The Weekend It List

• When you think about destination dining for Korean cuisine, you probably have Flushing, Queens, or Manhattan’s Koreatown bordering West 32nd Street mapped. And while these neighborhoods remain solid options when that craving for bibimbap strikes, northeastern Queens has remained a lesser-known but just as worthy location for authentic Korean food.

  Bayside and Oakland Gardens, in particular, continue to expand their Korean restaurant offerings, so if you don’t live nearby, it’s worth hopping on the LIRR to expand your palate. 

  “Queens is filled with Asian culture,” says Joon Yoon, manager of Korean comfort food eatery Modoo Chicken and Noodle Bar, which opened in Bayside two years ago. “Many Koreans live in Bayside and they like to dine out with their friends, so the businesses have grown.”

  Modoo is true to its name, with staples including Korean-style fried chicken in addition to noodle dishes like a spicy beef ramen with oxtail bone marrow broth and topped with beef brisket. And if you’re more in the mood for donkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet topped with savory gravy), Korean barbecue, or the very portable gimbap rolls, well, northeastern Queens offers all of the above.

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• Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Freestyle Love Supreme” is like “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” meets “Pitch Perfect” meets “Hamilton” — and chances are at least one those piques your interest.

  “Freestyle Love Supreme” (named in honor of saxophonist John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”) made its rounds of the New York City theater circuit back in 2003. And the production has returned for a nearly sold-out Off-Broadway run at the Greenwich House in the West Village.

  The 75-minute show combines comedy with hip-hop and consists of spontaneous riffs and impressively elaborate raps based on audience suggestions. Miranda — a co-creator who *sigh* isn’t a part of the main cast — is expected to pop up from time to time on the main stage as a surprise guest.

  “The improvised rapping was both verbally sharp and musically robust, with the lead vocalists aided by human percussive effects and keyboardists providing bass and melody, while the tone alternated between broadly comic and genuinely heartfelt,” writes critic Matt Windman.

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• Dating in the most densely populated major city in the United States is hard. How do you possibly choose where to go when the options seem endless?

  Enter social media influencer Alexis Wolfe. The Chelsea resident has scoured the city’s bar, lounge and restaurant scenes and has tips on how to cut through the clutter on her Instagram, @nycdatenite.

  “A good first date should be a mix of casual and nice — not a dive bar but also not a fancy restaurant,” Wolfe says. “My ideal place has good drinks, dim lighting, comfortable seating and background music.”

  If you’re looking to make a great first impression this weekend, she suggests Bar Primi (325 Bowery), Empellon Taqueria (230 W. Fourth St., multiple locations), Bond Street (6 Bond St.), Uva (1486 Second Ave.) and Boqueria (53 W. 19th St., multiple locations).

  If booze and food seem too predictable for your potential bae, she suggests heading to SPiN to get competitive over pingpong and drinks, hitting up a concert and/or bowling at Brooklyn Bowl, taking a walk or having a picnic in Central Park (if the weather is nice), walking along the Highline or trying a free comedy show in Greenwich Village.

  “Instead of going on each date with the pressure of finding ‘the one,’ think of it as an opportunity to meet a new person, try a new place, and hopefully form a new connection — romantic or otherwise.”

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• There’s no shortage of stories at the Bronx Zoo.

  And viewers can’t get enough of the charismatic animals and dedicated staff featured in the unscripted reality show “The Zoo,” now in its third season on Animal Planet.

  “We’ve only scratched the surface,” Lisa Lucas, the show’s executive producer, says. “I believe we’ve got endless story potential at the Bronx Zoo … There is absolutely no predicting what will happen from one day to the next, and unpredictability is what keeps things interesting.”

  Episodes take viewers behind the scenes, offering some warm and fuzzy distractions from a hectic world. This season, see how zoo veterinarians work with doctors at The Mount Sinai Hospital to treat and monitor gelada baboons with heart conditions, plus oversee the construction of the new shark exhibit at the New York Aquarium. 

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• The Museum of FIT’s newest exhibit will give you severe closet envy.

  Pulled from 33 of FIT’s most influential displays — out of more than 200 in total –“Exhibitionism: 50 Years of The Museum at FIT” is “a combination of history and cutting-edge style” that showcases more than 80 ensembles, according to Valerie Steele, director of the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

  Opening Friday, if you’re looking for a fun and free — may we emphasize the free admission — way to spend an afternoon, this is it. Underneath exhibit banners including the best of Japanese fashion, notable black designers, “A Queer History of Fashion” and “Shoe Obsession,” the collection is a testament to the fashion world’s creativity and innovation — all in one setting.

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Your time off is precious.

We happen to spend our on-the-clock hours combing through the many options NYC has to offer, so let us help you maximize those days off. Every week, we distill the very best the weekend has to offer.

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