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Eat Cetera: Stinky Cheese, Smorgasbord, Bartenders & Beasts

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Stinky Cheese: NYC's fourth annual <a href="http://www.tourdefrancenyc.com/">Winter Stinky Cheese Festival</a> kicks off tomorrow, promising ten days of, well, stinky cheese. During the festival, nine French restaurants around town will showcase "inventive" dishes inspired by stinky cheeses: Nice Matin, Marseille, CafÃ© DâAlsace, French Roast (Uptown & Downtown), Le Monde, LâExpress, Maison and Pigalle. Throughout the ten day stink-out, each restaurant will offer a cheesy variation on an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Seen here, for example, is Chef Andy DâAmicoâs Limburger Steak Hache, featuring melted Limburger Cheese, Vidalia Onions and a fried egg. You can get that at Nice Matin for $19. To peruse the wide spectrum of stinky menu offerings, check out <a href="http://www.tourdefrancenyc.com/">the Tour de France website</a>. You've got until February 25th to sniff out all of them.

Gothamist

Geert TeuwenSmorgasbord: Starting this Sunday and continuing on until you need to get another hole notched in your belt, Swedish-inspired restaurant <a href="http://www.aquavit.org">Aquavit</a> will be hosting a Sunday dinner-time "smorgasbord." Check out that spread, eh? From 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., lovers of herring, gravlax, and meatballs can strap on the feedbag for an ALL YOU CAN EAT session costing $48 for adults, $24 for children under 12. We suggest borrowing a couple toddlers and filling up a diaper bag with gravlax to go. The smorgasbord will take place every Sunday evening through the end of the year, and each month the restaurant will also highlight a seasonal aquavit, such as Smoked Yellow Beet, or Blueberry & Elderflower. You can order the seasonal aquavit by the glass ($7) or with an accompanying Carlsberg beer ($12). 65 East 55th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues. For reservations, call (212) 307-7311

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Lizz Kuehl for Time Out New YorkBartenders for Health Insurance: Sure, you can do basic dental work and minor amputations with just a hacksaw and a fifth of bourbon, but certain medical procedures require professional help. That's where health insurance comes inâor should come in, and in many cases does not. Take bartenders, for instance. Here's one! A bartender walks into a hospital and says to the doctor, "I've got carpal tunnel from all this fancy cocktail shaking!" And the doctor says, "Sorry, there's a $50K minimum to start a tab!" Or something. Okay, that one needs work. But the point is this: unlike you on your fifth Screwdriver, bartenders are not invincible. And the United States Bartendersâ Guild is here to help.On Monday night, $40 gets you into the buzzed-about upstairs of Freemans for <a href="http://healthybartenders.eventbrite.com/">a charity cocktail event to benefit career bartenders</a> in need of health insurance. All proceeds go to the cause, and admission includes unlimited drinks made by Lynnette Marrero and Jim Kearns (Peels), Jason Littrell (Death and Company), Marshall Altier (1534) and others. You'll also get snacks from the Freemans kitchen (corn dogs; lamb sliders) and Stinky Bklyn cheese, plus a performance from folk-rock trio the Crooners.The event is being planned in part by Time Out NY's Food & Drink editor Jordana Rothman (you may recall her work with Gothamist back in the day). And Rothman would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the polls are open for <a href="http://newyork.timeout.com/restaurants-bars/881961/vote-now-2011-food-drink-awards">Time Out's 2011 Food & Drink awards</a>. Get involved, people!February 21st, 7-10 p.m.; Freeman Alley off Rivington Street, second floor; <a href="http://healthybartenders.eventbrite.com">tickets</a>.

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Photo courtesy <a href="http://harlanturk.com/">MHT</a>Beer for Beasts: This event isn't until March 26th, but it sounds so winning we wanted to let you know about it now so you could get tickets before it sells out. Sixpoint Brewery is celebrating its sixth anniversary with a rager at <a href="http://www.thebellhouseny.com/">The Bell House</a>, and 100% of the proceeds benefiting the NewYork Humane Society. The brewery will present at least 16 brand new beers, all brewed exclusively for <a href="http://beerforbeasts.com/">Beer for Beasts</a>. We're told "many of these beers will be collaborative brews, made with other members of the community at Sixpointâs facility. The beers at Beerfor Beasts will be the cumulative effort of months of collaboration, mentorship, and 'Mad Scientist' innovation, with each member of the Sixpoint staff proudly representing a brew of their own." To properly line the stomach, there will be beer-friendly food pairings from Calexico, Mile End, Pizza Moto, Prime Meats, and Brooklyn Soda Works. Entertainment will be provided by JerseyFresh Burlesque and other artists TBD. In <a href="http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=mdnnfmcab&v=0011-u4wRWTE7RaSWeogqA1WmsJUhoczYlggkLEndwv3vlgV1jGR7Vq2x8JRecsPjUX8BUWS3el_0pSLltpBANHEqVWRTB_ukIxGeXGipBvtcI%3D">their invite</a>, Sixpoint explains why they chose the Humane Society: "We are convinced they are one of the most altruistic organizations in NYC. Tucked away in an unassuming townhouse underneath the 59th Street Bridge, you would never believe the amount of goodness that is generated from this place on a daily basis... Take, for instance, a woman named May, whom we met there while she was cleaning litter boxes. She is in her 90s and is still volunteering after 30 years of service." So get bombed for May's sake.Tickets cost $60 (all inclusive) and are available <a href="http://brownpapertickets.com/event/155557">via Brown Paper Tickets</a>. Ticket price includes access to one session (1-5 p.m. or 6-10 p.m.), all beer tastings, food, and entertainment. 21+ only.

Gothamist