This year's thanksgiving day parade is very cool especially because they have a Pop Mart cart! The…read morePop Mart cart has LABUBU, Mokoko, Dimoo, Skullpanda, and Peach Riot! It looks so cool! I was so ecstatic that they got Pop Mart in the parade and it is that popular to be in the parade! They also got a Minnie Mouse float, which is the same exact thing as last year! I saw Gabby and many more favorites Buzz Lightyear and Paw Patrol! Lil Jon was performing a throwback and Busta Rhymes look pretty cool performing. It's cool to see these old rappers perform. They got the Kpop Demon Hunters Cast performing the Golden song! A catchy tune that is very addicting! I can play it on repeat! Overall, it is pretty cool this year that they got more Asian sensation in the parade with the Pop Mart characters and K-pop Demon Hunters cast performing!

This was my first time attending and I was out there At…read moremandatory time of 5am! Can you believe the streets were already filling up at 5am with people. It was pouring and I mean torrential downpour but people came out and showed up. The floats were so beautiful. It was organized. Police everywhere and I felt safe. I was working bleacher which was right at Columbus circle so no issue getting to the train station. My advice : get there EARLY to get a decent view! I can't wait to return

October 17th, a lazy late Sunday afternoon, I got my ticket ready and headed out the door with…read moreHungry Boy. We've joined the other couple of dozen people here for one purpose - the second annual Bacon Takedown in Brooklyn! Upon arrival, the place had a good amount of people. Once we've gotten on line the place was packed with bacon chompin' lovers left and right. There were twenty-one contestants, whom we've got to tried their homemade creations where bacon was the subject. There were both sweet and savory types of bacon-related samples to try. Here's the rundown of the contestants with their bacon recipes: Jenn Wanous - Baco-avo Goat-lato Jill Strominger - Pig Sty Pie Michael Stewart & Charlie Mirisola - Black Magic Bars Miranda Magagnini - Maccherochini Al Fume Emily Hanhan - Elvis Making Whoopie Pies Ben Mims - Devil's on Horseback Cake Anne Lind & Julia Smith - American Splendor Janine Logelfo & Bill Gagliardi - BBQ Bacon Loaded Meat Balls Becky MacGregor - Becky's Love Bites Robert & Johana Fernandez - Lucky's Wild Rice Krispies Tony Santoro - Candied Pigs in A Fig Cody Burke - Bacon Pot Stickers with Spicy Peanut Sauce Mike O'Neill & Kristine Schmidt - School Lunch Clay Ezell & Vadis Turner - Whiskey-Bacon Bread Pudding Alyson Mance & Rita Sallis -Almond-Bacon Brittle Jesse Forester - Divine Swine Adrian Ashby - Bacon Pecan Waffles with Apple Bacon Syrup Jordan Goldstein - Breakfast Terrine Matt Barber - Hudson Bay of Pigs Sandwich Erin Evenson - Bclyn Blackout Cake Henry Chan and Jocelyn Voo - Strawberry Black Pepper Bacon Donut Holes There were so many samples to try from that I didn't know which one to vote for. But in the end I really liked the Bacon Pot Stickers with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Maccherochini Al Fume and the Almond-Bacon Brittle. Some samples I've tried were really good and creative I felt and some were really creative, but not to my liking. I only went around once sampling from 21 different contestants and I already gotten full from it all haha. As for Hungry Boy, he had room for seconds. Then again it's Hungry Boy, he will always make room for more. A total of 300 lbs of Hormel Black Label Bacon was used for this takedown. Pretty amazing for an event that lasted roughly about 2 hours long. So when it came to voting, there was a vote from the judges and the attendees. People's Choice: 1st Place: Jenn Wanous - Baco-avo Goat-lato 2nd Place: Cody Burke - Bacon Pot Stickers with Spicy Peanut Sauce 3rd Place: Becky MacGregor - Becky's Love Bites Judge's Choice: 1st Place: Mike O'Neill and Kristine Schmidt - School Lunch 2nd Place: Matt Barber - Hudson Bay of Pigs Sandwich 3rd Place: Jordan Goldstein - Breakfast Terrine The winners all received a one-year supply or six-month supply of Hormel® Black Label® bacon, Anolon cookware, Microplane graters and Wusthof knives. Pretty neat. And as for the attendees, they were able to take home any leftover bacon samples, while supplies last. That was pretty awesome. Also shout out to Albert W. and Elaine M., whom we've bumped into at this event! =)

Actually I was kind of surprised that there was only 6 competitors. Not a big deal as I don't think…read moreI could have eaten any more. The competitors were: M&P Biancamano, Littletown NJ, Fran's Deli, Losurdo Brothers Deli, Gigi's Rosticeria and Vito's Deli. Luckily I purchased tickets three days ago at Fran's Deli because when we arrived those with actual tickets were let right in. Those that purchased online had to wait outside while the list was checked. We only made it through the first hour. One, we were stuffed to the gills and two it was awfully crowded. Hopefully next year they will find a bigger venue because I will go back next year. Some of the highlights were Littletowns sandwich which was Pesto, mozzarella, zucchini and broccoli Rabe. Vito's had a delicious mozzarella made with prosciutto and jalapeño. M&P did the map of Italy in mozzarella. And the winner is in my book for the best plain mozzarella is (drum roll here) Losurdo Brothers. Their cheese had most taste, not too salty and excellent texture. The $20 entrance fee goes to The Hoboken Family Alliance which is a great charity. It was definitely worth the price. I would recommend trying all the competitors if you are in Hoboken. They did well. Mangia Bene!

As a freelance music journalist/photographer, I have had the honor of covering this festival for…read moreseveral years. It's one of the best put together and organized festivals I've ever been a part of. That says a lot when it's being held in a large population area (Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn). The sound is top-quality, the vendors, bathrooms, workers, and volunteers have it together. Tons of food trucks. With this came the pleasure of bucketlist things like watching Grace Jones perform from the stage (stage right) with her mother, brother , and her mother's best friend and then hanging out with them in her tent afterwards. In addition, I was able to hang with my friends in Fishbone, Ice-T & Coco, QuestLove, Bad Brains, Suicidal Tendencies, Body Count, and many, many more. The park is large with spacious ground, enough to accommodate the thousands of folks in attendance at any given time. Truly an amazingly inclusive event to be asked to be a part of.

Compared to other festivals I've been to, AP is by far one of the most organized and spacious ones…read moreout the bunch. I went in 2018 (just the Saturday show) and it was a really decent time. The grounds were clean, there was some bench seating and I wasn't suffocating from the clouds of marijuana in the air. All I do is go to festivals in the summer so I'd urge anyone who hasn't been to AP in NY to check it out. P.S: Don't get the VIP band. It's a waste of money!

I give it 5 stars but overall the event was way too crowded. Food fests are always mayhem but this…read morewas the high level form. You have to just bump your way in sometime eat up some place and try to grab that noodle or whatever dish you are eyeing. I like organized chaos so I didn't mind being bumped a little. This was the place to be last week, 50 hand picked restaurants serving all kinds of goodies and there were drinks and sweets to sample. I skipped most of the sweets and went down to just trying the real food. Some vendors ran out almost right away and since line was long outside I got in the spot after 730pm. I know Dough pretty much ran out first I guess each donut is expensive and all but once I got near the shelves on their carts were completely empty. Of course, so much food to still sample such as Luke's lobster (shrimp roll that I had more than twice). Line was not that bad actually, Boomwich was there, I think Fletcher's BBQ I looked for and didn't see but Ofrenda had one of my favorites. (See my pic of the taco, had that at least three times). STELLA ARTOIS was the official sponsor of the event and they made sure you were not thirsty. I had the beer and the cidre , awesome indeed. I was loving the vibe of the drink isle itself, so many beers like Southern tier and Sixpoint (multiple variations). Upstairs there were more vendors and VIP which I didn't get into but still experience was amazing. Veggie egg rolls and sliders were passed around. I was here with Monica and we both got our eats on. I was so stuffed for the rest of the night. Definitely a highlight of the year so far was to attend this event. I can't wait to come back next year.

What an awesome Friday night date! We went to The Village Voice 10th Annual Choice Eats Tasting…read moreEvent with friends and it was a feast! It was an evening of well dressed people engaging in staggered gluttony and too-many-bites-to-count with over 50 restaurants represented. We made sure to have a light lunch, arrive early and choose wisely which bites we wanted to use for our stomach-retail. The Metropolitan Pavilion is perfect for so many tables. The space was spacious and clean. The plaques above each table distinguished each table and types of food they were serving. There was DJ playing 90s and 2000s songs. VIP lounge upstairs, and free whisky glasses for drinks. This year, Guinness and Stok coffee sponsored and served the best drinks. Guinness introduced a pale ale that was cold and refreshing and great break from the massive amounts of food. And the Guinness table had a tangy light red ale that was so unique! Stok coffee offered 3 flavors. The not-too-sweet cold brew offered slightly sweet smooth coffee that was perfect digestif to the multiple meals. Food: Most of the food was ok. The stand outs were: 1) Kailash Parbat's crispy corn basket. This was crunchy basket of buttercorn and beans; it was so delightfully different and offered so much contrast of textures that it really stood out in my mind. 2) Seared scallop- it was perfectly seared and although it was sitting out, it still maintained its perfect firm texture and sweet oceanic flavor. 3) Chocolate from Confectionery. This dark piece of chocolate was sweet, tart with chewy tart raspberry gel was one of my favorite desserts of the night. 4) Raclette from El Raclette. This was gooey melted semi-hard cow's milk cheese is roasted and scraped onto a plate of roasted potatoes, pickled pearl onions and cornichons. This was one of my absolute favorites! If you are a fan of melted cheese, you must try this dish! The cheese was gooey, roasted and had bits of crunchy caramelized rind. It was heavenly. I liked it so much that I waited twice in line. 5) The passion fruit ice cream- ohhh! I loved this! This was my other fav dessert! I loved the tartness of the ice cream and buttery creaminess. It was a wonderful time! Thanks to our friends for the invite!

So I attended The Greatest Day Ever after hearing about it from YesJulz (love her!) and though I am…read moresad I didn't get to meet her the event was an overall good time AFTER getting in. The wait to get in was tremendously HORRIBLE! I still do not understand why it took an hour + to get in when the place was not even half full. I think there should have been much better control of the line and entering the park, especially because there were so many advanced tickets sold - not to mention that it was scorching hot out.

There was a separate line for guys and girls, with the guys' line being much much shorter - and…read moresince I had my guy's ticket he had to wait with me for about 45+ minutes before we were let into the event. Imagine our surprise when we got in and saw that the place was almost empty. I think the wait had something to with the number of male/female checkers being imbalanced, but it was super hot outside, the bouncers were a bit obnoxious and it sucked to watch the guys whizz buy while the women's land was at a standstill. I did like that they had free cotton candy, however the 4 or 5 food vendors didn't provide lots of food options. We wanted to go to smorgasborg to get a bite and then go back to the event since the site said re-entry was allowed, however we were told if we left we would have to wait on the long line all over again to get back in. So, basically we felt trapped. We sucked it up and hung around - went on the 2 rides that were there (a ferris wheel and a spinning thingie), and watched a bit of jenga at the yelp table. We were not inclined to buy the $8 small cans of beer and after dancing around for a little bit (there were various dj's playing throughout the day who were admittedly pretty good) and getting a slight headache from the loud music and sun, decided to leave to get some food at smorgasborg and look at the skyline of manhattan a few blocks away. All in all, it was interesting experience (not worth $60, but maybe worth the $20 advance ticket price!) and a nice way to pass the time ...but it's not quite at the greatest day ever status just yet..

In its airy, laid-back, Westbeth site, this venue offers a wide variety of live performances, film…read morescreenings, art exhibits, book parties, and classes. Admission is free or very low-cost, in keeping with the Center's leftist bent. (I recently saw a live reading of a play illuminating HUAC's targeting of Lucille Ball. It was chilling.) check out www.brechtforum.org for listings

SO both reviews below are not incorrect (Stella's and Thomas C's)…read more I have been to mind blowing and powerful events at the Brecht as well as events that were as awkward as they were regrettable wastes of time. But the venue and its services are at question, not events in particular, unless some shortcoming was particularly due to the space and its staff. One thing is certain and that is that the Brecht Forum has repeatedly shown support for community organizations and causes, sometimes at a financial loss. When you needed them, they've been there from my experience. Yes, it's a little bit far by Manhattan standards, and yes, there are indeed "those" kinds of events, but overall a good space run by people who believe that access shouldn't always be determined by monetary value.

My favorite dish was not from a NY chef O_O Don't judge. There is good reason behind this…read more.. Last Friday after work, I went straight to LIC for Le Grand Fooding event. This was a very wise move because we got there half hour before doors opened (7PM for non VIP holders) and were only a few feet away from entrance. It didn't take long before the line wrapped around the block. Imagine a mass of eager, excited and hungry people lined up. Getting anxious as 7PM came closer. Tick tock tick tock. Once in awhile you get a huge whiff of freshly baked dough. Ahhhhhhh! It was the ultimate torture. So close yet so far away. Seriously. Once the line got moving, everyones spirits were on a high. I for sure was cheesin =D Upon entering we were handed 4 different colored stubs to use for the night. Yellow for Veuve Clicquot, red for a pizza with wine pairing, blue for a Belvedere cocktail from the guys of PDT and a white one for a Belvedere cocktail from Erick Castro of Rickhouse in SF. Let the awesome night begin! We were greeted by a strong smell of cheese which as if on auto-pilot, made us line up for Chef April Bloomfield's offering of braised beef and onion pie topped with a robust bleu cheese. It was a perfect way to kick off the night- a brief exchange of words with the chef and a bite of warm straight off the oven mini pie. It was reminiscent of an onion soup in pie form with braised beef as bonus. Yum!!! On to the next one...as I stuff my face with said pie, I headed straight for the next line. Now if you have read my previous reviews, you'd have noticed how much I appreciate swine. I'm kinda sorta in love with it. And now I'm kinda sorta in love with Chef Laurence Jossel and his wood grilled pork with tomato jam. Cassy: Hello chef. May I please have the fatty pieces? Chef: You're a woman after my own heart. *Swoons* Need I say more? I had a generous portion of wood grilled fatty pork with smoked tomato jam on garlic bread. It was succulent, flavorful and absolutely delicious. The jam was a nice touch. It was a little sweet and complimented the pork well. This dish made dining for a good cause 100 times better. Thank you chef for putting love into your food. He served each dish with a smile. We also got to try a number of other dishes and drinks: - 2 vegetable dishes from Chef Jeremy Fox and a memorable lavender infused sugar dusted almonds. - grilled scallops with sea salt and fennel seeds on greens from Chef Syhabout. We had second servings =D - flute of Veuve Clicquot - David Chang's beet chips with goat cheese mousse, tapioca and granola. It was light and totally unexpected. - Squid pizza and vegetable pizza paired with cote du rhone - Pickled cucumbers with shaved lamb tongue from Torrisi. - Parkside Fizz cocktail from PDT was very refreshing. All in all it was a successful night. I ate well without waiting for more than 10 minutes each dish. I'd do it again, in a heartbeat.

In this all out showdown between NY and SF to determine who has the best food, I was pleasantly…read moresurprised. $50 for a regular ticket gained you entrance into a world of unlimited food, waiting in lines with no Fast Passes, excellent espresso from Nespresso, S. Pellegrino sparkling water flavor pairings, and some of the best alcohol around. And all proceeds going to Action Against Hunger. Hi-five! The decorations were beautiful and modern and it was a relatively beautiful and warm fall night. MOMA PS1 was an excellent venue for Le Grand Fooding. The event coordinators oversold the event IMO, but after people started to leave, most of the lines weren't too bad. I didn't get to try everything, but I still had a delightful time. I won't break down every dish that I tried, but here were some of the highlights for me: NEW YORK CITY Chef Dan Barber (of Blue Hill) served up an unlisted dish. I'm unsure as to what the exact components were, but it was good, albeit it lacked some of that wow! factor. Pulino's Chef Nate Appleman offered beef cooked in beef fat over an anchovy crostone that I managed to sample two of before they ran out. Excellent! What I kept going back for and will probably crave was from db Bistro Moderne. Chef Laurent Kalkotour created hte Camemburger DB especially for Le Fooding. The ground sirloin burger slider hid a surprise in the center - a delicious camembert cheese - and when you bit into it, the burger oozed just enough to really enjoy the perfectly (rarely) cooked patty with the perfect sear. This was definitely one of the more filling dishes. They were also handing out the recipe card for this, which I shall endeavor to recreate someday when I'm feeling particularly adventurous and have guinea pi - - I mean /friends/ over. SAN FRANCISCO My favorite, and therefore the best, dish was served up by Frances from SF. For the full duration of the night, the line spiraled around the whole beach sand area for Chef Melissa Perello's suckling pig confit with summer fruit mostarda. Behind the counter area, Perello and her sous chefs visibly worked hard to maintain a high standard of quality in each dish that went out. Although just helping out his friend for the event, Christophe Hille of Northern Spy Food Co (in NYC) was gracious enough to chat for a short time while he was cooking to the side. ALCOHOL Okay. Let's get to it. Despite what some of my co-conspirators may claim, I do remember how much I had to drink. Even with the extra tickets that Jimmy C handed to me. (Thanks, Jimmy!) If I hadn't eaten my money's worth, I definitely drank my money's worth by the end of the night. And so.. more for my memory than for anyone reading this, a breakdown of the alcohol that I managed to score: - 2 flutes of excellent champagne by Veuve Clicquot - 2 Belvedere experiences with the white tickets - 1 Rhône Valley wine (& pizza pairing) - 2 Belvedere experiences with the blue tickets - 1 more Belvedere experience with another white ticket - 1 large swig from a bottle of Belvedere that the kick ass bartender at the end of the night opened. He wouldn't give me an unopened bottle to take home though. :( Boo. I should have showed more skin. (Kidding!) - 2 smaller swigs from the bottle of Belvedere Umm... holy bacon. How was I not falling over plastered?