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!

Hester Nights is a super chill place to go for dinner on a Thursday night, especially when the…read moreweather is warm out. The overall feel of the place is like a giant happy hour venue, mostly due to the fact that there's a brick-and-mortar joint (whose name I can't remember right now) serving drinks. There's music playing and lights hanging in the trees. Eventi Plaza also has tons of seats and ledges to sit on, so no need to worry about finding somewhere to sit. The vendors change every week, so it's hard to say what'll be good. When I was there, I tried: 1) Khao Man Gai - If you've ever had Hainanese chicken rice, this is bascially what they serve ($8 for a platter). The guy gave us free samples as we stopped to see what it was, and after tasting it we were like, "OMG let's get this." The chicken was served on a bed of rice with some cucumber slices, and a side of some very salty soup (for sipping between bites) and a container of what tasted like semi-spicy fish sauce. It was good - probably my favorite of the night. They were also selling different types of Thai teas for $3 each. 2) Randalls BBQ - Got a pulled pork sandwich from here ($10). It was all right. 3) The Deviant Chef - Out of all the vendors that night, I thought they had the most intriguing menu - interesting sandwiches like kalbi, curry chicken, etc, served on your choice of bread/bun and sauces ($8 per sammie). We got a kalbi with Asian slaw sammie on brioche, which was pretty good, though it took a while to make. 4) Minnie's Bake Shop - Their cakes caught my eye - tiny double-layer cakes in 5 or 6 different flavors. For bite-size cakes, they were very expensive ($3 each!) but the red velvet one I got was so delicious. Totally recommended as a small dessert to finish off dinner. As with a lot of other street fairs of this kind, the food can get pretty expensive, but it's fun to go with a friend or two to try some of the different vendors!

A food festival plopped right in the middle of the city. For those of you who have been, like a…read moresmaller version of Madison Square Eats. Behind on the hotel in an open seated area, every Thursday this summer from 5-10PM. The crowd is mostly people trickling in after a long day of work. They have a great beer selection inside and even serve some really tasty sounding cocktails. As for the bites, Little Muenster's three crostinis for $9 was a bit too pricey for me to order again, but you get a variety of three (recipes I will be stealing, like combining cheese with grapes) and the ingredients are top notch. The empanada spot had small refried empanadas that weren't bad, but not really exciting either. My favorite was inside where they have a kitchen and grill. They had a variety of burgers and dogs, but I went for the seafood station. I ordered an Oyster Po'boy for $9 and they gave me a beeper to alert me when my order was ready. It was packed with at least 5-6 large fried oysters and topped with mayonnaise. I also saw people walking around with platters of fish and chips. With the better equipment inside, this was churning out better food than what I saw from the stands.

This was my first time attending the annual Taste of Hoboken event, and it was such a great…read moreexperience! Despite all the time I spend in the 'Boken, I rarely have a chance to try out all the restaurants in the area. I was lucky enough to snag a pair of tickets from our dear NJCM Steph, and I asked Lauren K. to come with me as my +1 to try all the food Hoboken has to offer -- and for a good cause! We started at the champagne table (of course), and sampled glasses of regular & rose champagne. I am partial to the rose, so I was happy. Then we stopped to play a little Yelp trivia to win some swag (hey, pint glass!). And so, after we were all bubbly & Yelp-tastic, we started to make our way around the room. Here's what we tried: Biggie's Clam Bar: 1) Pulled Pork Wonton Chip, 2) Fresh Seafood Salad. Honestly, if I was any hungrier, I could have eaten that pulled pork wonton all night long. The pork was perfect, the wonton was so crispy and big!, and the crispy onions on top made for a sweet, crunchy ending. The seafood salad was made of calamari, clams, shrimp, & scallops tossed in a light dressing with red onions & celery. Honestly, it's something I would have never ordered on my own, but it was so good that I would definitely consider having it in the future. The seafood was so fresh, big, meaty, and flavorful. The clams were a little bit sandy, but what can you do? The Madison Bar & Grill: 1) Butternut Squash Risotto, 2) Osso Bucco, & 3) Sausage Slider. My risotto was a little disappointing. The flavor was there, but the consistency was just too thick. It was so heavy & dense! We could only eat a bite or two. The osso bucco was really good. The meat was tender & fell off the bone with just a little prodding from my plastic fork lol. The sausage slider had a lot going on. Broccoli rabe, mozzarella, a sweet sausage patty, & a spicy sausage patty. I couldn't handle the spice or the size. I ended up taking out the rabe & the spicy sausage, and the rest made a pretty good sandwich! Cadillac Cantina: Chicken empanada. In general, I do not like anything even close to Mexican food. But I can say that I was completely surprised by this chicken empanada. It was really, really good! The shell was light & crispy without being greasy, and the filling was generous -- with just a little kick of spice. Just enough to make me feel fancy lol. I could've eaten another one. Okay, I regret not eating another one. Sushi Lounge: Spicy tuna roll. I was unimpressed by the selection rolled out by Sushi Lounge. They offered a salmon tartare, a Totowa roll (spicy tuna, shrimp, avocado, & tempura flakes w/ salmon & spicy mayo), and a Spicy tuna roll. Now, if you wanted to try anything other than a spicy tuna roll, they didn't have it. I didn't care for all the ingredients in the Totowa roll, so I went for the "plain" spicy tuna -- it was somewhat fishy, and too spicy, and not that appealing. I wish they had other rolls to try, or maybe a non-spicy sushi option. Batello: Ricotta gnocci. We agreed that the best part of the ricotta gnocchi was the sauce. It was light, fresh, and perfectly seasoned. The gnocchi had a nice texture, and it was amazing to try a gnocchi that wasn't heavy or dense. It was somehow prepared very lightly, and it tasted fresh & soft. Perfectly done! But it just felt like it was missing something. Seasoning, perhaps? I would go back to Batello to have some more of that sauce though. Amazing! Court Street: chorizo & shrimp. This was ... a miss for me. I didn't care for either the chorizo or the shrimp. The flavors were off, and the sauce was too watery, and it was just too much for me to handle. Pass. Carlo's Bakery: white cake with chocolate frosting. Now, I have never tried anything from Carlo's bakery before. So of their three options (red velvet, brownie, & white cake), I obviously went for the most boring, basic choice. But the cake was spongy, light, and tasty, with a little sprinkling of sugar on the bottom for an added crunch. The chocolate frosting - which I don't usually care for! - was sweet & fluffy as well. I really enjoyed it, and I can see why people keep coming back to Carlo's for their cakes! Kobrick's Coffee: latte. UNEXPECTED WINNER OF THE NIGHT. I had the most amazing, delicious, PERFECT latte from Kobrick's at the end of our evening. Lauren K had a coffee too, and she agreed that this was the best table at the whole event. My latte was creamy, foamy, but still with a strong taste of coffee that somehow managed to not be bitter. The barista even drew a little heart in my foam, which is impressive considering the dim lighting and small work area! Oh, it was just so good. I would go out of my way in Hoboken to have another latte from Kobrick's. All in all, I had a great time -- and I think Lauren K did too. Special shoutout to Swingadelic, because I really enjoyed their live music! Thanks for the opportunity to attend, Yelp! And good job, Hoboken!

There are two major pride parades in NYC (#1): The one that most people know about in Midtown…read moreManhattan that is among the largest in the world (#2) and this one in Jackson Heights, Queens. Just knowing the festival has a presence in the borough gives me a new appreciation for my former home. In years past, it's been as colorful of a festival as any. There are costumes, a fun cast of characters, games, photo opps, lots of music, and a lot going on in every direction. Daytime is usually the best time, before the rainbow bars across Roosevelt become a filled to the brim at night. The parade route is somewhat minimal, but the conviviality is no less diminished. The festival has taken a bit of a hiatus in the last couple of years but it's making a roaring comeback on June 5th of this year. It's not the same animal as the one in Manhattan, but an important event in the borough no less. I hope they do it bigger and badder than ever before. (#3) ____________ (#1) At least before the pandemic. (#2) https://www.yelp.com/biz/lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-pride-parade-new-york (#3) With more food, please?

The Queens Pride Parade & Festival is always a great, fun time but we need better food options!…read moreThere are plenty of food trucks parked here but the options are all the same: meat on a stick or arepa.

Livingsocial sure knows how to put together an event. No, I mean seriously…read more I went to the noon Beerfest on Saturday 9/15 and for $45, we got a 5oz plastic glass with unlimited pours of 50+ different types of beer. The venue was Skylight One Hanson (née Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower) and they really played up the bank motif. Beer was served at bank teller windows, there was a dance party in the giant vault downstairs, and... I guess that was about it. But it was friggin' awesome. At some point, most of the brewers just stopped collecting tickets for drinks (they were free and unlimited anyway), but some reps were sticklers. A lot of other super-fun activities were going on - real grass flooring in the basement, giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, regular sized cornhole, a big ass inflatable couch (that me and my friends almost destroyed, much to the dismay of the security guard helplessly watching), giant beer pong with trash cans and bouncy balls, a First Aid station, access to the balcony above and the backyard where there were food trucks and porta-potty's. The lines for the food trucks did get atrocious by mid-afternoon. Also, for some reason Halal Paradise was there (the truck perpetually parked on 4th avenue outside of the Pacific St station). The porta-potty lines also sucked, but I ended up walking back to my apartment three blocks away to go to the bathroom instead and later realized the basement bathroom lines (for dudes) were pretty manageable. All in all, an amazing event. I now have faith in Livingsocial to throw events. Their staff and volunteers were also amazingly friendly and helpful. And I don't know if there's a prettyness qualification on the job application, but most of those staff members were certified cuties. And last but not least, my favorite beers that I tried! -Greenport Harbor Black Duck Porter -Allagash Black -Weyerbacher Autumnfest -Breckenridge Agave Wheat -Ballast Point Pale Ale

This was executed way better than I thought it would turn out. The event sold out fairly quickly…read morewithin a few days online and I fully expected this to be a cluster fuck walking in. Alas, the line upon entering went incredibly fast. Tickets were given at the front doors to dispense into whichever bucket at the plethora of stalls for a sample to your discretion. The wonderful bit, you could go back to the pearly gates for more tickets whenever you ran out. An awesome selection of music and djing and a unique selection of brews with even a few wines and ciders. Even a free oyster and pretzel for the road. There were food trucks outside that I didn't take advantage of but they had some interesting choices and the korean taco truck and melt grilled cheese was definitely tempting. The only true complaint was that we had to go outside and use porto-potties. I hate porto-potties. But it gave us an excuse to drink outside and get away from the crowds at least. Never did I wait in a line and you had your mini quarter pint glass to go around with you for the adventure. Skylight One Hanson is a beautiful building and they did a great job at hosting. There was even a game room in the basement and the balconies upstairs were open with a few additional booths. No one was exceptionally rowdy or obnoxious. I'd definitely do it again next year! Last Note: Living Social Beer Fest win. Googa Mooga Epic Fail AGAIN Booyah!

Meatopia 2011 was definitely a success! I was nervous after reading reviews of the 2010 event and…read moreafter attending a similar poorly planned event this past Memorial Day on Governor's Island. However, my fears were for naught since the event was well run and inexplicably enjoyable. Our tickets were the $85 variety, which came with a 5:30pm entry, all you can eat samples from the vendors, and $7 beer for purchase (Amstel Light, anyone?? 'cause that was the only choice, but a decent one). Vendors really did a nice job of providing well thought out samples that were typically a substantial 5-7 bites in size, but I take small bites so maybe more like 3-5 for most. Nearly everything we sampled was decadent and delicious from farms and restaurants from around the tri-state area and the country. Thank goodness the weather on Saturday was beautiful since there weren't really any rain-out options which I was aware of. The day was really beautiful (excruciatingly hot, but beautiful!) and the views of the NYC skyline from Pier 5 were not to be missed as the sun set over New Jersey. Overall, if you're going to pick an expensive "all you can eat" festival, this one definitely gets a thumbs up!

The second Meatopia event was awesome fun. I didn't attend their first one in 2010, but based on a…read morefriend's feedback and the many changes instituted between last year and this year, the organizers clearly made tremendous effort to improve the event. We commuted by subway and joined the crowds making their way to the harbor. The event was on spacious Pier 5, a yet unfinished pier in Brooklyn Bridge Park, and another sneak peek to what this park will offer when completed. We got our bracelets and a directory and headed into the pier where over 40 chefs/restaurants have booths set up, turning out a meat-centric food item in single-serving sizes. The portions are great for one person but often big enough to actually share with someone so you can fit more in. There were usually no lines at most booths, the people accessible for chatting, and everyone amenable to picture-taking. Very cool to see the meat grilling at many booths and the food prep going fast and furious. Quite pleased to see Yelp (a sponsor) with a booth. There was also a butcher competition and culinary demo schedule that went on most of the evening. I only stopped by to see Michael White demonstrate how his porchetta is made; the mirror atop the station was perfect for viewing the action. I enjoyed most of the foods I tried, although not everything was wow, and ironically some restaurants that I love served up a so-so item at Meatopia. But great fun trying out all these things, Some highlights for me were Kefi's Greek lamb offal, Beast's glazed beef cheeks, ilili's lamb ribs, Pat LaFrieda's Angus steer, Hurricane Club's duck, Sip Sak's Turkish lamb on rice, La Esquina's veal breast taco, and Animal's BBQ chicken hearts. Whole Food's hibiscus soda was amazingly refreshing and I was so excited to see Capogiro gelato (one of my favorite gelato makers!). Again, organization was excellent. Plentiful Fiji water and Honeydrop tea stands, along with several beer stations. Utensils and napkins at every booth, trash cans emptied regularly. There wasn't really enough seating, but you can treat it more like a street fair, where you dine on the go. And the views all around of the NYC skyline are fantastic. Looking forward to Meatopia 2012 and hope its in a location as good as this!

Disappointing. The event boasts loads of vendors and food, but it was booths set up in the loading…read moredock area of Nassau Colliseum. Pulled pork vendor and pretzels and pickles, that's it. Lots of different wines and spirits to taste but most of the wines had long lines and gave you less than an ounce of wine to taste. Only one beer vendor, that filled your glass with mostly head, and charged $5 if you wanted a solo cup of beer. I gave two stars because there was axe throwing set up ( $10 for 5 throws ) and a decent wine selection. Lots of "vendor" booths for Anderson windows and tax grievance eyc, it's like you paid to be solicited. Not worth the ticket price. Went to the Nassau Coliseum event on 01/25, I think another reviewer went to a diff event at a diff location.

I've gone to this festival 3 years in a row! The staff is great, there are a bunch of vendors who…read morepour and educate the staff. It's a fun time in the winter season when there is nothing else much going on!

What an AWESOME event. Sure, you'll gain more than just a few pounds, but in the end it's worth…read moreevery inch added to the belt line. This event should be a must visit for all foodies in NYC, especially since there's free food and drinks going around. The price of admission can be a bit steep at $100 for just general admission, but for the lucky folks who score free tickets, it's a no brainer to attend. I was lucky enough to score 2 free tickets on Yelp a few weeks prior to the event and my wife and I made sure our calendar was open the day of. The 2018 event, which took place at Governor's Island, was easily accessible by ferry (either at 10 South Street in Manhattan or Pier 6 in Brooklyn). All ferry rides were free before 12pm and we were fortunate that the 11:30am from Pier 6 was running late that Saturday so we were able to hop on for free. The event ran from 12:30-5:00pm and they were on point with starting it on time, with the early admission guests already stuffing their faces full of truck food. To summarize, the event was heaven to our stomachs. There were 25 vendors in total. Unfortunately, we didn't get to visit them all, despite arriving when general admission guests were allowed in, however, I would say we were MORE than satisfied by the time we left. When we first arrived, it was moderately crowded, however about 1-2 hours into the event the grounds were packed. Some food lines became long, but manageable at about 5-10 minutes. There were only about 2-3 lines, at the peak, where the wait for their food was 20-30 minutes. I can't say that every truck was spectacular, as even free food has standards. But I will say the food taste a lot better when it is free :D. Some contenders definitely stood out over others and some were sadly overshadowed by the long lines of others and got lost in the fray. There were a few times I went up to a food truck simply because there was no one clamoring for their food and I wanted to give them some support. Throughout the event, there were also plenty of take home freebies, including bottled/canned beverages and nutritional bars. T-shirts, tote bags and other goodies were also being sold in the middle of the grounds. We didn't stay for the announcement of the winners, but we were so thankful we cleared our calendar to attend. The atmosphere was lively, with a DJ blaring music, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood. We encountered no issues from any of the vendors and they seemed to be more than happy to be serving their delicious food to the crowds. It was a fantastic event and nowhere else would we have had the opportunity to try out all of these food trucks in 1 day. We will definitely be looking out for them in the future on the streets of NYC!

As good as it gets! TLDR I first heard about the Vendy Awards three years ago and didn't get the…read morechance to go until this year! Tip #1: Definitely get there early! You can enjoy the island for a bit and also get to try the food vendors before the 12:30 GA crowd boards the ferry over from Manhattan. Duly noted. Tip #2: I saw a couple carrying the bottom of what used to hold some kinda of soda cans...to act as a tray for all the different vendors they were trying (each vendor gives either small cups, paper boat trays or compostable bowls). It was such a smart trick I have to try it next year! It was hard to take photos and hold more than two trays of food in the other hand. Seating: There were a good amount of seats and tables here! As long as you didn't mind the hovering hornets (they tended to prefer sweets and wine) then it was actually pretty convenient because some of the dishes did require you to sit down to enjoy them. Weather: It was a cloudy day with fall weather so it was really enjoyable! Food (there were over 20 vendors and I didn't try all of them so I'm just going to mention the ones I liked/voted/remembered for): -Burmese Bites- they were competing for the Vendy Cup and boy did I get why! Their dish took a while to prepare as they were giving amounts of coconut curry chicken with noodles, mango salad and some kind of pancake; all in one tray. I've never tried coconut curry before and I can say that I might be a fan! The pancake was crispy and packed with beef or pork filling which was really good. -JAK: I was looking forward to their appearance here being a fan of minced pork over rice. I mean they delivered on the flavor but the proportion of rice to pork was large (tablespoon of pork over 1/3 cup of rice) -Bonsai Kakigori- I think I finally know why this place is so popular. They put effort into creating each little sample cup. Making sure to have each layer with condensed milk and then putting on the toppings of candied nuts and lemon peel by hand. It was a work of art really cuz they put so much effort into each little cup! Also they had prettyy long lines for most of the day -Obelas- I honestly felt bad for this booth because they were situated near the really popular Bonsai Kakigori but this booth offered up a simple dessert that wasn't too sweet and nice and crunchy! -Baonanas- love love love banana pudding! It was really good I went back for seconds here! -Twister Cake- I had seen them at Queens Night Market but didn't think I could finish a whole twister cake by myself...so being able to sample a few pieces here was great! It was nice and crispy! -Khao Man Gai- the chicken was sour...is it supposed to be? This booth offered up a lot of food too. A whole plate of chicken and rice with a small cup of some kind of chicken soup. -D'Abruzzo- never had lamb that was this nice and tender before! Maybe it's the fact that it was skewered and not overcooked? This was a surprise for me and I voted for them! The flavor was smoky. -King David Taco- nice breakfast BPEC burrito to start off the eating event! Had a bit of bacon, potatoe, egg and cheese. I liked how they had them all pre-wrapped and ready to hand out.