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- Brazilian Beat at Black Betty
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366 Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Remember the dance-party scene in City of God? Well, think smaller—and leave out the gunplay—and you’ve got this giddy, human-scale party. Crowded but comfortable, loud but not deafening, “Brazilian Beat” has to be the most attitude-free night in town, with a diverse crowd of friendly dancers who return weekly for D.J.’s Greg Caz and Sean Marquand’s deep knowledge, and deep crates, of all things vintage-Brazilian: from bossa nova and straight-up samba to the samba-rock of Jorge Ben to seventies funk Rio-style and beyond. Don’t leave before hearing Noriel Vilela’s “16 Toneladas (16 Tons)”—an unforgettable foghorn-voiced Portuguese-language version of the Tennessee Ernie Ford chestnut that, combined with the caipirinhas, will have you feeling like you’re very far from New York City.
Best Reason To Go Out On A Sunday
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PrintFrom the 2004 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine
Competition breeds the best. If only one pizzeria existed in New York, of course, there’d be no real winning slice. Thankfully, we’ll never know what that sorry situation tastes like, since pizza—like dance parties, dog runs, and fried chicken—has to evolve upward here.
