Eat Up: The 5 Best End-of-Summer Food Events to Put on Your Calendar
Between embarking on tropical vacations or steamy weekends at the beach, slurping oysters, barbecuing, and sipping frosty drinks on rooftops, it’s never going to be easy to bid adieu to yet another fleeting summer season. But since there’s nothing you can do to stay September’s inevitable crash back into reality, you might as well thumb your nose at Labor Day with one of these end-of-summer food-focused bashes, from a multi-culti restaurant rally at AfroPunk, to a whole pig feast along the water at The Farm on Kent.
Bites & Beats Food Festival at AfroPunk 2015 (August 21st-23rd): Returning once more to Commodore Berry Park, this action-packed weekend of music, art and activism also places a marked emphasis on food, by coordinating a diverse rally of over 25 food trucks and pop-up restaurants. Sample empanadas from Nuchas, shaved ice from Snowday, and pan-fried Chinese chive cakes from Mamu Thai Noodle, while you kick it to beats courtesy of Lauren Hill, Kelis, CX Kidtronix, and songwriter Sam Dew.
For more info, visit here.
Season’s Harvest Supper Series at Extra Fancy (August 25th and 26th): Extra Fancy is closing out the summer with their second Season’s Harvest Supper Series, welcoming in Eleven Madison Park and Jean-Georges alum, Matthew Gaudet, to cook alongside chef Sean Telo. Priced at $15 each, collaborative dishes will be crafted from ingredients sourced directly from the greenmarket, such as Tristar strawberries, sungold tomatoes, shishito peppers and okra, complimented with Kaipara oysters, live scallops, rabbit, eel and duck hearts.
For more info, visit here.
Food Karma’s Pig & Whiskey with Robbie Richter (August 26th): Food Karma’s summer-long dining series pairs top chefs with New York State farms, to prepare sustainable feasts served on The Farm on Kent’s lush waterfront lawn. Situated snugly under the Williamsburg bridge, with spectacular views of the skyline, the events have been so popular that they just added another to the lineup—a whole hog barbecue blow-out with pitmaster Robbie Richter, accompanied by whiskey, beer, wine, cider, and tunes from a local bluegrass band.
For more info, visit here.
Vinegar Hill House Picnic in the Garden (August 27th): Now that they’ve got a glorious new whiskey garden at their disposal, Kings County Distillery has made great use of the corn and barley-encircled space. And they’re capping off a successful summer season with a prix fixe picnic, catered by Vinegar Hill House’s chef Mike Poiarkoff—expect bourbon-cured lox, watermelon salad, smoked pork shoulder and sweet corn flan, paired with cucumber-dill moonshine and blueberry cobbler cocktails.
For more info, visit here.
Waku Waku NYC (August 29th-30th): The Japanese pop culture extravaganza, Waku Waku, is making its Brooklyn debut at the end of the month, uniting Japan and NYC-based tastemakers and leaders, in the worlds of anime, video games, fashion, cosplay, music, art and education. And in addition to two days of performances, screenings, conferences and contests, held at venues like Brooklyn Bowl, Verboten, and Transmitter Park, the festival is anchored by a sprawling food pavilion dubbed “Savory Square.” Located in the brand new Brooklyn Expo Center, eats include ramen from Ippudo, green tea from MatchaBar, cream puffs from Beard Papa’s, and octopus balls prepared by master chefs from Osaka, the birthplace of takoyaki.
For more info, visit here.