Early November NYC Adventures

I would say my fun last week began on Wednesday, November 3, when I met up with my friend to eat dinner at DuMont in Williamsburg. With a heated backyard garden and a pan-seared scallops special, my dining experience at DuMont was truly exquisite.

(The heated backyard garden at DuMont, open and airy,
and even more romantic and alluring by night.)

Then on Thursday, November 4 was Yelle at Highline Ballroom. Although I understood only a handful of the words in Yelle's lyrics, the songs are truly infectious, with high-energy rhythms and the lilting sounds of Yelle's titillating French.



And on Friday, I had yet another lovely Williamsburg dining experience: at Dressler's, located in South Williamsburg incredibly close to me. Dressler's is easily the most upscale place I have yet dined at in Williamsburg, with its charmingly decorated interior accentuated with classy chandeliers. Although my date was unable to secure reservations (unless we wanted to eat close to 10 pm), we enjoyed dinner and drinks at the bar, accompanied by a seemingly unending stream of fresh rolls. And topped off with a fresh apple tart. I do have to warn, it's not the most vegetarian-friendly place for dinner. This just means I'll have to return soon to Dressler's to try their brunch...

(Dressler's, above)

Yum. It has been a delicious week.

And speaking of delicious, I also finally redeemed a LivingSocial special for a box of handcrafted chocolates at Bespoke Chocolates, a simple, elegant chocolaterie in the East Village. Bespoke's profile on their website reads:

"Bespoke Chocolates is an award-winning artisanal chocolaterie established in New York City in 2008. Bespoke Chocolates specializes in the production of luxury handcrafted chocolates created with the freshest ingredients. Our chocolates are of the finest quality on the market, marrying classic European techniques with modern flavor profiles. Our Bespoke Chocolate shop, located in New York City’s East Village, features an open kitchen, allowing our guests to watch and interact with our chocolatier. It also serves as a unique destination for experiencing chocolate through regular in-store classes, tastings open to the public, and private sessions with our chocolatier for groups or corporations."

With chocolate morsels such as pretzel-covered sea-salted caramels, Turkish coffee bonbons and orange-infused dark chocolate, Bespoke Chocolate's diverse array more than compensates for is small size. I may just have to find out when the next chocolate tasting is.

(Above, the Turkish coffee bonbon.
As described on BeSpoke Chocolate's website:
"Soft Caribbean dark chocolate ganache, delicately infused with cardamom and coffee.
Not exactly a trip to Istanbul, but close enough for a Tuesday afternoon.")

And last night I discovered an East Village staple, Heather's, a very inconspicuous "dive" bar on East 13th St. (Personally, I see this place as more lounge than dive bar; it is simple and clean without being pretentious.) It was so refreshingly free of 22-year-olds and loud frat-party types that I felt like I was back in Williamsburg, that is, before Williamsburg also became flooded with people from outside hoods and boroughs. Yelpers also rave about their happy hour and DJ's.

So many places to try and so many places to try again.

YELLE - Music Video, La Musique

Pretty sweet music video! Can't wait for the show tonight at Highline.

NYC Quirky Party Lists

As I am taking it easy post-Halloween for a bit, I have time on my hands to write. So of course I end up writing about PARTY LISTS. Take a look.

Shaw Promotion, GBH, Ohmyrockness, Myopenbar, Nonsense NYC, 3rd Ward, Highline Ballroom and others are all mentioned.

Oh the constant temptation... ! But Yelle, I will see you soon!

The contagious energy of NYC...

Post-Halloween NYC

I have to say, post-Halloween is a little sad to me.

Yes, I went out and voted today, and advertising and product placement make me all-too-aware that Thanksgiving and even Christmas (and my birthday, and the new year... ) are all around the corner. With daylight savings time ending next week, we will all get that little jolt that yes, winter is right around the corner, and the days are only getting shorter.

I don't mean to sound so dismal. Maybe my zombie-inspired costume somehow seeped into my thinking...

(me, above, as a zombie dancer, with my friend Dracula)

At least I have a show to look forward to: Yelle at Highline Ballroom this Thursday, with French Horn Rebellion.

(Yelle, above)

As was so succinctly said on a t-shirt I purchased at the last Yelle show I saw: Dance or die. (Apparently Dance or Die is a popular European techno group. And in some American versions, they are re-named Do or Die.)

So, Do or Die... life goes on!

Yelle Re-Cap

Yelle was a fabulous time! She struck me as a French, electro-pop version of Lady Sovereign: another one of those cheeky white rapper girls, with more attitude and energy than one would expect from a skinny young white girl... And, though I basically did not understand Yelle's lyrics, a girl next to me was kind enough to translate the general gist to me; and, from what I gather, her songs mostly are about looking good, boys, ragging on other girls, and having fun.

Pictures - and videos! - from the evening follow.





(above shirt slogan: "DANCE OR DIE"; I purchased one for myself!)




You can also see more pictures on PrefixMag.com.

Also, see this link to a video and interview on Yelle's American success, with footage from the Oct. 18th show.

Yelle at Webster Hall, tonight, 10/14

I am seeing Yelle, the French pop-princess superstar extraordinaire, tonight! Ok, I don't actually (yet) own any of her music, but she seems like a blast. What's not to like about quirky French pop music?

See the Flavorpill write-up here, which cites Cindy Lauper as a source of inspiration, and go here for tickets (or just hang around Webster Hall to try to score one). Tickets are only $20 a piece.

Her Myspace page provides samples of her music to the uninitiated. And, Wikipedia gives further background information, including the fact that her real name is Julie Budet and her musical name Yelle comes from YEL, a feminine acronym for "You Enjoy Life."