11-14, and art walks June 13-14; among the other bands performing on June 13 are Built to Spill and Best Coast at 50 Kent Avenue, Against Me! At McCarren Park, Psychic Blood at Shea Stadium, Chargaux at the Living Room, Nude Beach at Union Pool, and Blonde Redhead at Warsaw.
TICKET ALERT: U.S. OPEN 2015
The U.S. Open serves up quite a New York experience every summer in Queens (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
August 31 – September 13, $64-$2,000
www.usopen.org
Tickets for one of New York City’s most grand events, the U.S. Open, go on sale to the general public at 9:00 am today, so get ready to act fast to see 2014 champions Marin Čilić and six-time-winner Serena Williams defend their titles against a parade of international competitors. First held in Rhode Island in 1881, the U.S. Open has been a New York City institution since 1968, when the tennis championship became the fourth leg of the grand slam, following the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon. Initially taking place in Forest Hills, in 1978 the U.S. Open moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where it begins August 31 and runs through September 13. Things actually get started on August 29 with Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day, featuring family-friendly clinics and workshops and games and activities, with appearances by tennis professionals and live music from pop stars. If you’ve never been to the Open, you must experience this rousing New York City institution, even if you’re not a big tennis fan. You can check out exciting matches up close and personal on the smaller courts, overpay at the Food Village for a wide variety of good eats, and marvel at the beautiful expanse from the top of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Be sure to read the very specific rules about what you can and can’t bring in through the security line, as well as what happens if your session is rained out. And as always, if you buy a day ticket, you can stick around for night matches as well, except for those in Arthur Ashe Stadium.