12/14: ‘Blue Valentine,' Beer, Chocolate & Cheese Party…

…and it’s Chili Season at Char. No. 4

By Elizabeth Bougerol

| Tuesday, Dec 14, 2010 | Updated 7:03 AM EDT

Blue Valentine

LOVE, ACTUALLY: We haven’t seen Blue Valentine, with the always-riveting Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, but the buzz surrounding what we’ve heard is an excruciatingly realistic portrayal of romance on the rocks is deafening. It doesn’t come out until December 31, but you can catch a preview at BAM Rose tonight, where director Derek Cianfrance will be on hand for a Q&A about the project. 7PM.

THE DIET STARTS IN JANUARY: Because apparently the holiday season isn’t fattening enough as it is, Jimmy’s No. 43 is throwing a Beer, Chocolate and Cheese Party tonight. The NYC Degustation Advisory Team (yep, such a thing exists) will lead you directly into the valley of temptation, which will be stocked with six different desserts (pie is involved, as is candied bacon) and a passel of artisanal cheeses, all to be washed down by a half-dozen holiday beers. You’re welcome. Two sessions, at 6:30 and 8:15PM.

CHILI OUTSIDE: Wintry Tuesdays can be bleak, so Char No. 4—that Smith Street HQ of smoked meat and brown booze—has come up with a Texas-style special that just might make you look forward to the end of the weekend: Just $22 gets you a bowl of smoked short rib and pork shoulder chili (food obsessives will recognize this as the chili that won the 2009 Brooklyn Texas Chili Battle) sided by bacon-jalapeño cornbread slathered in honey butter, with a craft beer and a shot of bourbon to boot. Opens at 6PM.

--EB

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