I don't know why I keep going to these Japanese festivals. Whether it's San Francisco or here, in…read moreNew York, there's always a 1 hour wait for takoyaki and maybe 30-50 minutes for the other food stalls. The actual cultural stuff usually have no people wanting to join in taking up valuable line waiting space! Just kidding. Japan culture is very beautiful! But most come to these Japan festivals for the food. Only thing I can recommend to actually enjoy these festivals is to come right when it starts. An hour in and it's a sh*tstorm. Have fun!

Today Jen and I went to the 9th Avenue Food Festival. This was my first time in many years that I…read morewas attending. The sun shone brightly and it was hot. Jen had a watermelon juice and I drank a Horchata which was the first time I had it. Both refreshing and delicious. $7. The majority of the food stalls were Mexican and Caribbean. We both had the peril empanadas which was stuffed with meat so for $5 it was a steal. Jen took a kielbasa and I had a single cheese burger from 5 Napkin Burger. The meat patty was tasty but the bun was cold. Lots of restaurants had set up open air seating or table grab and go. We walked all the way from 42nd to 57th Street. From what I remember this festival used to be chock a block with lots of food stalls. Nonetheless, we enjoyed ourselves. Port a Johns were at every block which made it convenient for those who drank a lot. Music at some food stalls was lively and who can resist shaking one's hips to the stellar music from Michael Jackson?

Every plate that comes from this kitchen impresses. I was impressed when I didn't expect to be. The…read morerestaurant shows its character through its food. The team was friendly, accommodating, and explicit. 9th Avenue Food Festival staff shows sincere friendliness.

This festival was awesome, off Palisades Ave in Washington Park (right on the boarder of JC). Not…read moresure how long it was around for, but I went the night of 9/14. There were lots of people enjoying the rides and food, and a good police presence as well. Rides: Farris Wheel, bumper cars, loop roller coaster, starship spiny ride, another spiny ride, a ride where you sit in a swing and fly in the air in a circle. There was also a little kid ride section with 3-4 different rides for toddlers. And a petting zoo with ponies and lamas. Food options were an Italian and fried food station, a Spanish food station, and an Asian meet on a stick station. I did not see any alcohol sold. There was also a candy apple and cotton candy station. Carney games were cool too, there was a rifle target game that was impossible to win, a water gun game, and 4 or 5 other booths. I rocked the shuffle board game on my first shot! Had such a good time at this festival, quality of rides and entertainment was better than similar fairs I have been to in Jersey City. Will definitely be looking out for this fair's return next September!

Macarons! Baguettes! Crepes!…read more I have attended this street festival honoring Bastille Day here in NYC for many years now. The food is always terrific. The weather was sunny and beautiful out. The macarons were amazing as always. And, as always, the crowd was overbearing and annoying. Whoa! Talk about inconsiderate tourists who don't understand how to move aside or what personal space is! This street fair is always packed, and if you are the type that can't stand crowds this is not the place for you. You literally have to fight and push aside people to get from one food stand to the other. Too many people gawking at everything and taking pictures, blocking your way, but not buying anything. For the love of God, would people with kids in baby carriages please stop coming to these festivals? All they do is block up the pathways strolling along at a snails pace, or running into the back of your ankles with these over-sized rolling baby cribs. Take it onto the sidewalks already people. The rest of us would like to get by. Stop insisting on shoving your kids down our throats! Now that my rant is over, I can say I did enjoy the festival for the most part. Live music, waiter race contests, and yummy food. The crepes were awesome - I had a banana and nutella which I scarfed down instantly. Also had a steak sandwich from Bistro Chat Noir that for only $6 was a great deal, and along with a beet salad for $4 made for a nice lunch. Had the most amazing macarons from Macaron Cafe. There was a little bit of everything French here. Baquette stands, macarons, desserts and pastries, crepes, sandwiches, drinks, you name it. If you are willing to fight through the crowd and be patient you can sample some wonderful foods. Spent a few hours there and then bailed out. All in all, it is a decent festival to go to for a few hours on a nice day, sample some tasty treats, but not to spend that much more time there. Many more options on a weekend day in the city away from annoying touristy crowds.

So much fun. I forgot about this annual event. I just happened by on my way home. I'll make it a…read morepoint to go hungry next year. I never saw so much delicious food. Some stands gave free samples. You could eat your way from 5th Avenue to Lexington along 60th Street. Everyone was so nice. I saw the Fencing Group from my neighborhood. You had the balloons, food, and lots of lemonade stands. You can see by the amount of photos I took how extensive the offerings were. Something for everyone. And yes, there were plenty of fine French Pastries!! Crepes looked so delicious. To me the portion sizes were reasonably priced at most of the stands. Some high end names had stands with their usual offerings. They were overpriced as usual. I was really tempted on several occasions. I already had my carbs for the day. No food for me this year. A couple free samples filled me up. The only place I had trouble navigating the crowd was by the stage. Other than that area you could get around pretty easy. Later today it may be thick with people. If you go later good luck!! As for me, I'll be back next year to tie on the feed bag. I'm bringing lots of money and an appetite. :-)

**100th Review**…read more This event was scheduled to be held in late October and then Sandy happened and they postponed it to March as the entire NY was in upheaval.Had this bookmarked on my wall calender, bb calender and my gmail calender lest I forget it.The Kids Food Festival was a weekend event focusing on educating families about making balanced food choices through fun and flavorful activities. Was planning to sign up for the demo classes for easy peasy fun cooking for kids by some famous chefs/authors but decided against it at the last minute. I involve my daughter in cooking every other weekend at home.Didnt think the $40 for a 30 minute class was justified. And besides there were ton of other things to do and eat:-) We got there at 11 am on Saturday and the park was packed.Also there were a whole load of people surrounding ice skating rink as there was an ice hockey game in action.There were quite a few tents and each one giving away samples and freebies:- Horizon Organic Milk and Dairy-Chocolate Milk and Grilled Cheese Sandwich Honest Kids -Juices and Teas Creative Kitchen-They had diy aprons,chef hats, etc for $5 and a free craft station where kids use the materials provided to create anything they like Graham Crackers-New Strawberry Sandwich Crackers Light Cooking-Trail Mixes sponsored by Whole Foods Plum Foods:-itsy bitsy rice crackers etc There were couple others I cant seem to remember.They were also all giving away tattos and stickers On the stage there was a performance every half and hr.Some performances that we sat through were Karma Kids,Sprowtz, Little CLub Heads,Yo Gabba Gabba.We also sat through Josh Beckermans Foodie Magician Show.This guy is really a rock star.I hear he runs a very successful food blog too.We also witnessed Katie Workman author of mom 101 and some othere cook books in making demonstration of making tacos and edamame a fun way to involve kids in healthy eating. Overall it was a super fun event and kudos to Cooking Light for pulling this off in a big city.It was very well organized and everything seemed to be going on as per schedule which is not often witnessed at such big events.My daughter had a swell time and the message for kids to eat healthy was definitely driven well.

Very nice space to decompress, enjoy activities, take photos, and have social interaction. There is…read moreplenty of space to enjoy your presence and very tidy. Would recommend you byo anything! Check it out!

the worst experience of any place I have been too. Poor instructions, poor planning, just poor…read more everything. Nothing was executed right. They ran out of everything.

Not worth the long wait to enter a 30 minute event. Very unorganized and no one was monitoring the…read moreline which allowed for people to cut the line.

Food was good. Seems like on last day of block party vendors were sold out two hrs before close…read morerime. Whats up with that! Next year please invite park 11. Chicken and freshly made donuts was so good!

Absolutely delicious food from many great vendors. Definitely an experience that you shouldn't miss…read morewhen you are in NYC