By Tracy Zwick
Welcome to UWS Weekend, your curated list of five neighborhood things to do over the weekend. You know me by now, and if you don’t, click here.
Let’s Weekend!
June 14 – 16, 2024
Theater: Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors”; free on Sunday at Cathedral of St. John the Divine
With Central Park’s Delacorte Theater undergoing renovations, the Public Theater is taking its bilingual musical version of “The Comedy of Errors” on the road to all five boroughs. The first of two performances at St. John the Divine will take place this Sunday at 6:30pm. (The second is at the same time on June 30th.) It’s free, general admission, and non-ticketed. Seating is first come, first served; so arrive early, an hour or so before showtime, for the best chance at a seat. Ninety minutes, no intermission.
Play: Hex & Co., 2911 Broadway (at 113th St.)
If you have kids, as I do, then you likely already know about Hex & Co., the board-game haven on Broadway and West 113th Street. With just about every board game and card game imaginable, as well as opportunities for fans of RPGs (role-playing games) like Dungeons & Dragons, you can drop in at Hex’s 4,000-square-foot flagship space, grab a table, and pay $10 per player for up to 3 hours of gameplay over the weekend. (There’s no time limit during the week). My daughter kills at Ticket to Ride and I favor Scrabble, but we’ve discovered new games to love at Hex too, and because it’s a retail shop, we bought ‘em to add to our home collection. Hex has a counter with snacks, pub food, and beer for purchase, but I’d recommend eating at Community Food & Juice a half-block away first if you’re hungry. The huevos rancheros and the veggie sandwich stand out on a thoroughly reliable menu.
Chocolates for Dads & Grads: Mondel Chocolates, 2913 Broadway (between 113th and 114th)
On the same block as Hex & Co. is one of the oldest, quaintest, and most lovingly operated chocolate shops in Manhattan. Mondel opened in 1943 and was bought by the current owners, Jack and Paula, who staff the counter personally, around 1990. Inside the slender storefront you’ll find a handful of display cases housing myriad truffles, turtles, jellies, chocolate-covered marshmallows and two of Mondel’s best-sellers: almond bark and sea salt caramels. The labels and prices are neatly handwritten on charmingly age-marked white cards. Choose from traditional pre-made gift boxes or ask Jack or Paula to make up a special box or tin with only your dad’s or grad’s favorites. And if Mondel’s chocolates were good enough for Katharine Hepburn, whose yellowing thank you note is posted near the register, why not treat yourself to a small brown paper bag of goodies while you’re there? Bargain seekers should ask about the often-discounted broken pretzels behind the counter! Hours: Tue.-Sat. 11:30-6; Closed Sunday & Monday
Art: The Hispanic Society Museum and Library; Broadway between 155th & 156th; free admission, open 12-5PM Saturday & Sunday with a free tour Saturday at 2pm
Head north on Broadway to 155th Street where you’ll see, to your right, a cloister of Beaux-Arts buildings comprising a cultural campus of which The Hispanic Society Museum is the centerpiece. A free museum dedicated to Hispanic heritage, this often unseen jewel in NYC’s cultural crown partially reopened last year after a six-year renovation. There’s a free tour every Saturday at 2 p.m. that will include highlights from the current Diego Velázquez/ Enrique Martínez Celaya exhibition and the museum’s pièce de résistance, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’s monumental series of 14 paintings known as “Vision of Spain”, which alone is worth a visit. While you’re there, don’t miss Goya’s stunning portrait of “The Duchess of Alba” (1797). The inscription at her feet translates to “Only Goya”, and, honestly, who could disagree? If you have trouble finding the museum’s main entrance once you’ve entered the courtyard of Audubon Terrace, look for Jesús Rafael Soto’s 20-foot-high kinetic sculpture “Penetrable” (1990), a floating forest of lemon-colored plastic strands that’s on longterm loan to the Hispanic Society. The door is just beyond it, on the left. Advance registration for the tour is required.
Listen: Karina Rykman’s debut album, Joyride
Born and raised on the UWS, Karina has been a regular in The 8G Band, the house band for “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” while writing, recording, and performing her own music. She got her first guitar while in 8th grade at the UWS’s Calhoun School and continues to make music with UWS pals including Trey Anastasio of Phish and Gabe Monro, a songwriter and co-producer on “Joyride.” She’s been playing bass, singing, and jumping around a lot in venues all over the world for most of the last decade. Karina’s exuberance and, yes, joy, comes through in “Joyride”, her first album, which was released last August.
Check WSR for a Weekend Q&A with Karina in which she reveals some of her favorite UWS spots, the one album she could listen to forever, and the coolest things that’ve happened to her on “Late Night with Seth Meyers”.
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Once again I am smitten with your list of things to do. I admit to being lured to Mondel Chocolates, and will ask for the broken pieces for myself and a special box for my favorite Dad! Thanks, Tracy. I can enjoy the city without hauling myself too far from home.
About the Hispanic Society (above). Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’ is on a level with Sargent and Zorn. His “Vision of Spain” mural, commissioned by Huntington, occupies all four walls of a large room. While I make occasional visits to various Art Museums to refill my tank, nothing does it like Sorolla. The technique and observation of Sargent. The narrative of Bellows or Oakley. The shear power of Bonheur’s Horse Fair. Yards of passion. The single most impressive painting in the city (and we have a few). I’m glad The Hispanic Society is a little remote, at 155th, (although look for it on your left, not right), because groups are small and there is room to take it in. It’s an old-school atmosphere. Not sterile like contemporary museums. Not about the institution. The Hispanic Society is the steward of a treasure they willingly share. Go see.
Mondel’s forever! The best fudge, chocolate mint squares, cordial cherries, chocolate marshmallows & they have candy too! 😋
The American Numismatic Society also has a museum at 155th. Also free. Really fun to check out. Just sitting in the courtyard is really fun.
I cannot believe I have never been to Mandel’s
Wow, what an exciting article! I love hex and Co! So fun 🤩