Summer in the City

There is no reason to head for the hills when summer rolls around. New York City offers so many outdoor events (and most of them free!) it can be difficult to choose which ones to attend. I gave up cooking this week to explore the great outdoors of New York.

music

Catch the sunset along Hudson River Park and enjoy the River to River Festival.

Suzanne Vega performed on a recent evening; a New York gal entertaining the home crowd.

Lay down your bike and pull up a backpack.  There are plenty more River to River shows scheduled all along the waterfront in the next few weeks.

art

 If you want to get above it all, the Metropolitan Museum's rooftop sculpture garden serves drinks (very tasty ones!) on Friday and Saturday evenings.  The signature cocktails are not to be missed. I am madly in love with the Cosmo Artini- a mix of vodka, cranberry juice, triple sec and lemonade, served with plenty of ice. Delicious!

This year's rooftop installation Cloud City by sculptor Tomas Saraceno gives a playfully disorienting view of the spectacular skyline and Central Park.

 

film

For movie lovers there are multiple outdoor venues showing films. Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City hosted an evening of music, soul food and a screening of the German film Soul Kitchen this week.

The skyline looks pretty great from here too.

All you need is a blanket to sprawl out on.

The Queens Comfort food ran out quickly. 

I managed to score some mac and cheese. The color looked perfect. It was perhaps not the most inspired version I have ever had, but doused with hot sauce it satisfied my hunger and, hey, I didn't have to cook!

By the time the sun had set we settled down to watch the movie with the city lights glowing in the distance.

Enjoying what the city has to offer: entertainment, food, some natural beauty courtesy of the sun moon and stars, not bad!

The perfect summer cocktail:

Cosmo-Artini (inspired by the Metropolitan Museum rooftop cafe martini bar)

1 shot of vodka

1 splash of triple sec

a drizzle of cranberry juice

2 oz lemonade

plenty of ice

slice of lime

Put it all in a cocktail shaker, give it a vigorous shake and pour into a glass!