Novel Night Dinners 6 pm-9 pm
​​After Party 9pm-1am at NYAC sponsored by Benchmark Education

THE 2018 NOVEL NIGHT DINNERS

From Russia,
​with Love
Ian Fleming 

The Cold War is in full swing when British secret agent James Bond is lured to Istanbul by the ravishing Tatiana Romanova, an operative for Russia’s lethal SMERSH.  Dressed in your ’50s formal best, join 007 at a spectacular Turkish repast for a game of cross—and double-cross.
(Seats 24)

The Prince of Tides
Pat Conroy 

Relax, throw on your ’50s —or ’80s—beach togs, and head south... You’ll rub shoulders with shrimpers, football  players, a poet, and maybe even a NYC shrink at this Low Country buffet fit  for a prince. Your hosts have delved into the Carolinas and are importing regional specialties.(Seats 32)

Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden 

Attire yourself in your finest kimonos and haoris, and enjoy this mouthwatering classic Japanese repast prepared by an in-house chef.  Toast live performers with sake—and expect a surprise before dinner is done! (Seats 12)

Alice Through the Looking Glass
Kari Sutherland 

By proclamation of the Red Queen, follow the White Rabbit and  bring your “hearts” to a royal celebration. Among the offerings: cocktails fit for a king, plentiful hors d’oeuvres, and a tantalizing carving station. Eat and drink in this palace of dreams—the Mad Hatter is counting on you! (Seats 40)

The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame ​

The outrageous and irrepressible Mr. Toad of Toad Hall requests your presence at a scrumptious seated feast fit for kings in England’s Edwardian era. Mole, Ratty, and Badger wouldn’t miss it. Nor should you! (Seats 12)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss

It’s Yule-tide in Who-ville: sit down to a feast
Of Who-hash, Who-pudding, delicious roast-beast...
The Grinch, his dog Max, young Cindy-Lou Who,
And the rest of the Whos will be dining with you. (Seats 20)

Janson’s History of Art, volumes 1 & 2
W. H. Janson

Come dressed as your favorite artist or subject, from the Girl with the Pearl Earring to Cleopatra, Napoleon, the Mona Lisa, Washington Crossing the Delaware, or a bowl of fruit—the possibilities are endless at this eclectic, artistic repast! (Seats 24)

The Thin Man
Dashiell Hammett  

New York City, December 1932, as Prohibition ends.  Don your ’30s finest, down martinis and Manhattans. Join the infamous dinner party where Nick and Nora entertain the suspects in Clyde Wynant’s murder, and learn the killer’s identity over oysters and nuts. (Seats 12)

​

All the President’s Men
Carl Bernstein &
​Bob Woodward 

Break into this dinner; hoist your vodka martini; dig into Beef Wellington, fondue, and other sophisticated ’70s fare.  Experience Watergate déjà vu with a media insider. (Seats 20)

Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice 

There’s a moon over Bourbon Street tonight...Whether it’s the 1700s or the 1970s, break out your black velvet bustier, waistcoat, or cloak, and sink your fangs into a voluptuous Creole buffet set in picturesque New Orleans. (Seats 24)

Outlander
Diana Gabaldon 

The year: 1945—and 1743. Scottish Jacobites and English Redcoats suspend their enmity to partake of cocktails, passed hors d’oeuvres,
a whisky tasting, and a sit-down dinner of Caledonian delicacies
accompanied by bagpipes and Highland dancers. (Seats 18)

Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang 
​Ian Fleming 

Hobnob with Baron & Baroness Bomburst, the Child Catcher, inventor Caractacus Pott, and many more English eccentrics. Help yourself to a buffet that’s Truly Scrumptious. Then off to the Club—perhaps in a certain gleaming green touring car—for Toots Sweets! (Seats 40)

Westworld
​Michael Crichton 

Enjoy cocktails, a whiskey tasting, and a dystopian buffet at the Mariposa Saloon.  Come armed (leave the ammo at home), hang with the robots, and remember: “These violent delights have violent ends.” (Seats 24)

Sense and Sensibility
Jane Austen

The pleasure of your company is requested at a Regency-style evening of classic English food and music, in a waterfront mansion befitting royalty. Check your class distinctions at the door. (Seats 32)

Mean Girls
Micol Ostow

On Novel Night, we wear pink. Or Peace Corps gear. Or head gear! Which table will you sit at? Rest assured, these moms are not regular moms, and this cafeteria food is better than you remember. ​ (Seats 36)

Last of the Giants: 
The True Story of Guns N’ Roses
Mick Wall 

Welcome to the jungle! It’s the late twentieth century, heyday of “the most dangerous band in the world.” Bring your appetite for our buffet, preceded by passed hors d’oeuvres and copious cocktails. Dress in your “Hair Band” best and be ready to rock! (Seats 50)

The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley  

Part the mists of history and take your place at the Round Table with Celtic priestesses, ancient Druids, and Iron Age knights.  Enjoy a bountiful banquet on the legendary island of Avalon. (Seats 18)

The Prestige
Christopher Priest

Retire into Victorian England for this tale of dueling magicians, desperate love, and deadly intrigue. Fill your glass and load your plate with hearty pub fare at our buffet dinner—and prepare for a Master Mentalist to astound and mystify! (Seats 30)

JLA/Avengers
Kurt Busiek

Superman and Black Widow join Captain America and Wonder Woman at this super-heroic spread of passed appetizers, along with sandwiches and sides hot off the food truck, and multi-media amusements. (Seats 40)

We’ll Always Have Casablanca:
The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of
Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie
Noah Isenberg

Of all the gin joints, in all the world, walk into ours.  Join revolutionaries and corrupt bureaucrats for French appetizers and a Moroccan repast at Rick’s. (Seats 24)

Murder in Montparnasse
Kerry Greenwood

Bee-stung lips, bobbed hair, and boas: Join Lady Detective Miss Phryne Fisher and her swanky gang in 1920s Melbourne, with flashbacks to bohemian post-WWI Paris. Mr. Butler will ensure that the cocktails, music, and food are as exquisite as one always expects at Miss Fisher’s. (Seats 36)

The Last Days of Night
Graham Moore

Step into the Gilded Age for an electrifying evening with the fabulously wealthy at George Westinghouse’s Berkshires mansion. Currents of rivalry and the spark of competition between Westinghouse and Thomas Edison will buzz through cocktails in the parlor and a seated dinner of prime rib, guinea hen, and Yorkshire pudding in the dining room. (Seats 22)

​Live from New York:  
​The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
James Andrew Miller & Tom Shales

Live from Pelham, it’s Saturday Night! Party on with Wayne and Garth, belt one out with the Sweeney Sisters, or consume mass quantities with the Coneheads at this behind-the-scenes celebration of the SNL hijinks at Studio 8H. Dinner will be a fabulous buffet of NY classics—and don’t worry, there will be all-you-can-eat Schweddy Balls. (Seats 36)

The Boys of Winter:
The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team
Wayne Coffey

The puck stops here.  Drape yourself in the Red, White, and Blue, grab your hockey stick, and come on over to this miraculous meal of hearty food to sustain you on the ice. 
​(Seats 60)

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café
Fannie Flagg

Come to the Whistle Stop Café during the Great Depression and pull up a chair for a delectable BBQ feast. Whether you’re a hobo, a student at the nearby Vacation Bible School, a railway worker, or a 1980’s housewife or husband, you’ll want to sink your teeth into pulled pork—and  those unforgettable fried green tomatoes. With live entertainment by a jazz and soul singer. (Seats 12)

Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen​

Step “Out in the Street” and join us for a night of rock ’n’ roll; Jersey’s finest food, served cocktail-style; and lots of hair and denim as we re-live the “Glory Days” on our side of “The River”!  (Seats 30)

The Commitments
Roddy Doyle

Get your Guinness on and travel back to 1980s Dublin for an evening of live Irish soul music with the “hardest-working band in show business.”  Enjoy a hearty buffet, swap tall tales, and try your hand at pub games. (Seats 24)

A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles

Escape the tumult of history in the Old World glamour of a luxury hotel, circa 1920s–40s. Don your most elegant attire and join unrepentant aristocrats and other glittering guests (or Bolsheviks) for a Russian vodka tasting with passed appetizers, followed by a seated supper. He can’t leave; you won’t want to.  (Seats 12)

Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba:
The Biography of a Cause
Tom Gjelten

Grab your guayabera—or your rumba dress—and celebrate the history of Cuba, from its days as a Spanish colony to the rollicking, gambling era and beyond—through the prism of a colorful rum-making family, the Bacardis. A seated repast of traditional Cuban food—and rum cocktails, of course—awaits. (Seats 22)

The Graduate​
Charles Webb

“And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson.” Toast the Class of 1963 with Mrs. Robinson and her California friends.  Enjoy deviled eggs, Jell-O salad, and Chex Mix as you learn about the newest industrial miracle: “plastics.”  Sit down to dinner served on period-perfect china, and welcome nightfall beside our “swimming pool” while listening to the Sounds of Silence.(Seats 24)

At the Water’s Edge
Sara Gruen

Don your kilts and tartan skirts, and let us lure you into the magic, mystery, and adventure of a remote Scottish Highlands village during World War II. Hunt for the Loch Ness monster while enjoying libations and cuisine from whisky to salmon—but no haggis served here! (Seats 24)

A River Runs Through It
Norman Maclean

Grab your rod, pull on your waders, and join loggers, Native Americans, Scots Presbyterians, gamblers—and, of course, fly fishermen--in Prohibition-era Montana for this dinner featuring “moonshine" and trout. (Seats 40)