By Josh Rogers

My head says the Giants won’t win the Super Bowl this Sunday. It’s not that I’m one of those doom and gloom Giants fans, although admittedly I was raised by one. No matter how bleak things look at the beginning of the season, I usually go in with the attitude of “Hey, if things break right this year, we could win it all.”

It didn’t start that way. The Giants were terrible my first few years watching football. To me, they were the team to root for at the beginning of the season, before teams like Dallas and Pittsburgh marched through the playoffs. I don’t ever remember thinking—or even hoping—the Giants would make the postseason.

That all changed after Lawrence Taylor came to the Giants and they started making the playoffs somewhat regularly. For the team’s past Super Bowls, my head and heart said they could win each time.

This year, it feels like a win so soon after the Giants shocked everyone and denied the Patriots’ bid for perfection is asking too much. Of course the Pats would play hard, regardless of their opponent. Yes, they’re not as seemingly invincible as they were four years ago, and yes, they have had a lot of turnover since then.

But when you get a win as sweet as Super Bowl XLII, human nature says you can’t help but expect some payback—at least, my human nature does. I understand that there are people out there who always expect to be on top and are almost never disappointed. I’m an optimist: I think you can get more good than bad, but there have to be some limits.

Beating the Patriots again may be over the line.

The 2008 game was not only the most satisfying one to me and undoubtedly most other Giant fans Fox Sports has just ranked that game as the greatest of all 45 Super Bowls.

After a frustrating 2007 season, the Giants barely limped into the playoffs with no reason to think they could make the big game, let alone beat a team they had just lost to, a team with a perfect record that appeared to be about to make history. But Eli Manning outplayed Tom Brady, escaped that rush at the end and heaved that ball that David Tyree pinned to his helmet to set up the winning touchdown.

If they win this time, Eli would finally get his due as being as good or better than any other quarterback playing now. After a career spent underrated, he’d probably spend the rest of it getting as much or more credit than he deserved.
But then there’s that damned and beloved heart talking again.

It’ll do what it can. It’ll make sure my body wears no Giants paraphernalia on game day because—to state the obvious—that would bring bad luck.

Such subtlety is lost on my 2-year-old son, who, like you, will be unlikely to even understand it when he’s an adult. He’ll do what he did for last week’s championship game. He’ll wear his Giants pajamas the night before, and while the game is presumably far from decided, he’ll wear them again and hopefully Daddy will be happy in the morning.

We’re doing what we can, including writing this column.

If I thought there were strong arguments suggesting the Giants were very likely to win, I would certainly not write them down. That’d be a jinx. Saying I think they’ll lose might work as a reverse jinx.

It’s all I can do. Go Big Blue.

Josh Rogers, contributing editor at Manhattan Media, is a lifelong New Yorker. Follow him @JoshRogersNYC.

By Bette Dewing

Hey, journalists Jeff Greenfield and Mark Barabak, don’t call yourself “old fogies” because you think that televised debate audiences shouldn’t react verbally, and chuck that ageist label. It implies that decorous behavior in an era of loud mouths is somehow regressive.

This comment was made in reference to Newt Gingrich benefiting from strong audience reaction in one debate but not in another where the audience was told to hush up. Gingrich is a never-at-a-loss-for-words facile speaker, and we fallible humans often value style over content.

Although I have countless ideas, words often fail me, especially when speaking in public. My Norwegian-dominant ancestry and being born left-handed likely account for my nonverbal right brain dominance. Ah, but right-brainers are very intuitive. They also see the big picture more clearly than left-brainers—and don’t we need that!

Well, I surely see the big picture on safety. Although my traffic safety “trailblazing” was officially recognized in 2006 by Upper East Side federal, state and city elected officials, I’m never consulted. Nope, the bicycling group Transportation Alternatives is the chief adviser for the city, even on planning safe streets for seniors.

No matter that TA members don’t know the elder experience or worry that bicyclists’ strong aversion to the laws of the road is what scares these vulnerable walkers the most. And why isn’t the most deadly traffic crime, motorists’ failing to yield when turning into a crosswalk, a TA priority? And if it’s true, why doesn’t TA protest how the Daily News, with its new British editor, seems to be slighting local traffic tragedy news.

Ah, but I don’t have a big mouth, charisma or chutzpah. And my anti-ageism work hasn’t yet reduced the bias against my being old. Anyway, my generation was taught that hogging the talk was selfish and boorish. Now it’s de rigeur if you want your ideas to be heeded—or even heard!

But please, you who agree with me, never call yourselves “old fogies” or “old-fashioned,” but rather recount how countless civil, common-sense and democratic ways of life were tossed out with the bathwater of ill-advised change—mostly by those without big-picture vision.

Remember my inaugural column’s quote from Ogden Nash’s New York magazine piece: “Progress was all right once, but in my lifetime, too much seems headed in the wrong direction. I think it started in Kitty Hawk when two Wrights made a wrong.”

Consider how that “wrong” sure did uproot us and ripped up the train tracks that safely connected every city and town. Traffic tragedies soared as private wheels became the land travel norm. So here’s to ordering our leaders to lower the speed limit pronto and giving all-out support for the infinitely safer and more democratic mass transit.

And while I mostly assail terrorist wheeling, kamikaze walking has got to go; thus this respectful reproach to Lorraine Duffy Merkl:

Your last column told how happy you were that your favorite wallet was eventually returned (albeit without any money) after it had slipped from your purse as you crossed a busy intersection wearing earphones. Dear Ms. Merkl, you have a mother, a daughter and a husband who need you. You also influence readers. The next time you go walking, unplug those ears. Need music? Then whistle or sing, and join my safe traveling brigade!

dewingbetter@aol.com.

1) The effect on traffic. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) admittedly did not perform a traffic feasibility analysis. Currently, traffic often backs up onto the FDR Drive in either direction. Currently, traffic backs up onto the Queensboro Bridge. This will worsen considerably.

Consider this: MSKCC’s building will have no garage, only a driveway. Post-operative patients, by law, must be accompanied out of the building by someone. Do you think they will walk with their escort up the hill to the subway? No! Someone will be waiting for them in a car, probably on York Avenue.

2) MSKCC’s unwillingness to even talk to its neighbors. MSKCC filed its request for variances (allowances to build beyond what New York City code allows) and fast-tracked approval just as the holiday season began. Perhaps our all-volunteer board was remiss, but the residents of the building learned of the Community Board 8 meeting with only a week’s notice.

3) Our building supports a MSKCC facility here. This is what prompted me to write this letter. Overwhelmingly, the people who spoke that night clearly stated that they had no problem with MSKCC building next door. They only wanted MSKCC to respect previous agreements negotiated with the help of Community Board 8.

Many current and former MSKCC employees live in this building. Several people living here are patients of the hospital. They merely want the building to fit into the neighborhood.

4) While residents of the affected building learned of MSKCC’s plans only a week before the community board meeting, somehow, a patient managed to show up with a prepared speech, a speech that had nothing to do with the debate or even with reality. The speech cast my building’s residents as rich people trying to deny convenient medical care to poor people like him. This is a ridiculous and insulting lie.

Your paper purports to serve the Upper East Side. Sadly, you missed the points that affect this community, namely a neverending traffic nightmare foisted on us by an uncaring, rich organization that indeed has alternatives. MSKCC has 20 other sites and presumably other “sleeper” sites like the one under discussion. Surely, a wiser location can be found.

Steve Edelstein
440 E. 62nd St.

Letters have been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

In politics, there is an old saying: “First you have to win.” A corollary is “Winning is everything.” Another companion idiom in American politics is “There are no co-winners.”

I was speaking with someone the other day who said that in the American presidency, Democrats get the chance to be either Jimmy Carter, a man with integrity who lost, or Bill Clinton, who was all about winning. With that in mind, let’s take a look at President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address and just a few of its implications for New York State and its voters.

A lot of people voted for Obama when he said, “Yes we can!” They thought he meant, “Yes we can [fill in the blank].” Many of them were disappointed when he showed that he’d rather be a Clinton winner than a Carter loser; he had the center left, and they weren’t going anywhere. He needed to win the folks in the middle and those who held the purse strings in the skewed economic system in which we live.

You need money to win. You can call these people the 1 Percenters. If you are not taking from their pot, they might actually let you live. There were many folks who wanted to punish the bankers whose antics left so many people with homes that were underwater, but many of those in key economic positions around Obama were way too close to the bad guys in the great American economic disaster.

If you examine the State of the Union message, you can see two Obamas.

One is the progressive president. He tells the college-aged that he is with them when it comes to how much their education is costing them and their families. This is the group of people who helped put Obama over the top in the last election and he needs them back. He needs their passion. By telling young people that the federal government will punish states and colleges that raise tuition, he re-energizes those kids to get out and vote and work for him.

On the other hand, in New York, State University Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, a ball of fire, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo came together with the Legislature in an agreement to save SUNY in this very tough economic climate. In order to do that, the University, which has always been a relative bargain, is raising tuition.

My bet is that the folks who fashioned that deal cannot be happy with what they heard from the president. To some degree, I imagine they thought they were being punched in the solar plexus.

They weren’t the only ones. There was the proposal by Obama that we move ahead with hydrofracking, a drilling process that employs dangerous chemicals to extract natural gas from shale. Here in New York, there has been so much passion appropriately raised about hydrofracking that Cuomo, thought by some to have been in favor of it, seems to have cooled on the idea. No matter how much politicians want the revenue and energy that hydrofracking might provide, they can’t seem to convince the people to accept a process that threatens to poison our drinking water.

So here we have just two of the many things that the president spoke about that may be good for his politics but not necessarily good for the people of New York State. Let’s face it: The president knows what he has to do to win. Under no circumstances will he lose New York State. He will get these electoral votes, so he doesn’t have to worry about New York the way he might about Florida or Ohio. It’s sort of like a wife who will always be there as opposed to a fickle mistress. Get the analogy?

Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.

Cops Search for Deadly Hit-and-Run Driver
Police report that at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, a white SUV was traveling northbound on the FDR Drive near East 84th Street when it struck a vehicle, sending it into two lanes of traffic and hitting a third and fourth vehicle in a nasty pileup. One of the passengers in a 2001 Toyota, a 31-year-old man whom police did not identify, was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead there. The driver of the SUV fled the scene, and police said that the investigation is ongoing.

Gloved Robbery Pattern
Police have identified a pattern of crimes in which one or two perpetrators, both described as middle-aged black men, enter a commercial establishment and demand money or goods at gunpoint while wearing latex gloves. In one incident on the Upper East Side, a lone man entered a drugstore and forced the pharmacist to hand over oxycontin and oxycodone. In other occurrences, the man, once with an accomplice, according to police, entered Metro PCS locations and demanded cash.

Front Door Thief
In three separate incidences on the Upper East Side over the past two months, an unknown suspect broke into commercial establishments by cutting the front gate and breaking the glass on the front doors. He then made off with cash from the registers.

Two-Wheeled Phone Snatch
Last Saturday and Sunday, police believe the same perpetrator committed the same crime at almost the same location two days in a row. A man on a bike rode up behind his victims, one on First Avenue near East 91st Street and one on East 92nd Street, and grabbed their iPhones before cycling away out of sight.

Assault by Head
Late Sunday night, a man was escorted out of an Upper East Side bar by what he said were the bar’s employees. When he got outside, an unknown man headbutted him, causing a bloody nose. The owner of the bar told police that the headbutter was not one of his employees; it is unclear who, exactly, the mysterious assailant was.

Thief Wants Clear Skin
Early in the morning on Monday, Jan. 30, employees at a local chain drugstore spied a man, whom they said has stolen from their location previously, stuffing skin care products into his pockets. The man attempted to leave the store, setting off the security alarms but continuing to walk out. Employees followed him and questioned him, but the man picked up his pace. The intrepid employees called 911 and trailed the suspect until police caught up with him. Upon questioning, he admitted that he did not pay for the items. Police said the total haul was worth $112.70 and included Eucerin Calming Crème, Aveeno foaming lotion cleanser and Neutrogena body wash.

Precinct Community Council Meeting
The 19th Precinct Community Council will hold its monthly meeting Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the station house, 153 E. 67th St. Refreshments will be served and Patricia O’Connor, deputy bureau chief of the cyber crime and identity theft unit, will be the guest speaker. All are welcome.

Vudu Lounge Closed
According to the 19th Precinct, the infamous Vudu Lounge on First Avenue between 77th and 78th streets is closing its doors for good and handed over its liquor license to the State Liquor Authority this week. The nightclub, which was popular with young partiers and reviled by neighborhood residents, has been plagued with problems over the past few years. The NYPD closed them down temporarily last May, but the club came back and was holding mandatory quarterly meetings with residents to address their concerns over the noise and late-night loitering.

“I was relieved to hear Vudu Lounge has finally closed its doors,” said State Sen. Liz Krueger, who has worked with other local officials to quell the problems coming from the establishment. “With numerous State Liquor Authority investigations and multiple counts of violent behavior and underage drinking to its name, Vudu Lounge simply didn’t belong in our neighborhood.”

Calls to manager Michael Stein for comment were not returned, but a source said that the owners were hoping to find a more amenable location downtown.

Bar Gets a Sports Fan Facelift
When the Giants face off against the Patriots this Sunday for a Super Bowl rematch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg can rest easy knowing he’s scrubbed as many references to the New England team as possible from the city. Just as they did four years ago, the mayor’s office is targeting establishments whose names might falsely belie an allegiance to the enemy (we’re guessing anything with the words patriots, Boston or Gisele Bundchen) and asking them to make a temporary moniker switch in support of the home team. On the Upper East Side, Brady’s Bar, on Second Avenue near 82nd Street, will again take up a new mantle for the weekend: Manning’s. The quarterback switch is fully supported by owner Dan Brady, a diehard Big Blue fan. He said that the mayor should be in attendance for the renaming ceremony on Friday afternoon; check their website bradysbar.com for updates and the exact time.

Bill to Protect Jobs of Pregnant Women
State Sen. Liz Krueger is sponsoring a bill that would require employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant women on the job. Currently, employers are barred from discriminating against pregnant women and must make accommodations for disabled workers. Because pregnancy is not considered a disability, however, employers are not required to make any concessions for pregnant woman and can legally fire them for, say, taking too many bathroom breaks or requesting to sit. Krueger’s bill, which is being introduced in the assembly by upstate Democratic Assembly Member Aileen Gunther, would close that legal gap.

The bill’s language states that employers must take action to “allow pregnant women to perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in the job or occupation sought or held and include, but are not limited to, provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition or modification of equipment, support services for persons with impaired hearing or vision, job restructuring and modified work schedules; provided, however, that such actions do not impose an undue hardship on the business, program or enterprise of the entity from which action is requested.”
Dina Bakst, founder and president of A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center, wrote on Tuesday’s New York Times op-ed page that the law is a “public health necessity” and called it a necessary measure to ensure the safety of pregnant women who may not ask for accommodations if they fear being fired.

New Show Parodies Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a popular home base for fictional characters, and now ABC has commissioned a new show set in the ritzy section—this time with a supernatural twist. The show, 666 Park Avenue, is based on a book series by Gabriella Pierce and revolves around a Midwestern couple who comes to live at and manage the eponymous address and soon discovers that the tenants have all made deals with the devil in order to attain their fantastic lives and have their darkest desires fulfilled.

Produced by the team that delivered Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries, the show seems to be taking advantage of the most popular aspects of both of those successes. Something tells us that it won’t be portraying Upper East Siders in the best light, but then again, neither does Gossip Girl, and that’s been a hit.

Musical Open House for Kids
The 92nd Street Y is holding a free open house for its School of Music on Sunday, Feb. 5 from 1–4 p.m. Children ages 3 to 9 can take mini classes in the different styles offered and parents can meet instructors and discuss the methodologies of each class. Offerings include Delcroze, a program for toddlers that helps them develop rhythmic skills through musical interpretation of children’s stories, courses in using GarageBand to record original music and introductory violin instruction for little ones. At 1395 Lexington Ave. Visit 92Y.org for more information.

Local Doorman and Driver Made Richer
The New York Post reported earlier this week that millionaire music exec and high stakes poker player Alan Meltzer, who died at 67 this past Halloween, left a huge chunk of change in his will to his Park Avenue doorman and personal chauffeur. Meltzer was divorced and had no children, and both of his former employees, who received about $1 million and $500,000 respectively, told the Post that their boss was always kind and generous to them.

By Josh Perilo

I left the house on Tuesday to move my car and I wasn’t wearing a coat.

Yes, this is the wine column, but I felt that sentence needed to be said. It’s both thrillingly amazing (considering the snow spanking we got last year) and very, very scary. By the way, thanks, Al Gore! I still have trouble sleeping whenever it’s unseasonably warm.

But let’s focus on the positive, which is that this weather is kicking some serious butt! Winter is usually the time when I stock up on heavy reds like Cali cabs, those amped up, high-alcohol shirazes from Western Australia and big, earthy tannin monsters from northern Italy. This year, however, those wines just seem out of place and a bit smothering.

So instead I’ve been turning to wines I usually don’t give a second glance until April or May. It’s allowed me to go back and reconsider some selections that I’ve never tried or completely forgotten, which is how I ran into my long lost friend torrontes.

Torrontes is a grape that is indigenous to Argentina. It is also, sadly, a varietal that rings few bells with the vast majority of United States wine drinkers. That’s unfortunate, because these are some of the best bang-for-your-buck white wines from anywhere. It’s also strange, because torrontes is the most produced white wine in Argentina. The typical flavor profile is fruit-forward and light- to medium-bodied with citrus and apple notes, but as you’ll see from my selections, there are a number of ways the profile for this versatile grape can go.

So, allow me to take you by the hand and lead you through the delicious and inexpensive field of Argentinean torrontes.
If you haven’t tried torrontes before, a great one to start with is the Bodegas Callia Torrontes Tulum Valley Alta 2010 ($9.45 at Morrell and Company, 1 Rockefeller Plz., 48th St. & 5th Ave., 212-688-9370). This is a simple, pared-down, refreshingly delicious wine that will kick the door open for those who are new to the grape. On the nose, there’s a good amount of fresh orange zest. The citrus flavors continue on the palate with riper tangerine notes up front. The middle becomes sparer and more herbal with notes of chervil, and the finish has a clean, bright minerality.

For a torrontes that stays simple but has a little more body to it, look no further than Bodega Monteviejo Torrontes Argentina Festivo 2010 ($13 at Yorkshire Wines and Spirits, 1646 1st Ave. at 85th St., 212-717-5100)—it takes the basic profile of torrontes and kicks up the intensity several notches. Scents of intense wildflowers waft from the glass.

Honeysuckle and orchid are the main event. On the palate, though, it’s all about tropical fruit and melon; lots of mango up front with notes of honeydew through the middle and a dollop of lychee on the finish.

Taking the intensity and dialing it up even more, the Bodegas y Vinedos La Esperanza Torrontes Cafayate Menduco Reserve 2010 ($12.75 at Garnet Wines and Liquors, 929 Lexington Ave., betw. 68th & 69th Sts., 212-772-3211) is possibly the spiciest torrontes I’ve ever tried. Right out of the bottle and into the glass the wine smells simpler than it tastes, with scents of pear and orange peel. Up front on the palate, however, there’s a good amount of white pepper and starfruit. This leads to a mid with white peach and ripe orange flavors. The finish is full and floral with magnolia blossom and papaya notes. This is the Torrontes to pair with a spicy Pad Thai.

And for those who love the classic flavors of French, old-world-style white wines, try the Bodegas y Vinedos La Esperanza Torrontes Cafayate Valley Finca El Origen Reserve 2010 ($12 at Garnet Wines and Liquors). This wine has all the telltale scents and flavors of a lean and racy Chablis; wet granite is the main event on the nose. The palate continues the minerality throughout with green apple, pear and lemon zest on the finish.

So don’t be afraid to go light this winter. Think of it as a preview of our (hopefully) beautiful spring!

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

Free at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center is staging free concerts this month for Black History Month. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis at the David Rubenstein Atrium, Broadway between 62nd and 63rd streets. For more information, visit www.lincolncenter.org/Atrium.

Feb. 4 at 11 a.m., the Harlem Gospel Choir will lead a program for families.
Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m., Loren Schoenberg and the National Jazz Museum All Stars will present “Drop Me Off in Harlem: An Evening of Ellingtonia,” highlighting the work of Duke Ellington.

New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is hosting several events and exhibits in recognition of Black History Month.

Feb. 5 and 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., re-enactors will bring the 1st Rhode Island Regiment back to life. The unit was one of the earliest regiments in America to actively enlist African Americans. The 1st Rhode Island Regiment fought in the Battle of Newport in 1778 and spent the infamous winter at Valley Forge without receiving any post-war compensation for their efforts.
Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m., “The Battle for Civil Rights,” a conversation between David Levering Lewis and Khalil Gibran Muhammad, will be held.

The discussion is presented in conjunction with one of the society’s exhibits, Freedom Now: Photographs by Platon. The installation of large-scale images by the celebrated photographer shows the historic struggle of the 1950s and 1960s.
Among the subjects are the Little Rock Nine, whose attempt to enter Little Rock Central High School in 1957 became a national cause célèbre; Joseph A. McNeil and Franklin E. McCain, participants in the 1960 Greensboro lunch-counter sit-in; and Chris and Maxine McNair, the parents of Denise McNair, who was murdered in the bombing of the Birmingham, Ala., 16th Street Baptist Church.

The Historical Society is located at 170 Central Park West and is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays–Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $5–$15 and children under 7 are free. For more information, call 212-873-3400 or visit www.nyhistory.org.

Films for Youth
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd., will be screening free films for youth and teens Feb. 14–16.  Online registration is required at www.NYPL.org. For more information, call 212- 491-2200.
Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., On The Shoulders of Giants: The Story of the Greatest Basketball Team You Never Heard Of will be shown. The 2011 film by basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores the Harlem Renaissance through the eyes of Abdul-Jabbar as he presents the life and times of the Harlem Rens basketball team. Recommended for ages 5–18.

Feb. 15, 10 a.m.–noon, Freedom Riders, by Stanley Nelson, will be shown. The true story of an integrated band of young college students who risked everything by boarding a Greyhound Bus headed to the Deep South. Recommended for ages 13–18.

Feb. 16, 10–11 a.m., The Prep School Negro, by André Robert Lee, will be shown. This documentary explores the experiences of Lee and present-day prep school students of color. Recommended for ages 13–18.

Best Super Bowl Party
Playwright Irish Pub, 27 W. 35th St. (betw. 5th & 6th Aves.), playwrightirishpubnyc.com.
It’d be hard for almost any bar to top the Playwright for square inches of screen space, as this Irish sports bar has over 80 of them in their two-floor establishment. For a pair of Andrew Jacksons, you’ll get an open bar and buffet to enjoy as you watch the G-Men battle it out with the Pats.

Patriots Bar
The Three Monkeys, 236 W. 54th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), thethreemonkeysbar.com.
Two floors of TVs. One giant screen. 36 beers on tap. 13 wins—I could keep going on about the ultimate Patriots bar in the city tucked away in the theater district. Unlike most of its competitors, drinking here won’t break the bank, and all the food from nachos to wings to burgers, is all stellar. Long live the gastropub!

Big Screens Galore
Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant and Sports Bar, 42 Central Park S., mickeymantles.com.
Holy guacamole. This place has more big-screen TVs than you can shake a stick at; they adorn every surface. Get yourself a giant steak, a giant pint of beer, and go root for the Giants. When we take home the Lombardi trophy, you can snag a boisterous carriage ride through the park to let everyone know that you bleed blue.

The Place to Drink
Slattery’s Midtown Pub, 8 E. 36th St. (betw. 5th & Madison Aves.), slatterysmidtownpub.com.
Slattery’s is probably hosting the best drink special in the entire city on Super Bowl Sunday. For an even $50, there is unlimited open bar and combo plate filled with all of your game goodies. But this isn’t your typical open bar where you’re stuck with watery domestics—Every. Shelf. Is. Top. Shelf. Savor it.

Best Eats
Landsdowne Road, 599 10th Ave. (betw. 43rd & 44th Sts.), lansdowneroadnyc.com.
Every football fan knows that the quintessential food for the big game is wings, delicious, delicious wings. Lansdowne is known for having the best wings in the city, with a huge variety. And tons of huge screens means you’ll always catch someone being pummeled into the AstroTurf.

Place to Watch
Jack Russell’s Pub, 1591 2nd Ave. (at 83rd St.), jackrussellsnyc.com.
You can’t beat Jack Russell’s when it comes to watching the game uptown. They have 13 large HD screens and the tables each have their own HD flat-screen TV. If the cheap drinks and all those TVs can’t keep you entertained, there is always the beer pong tables, pool tables and arcade games.

Daniele Marin’s current exhibition, Ground Line, at Noho Gallery explores how women in art and society have evolved over time. By using iconic imagery along with the mundane, Marin recontextualizes these images to create nonlinear narratives. Doing this makes the historical information seem fresh. Marin also uses fabric in the acrylic paintings, creating texture and delineating space.

As Marin said, “The incorporation of fabric shifts the expectation about traditional feminine arts.” It also serves as an anchor point for the eye, a place of return.

Marin considers the painting surface a stage where different techniques communicate with each other. In fact, the paintings themselves seem to speak to each other. The color of each painting works within the bigger concept of the show. Marin is particularly interested in “the ground line,” the foundation for this exhibit, which is the horizontal plane on which objects sit. She weaves this into all of the works, establishing unity while referencing “still” images from the past, thereby reclaiming and redefining their roles as ‘feminine.’ The result is a new way of viewing traditional materials.

Marin was born in Paris but lives in the United States. She has an MFA from the Pratt Institute and has won two painting awards from the Visual Arts Center in New Jersey. She has been featured in Art in America and Woman’s Art Journal (Rutgers), among other publications. Some of her works are in the collection of the Newark Museum, the Montclair museum and Merrill Lynch, as well as private collections.

This show runs through Feb. 4. While visiting the exhibition, I had the eerie feeling of walking through a different state of being; somehow becoming a part of the ground line myself, as if I was inside the paintings.

Daniele Marvin: Ground Line
Noho Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., 4th Fl., 212-367-7063, www.danielemarin.com.
Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.