New York's a graveyard on holiday weekends, but there are rewards to be had for those who stick around. Case in point: the barbecue at Back Forty, Peter Hoffman's East Village restaurant, offering pork-jowl nuggets, crab rolls, and stout floats in addition to the obligatory burgers and dogs in their back garden. Need even more incentive? Mixologist Michael Cecconi's The Red and the Black cocktail (pictured), a potent combination of tequila, Greenmarket strawberries, lime juice, and black pepper that's had the city buzzing since it was served to the discerning crowd at the James Beard Awards reception last month. Consider it a much-improved strawberry margarita—shame on us for thinking there was no improving that erstwhile classic. Another year older, another year wiser, we guess—just like (hopefully) the ol' red, white, and blue.
July 4, 3 to 11 p.m., Back Forty, 190 Ave. B, New York, (212) 288-1990, backfortynyc.com