If you're staying in town this weekend and still don't have plans for the 4th, it's not too late to catch the spirit of '76; there are plenty of barbecue options within the five boroughs, whatever your budget or neighborhood. All the events below take place tomorrow, July 4th, unless otherwise specified. Head to Water Taxi Beach for the next best thing to the Hamptons. $25 gets you a regular evening at the beach, but......

May 19: Taste of Tribeca It's time for the 13th annual Taste of Tribeca, with tasting plates from Tribeca restaurants including Chanterelle, Bouley, The Harrison, Tribeca Grill, Megu, Mai House and Blaue Gans. The proceeds will got to support arts and enrichment programs for the kids at Tribeca's public elementary schools, P.S. 234 and P.S. 150, who have illustrated the new “Taste of Tribeca Cookbook” ($15), which will be on sale at the event.......

The Tribeca Film Festival is starting this Wednesday night, so you still have a few days to get your tickets and make dinner reservations. The New York Times gave a few local suggestions including Dennis Foy, Mai House, and Turks and Frogs. Cercle Rouge is offering a prix fixe, three-course menus for lunch ($19.95) and for dinner from 4 - 7 p.m. ($34.95), just for the occasion. Some of our other Tribeca favorites include Landmarc,......

- Old business first, somehow this got missed last week. Mrs. Leuzzi over on Snack wonders about bathrooms at the SS now that it is Shacktoberfest. She recommends fast food establishments on the block and even provides a map. We always thought it was rude that they did not offer even hand sanitizer to customers in light of the missing facilities. This week, we hit the mailbox….not ours but others for seriously good entertainment. -......

May 19-26: Tibetan Yak Cheese Week We were excited merely by the title of this event -- an entire week dedicated to Tibetan Yak Cheese, presented by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and Trace Foundation. A week-long celebration of Ragya Yak Cheese: a new artisanal cheese based on traditional Tibetan dairy techniques combined with European gourmet cheese-making expertise. Learn more about the story behind the cheese with Jigme Gyaltsen, a senior monk from Ragya......

Recently, Gothamist had a craving for Austrian food, as cold weather and rich goulash are perfect together. Since we'd be wondering things were like in the former space that house Le Zinc, we headed to TriBeCa and had dinner at Blaue Gans. And today, the NY Times' Frank Bruni reviews it, and gives it 1 star! We'd have to say that 1 star is fair - it's a cozy and dim restaurant that's more likely......