Midnight Markets vary in size and the schedule feels arbitrary, but the July 4th fest is impressive…read moreto stand on its own regardless of music or fireworks. I'm not a World Cup guy but they've set up a delightful event on Magnolia Ave. with big screens and no pressure to buy anything. With four dinner-type vendors plus some desserts it's no Smorgasburg but of course four dinners is enough for most folks. The Super Savage Burger at Savage Burgers was a rare one-and-done for me so I didn't get to try the Going Bananas banana flight.

First time at Midnight Market and I got VIP tickets. The VIP area was pretty packed with the…read moreafter-work crowd, but it had a cute bar in the back called The District--I tried the lavender spritz, and if you love lavender like I do, it's a must. -196 also had a booth with lemon vodka seltzer, which was interesting. There were a lot of food vendors, but I recommend walking around first, some spots sold out of items I wanted. I tried the shrimp, crab, and cheese spring rolls from Rell's Kitchen--so good and a great size (I wish I got two!). The birria spring roll from Stop Drop N Roll was also top tier. The spinach and cheese roll was decent. I had to get some veggies in lol. To wash it all down, I got a strawberry colada from Aqua Frescas Juice... definitely tasted like diabetes in a cup. lol. Midnight Market was definitely a good vibes. I didn't see where they had roller skates but the miniature golf was fun.

Go to the flying pie guy! This place is so original and the pie ideas are ingenious. Pair that with…read morea beer and you're ready to go! Live music, stuff for kids, & pet friendly don't miss out!

The lines weren't crazy = winning. Nice variety of vendors,…read moremusic and beer - what more could you ask for? I will definitely be back next year with the fam!

Note: Schedules/locations are updated at https://www.japanfes.com/newyork/2026…read more Always on weekends, and always on a handful of blocks, this is a very popular and very crowded Japanese food festival. From previous years, the space was very cramped, but at least this year, on the Upper East Side earlier today, it wasn't as bad as usual, as it seems some stuff was actually spread out for once. There are a couple of vendors who are commonly there, such as Karl's Balls, a takoyaki/octopus ball stand, among others. New for me this year was Mochi Mochi Sisters, which had various types of mochi, as per the name. This included fruit-filled ones (mango/peach/pineapple) for $3, larger daifuku for $5 to $6, depending on type and filling, or a single skewer of Mitarashi Dango for $5. I got the latter one, and I regretted it a bit even outside of the price, as it lacked any char, though at least the sugar/soy sauce syrup wasn't super sweet. Another newcomer was Chotto Matcha, which unfortunately only made matcha lattes, so I wasn't interested. I thought of getting some $5 broth from Menya Jiro, but in hindsight, I'm happy I didn't based on reviews. It's a fun thing to check out, but the prices are laughable.

I had so much fun at Japan Fes and ate so much good food. I enjoyed learning about Japanese…read moreculture. The festival did not only have food, but they had music, games, and art. There were a lot of vendors there. I was able to try Japanese dishes like onigiri, inari zushi, yakitori, gyoza, karaage, and the katsu sando. I had sweet treats like mochi, tanghulu fruit candies, and the delicious ube soufflé pancake. They also had refreshing drinks and different matcha vendors. I plan to go to Japan Fes every year. The festival is throughout the year in different boroughs in NYC and ends in December 5th.

The first ever Propeller Festival in Hoboken's Pier A park was fantastic. Other than a ticketing…read moresnafu that kept attendees waiting for an hour early in the day to get in, everything was great. The skyline of the city provided a great backdrop to the festivities and talks on stage all day were pretty good. Food trucks provided the grub and while a larger variety and shorter lines would have been great, what was there was pretty good. The Naked and Famous closed the night on stage though the place cleared out a lot before they started. There was also a fairly lengthy delay before the music started, and beer sales ended a bit early, but it was still fun.

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!

It was that time of year again. It was the 8th Annual Taste of the Village. Which is a Food Event…read moreto help raise funds to remodel and maintain the Village. I was in attendance once again this year. There was unlimited beer from Brooklyn Lager and wine all over. Numerous restos and places in the Village were apart of this event: Alma 33 Amber Argo Tea Brooklyn Brewery Centro Vinoteca Citarella 8th Street Wine Cellar Fizzy Lizy Gizzi's Gusto Ristorante Jack Bistro Knickerbocker Bar & Grill La Palapa Cocina Mexicana Le Pain Quotidien Murray's North Square One If By Land Otto Enoteca Pizzeria Paumanok Wines Pellegrini ineyards Rabbit In The Moon Sushi Samba 7 Sushi Yawa The Lion The Nutbox Wolffer Estate Vineyard Great food such as Braised Veal, Lamb Sliders, Caviar Pie, Numerous Desserts, Sushi, Cheese and Soups. A very fun event for a good cause.

when my friend first told me that it was $50... I was like HECK NO. I'm a poor student trying to…read morespread $50 over a week. However... it was one of the best uses of $50 of my life. So many restaurants featured their dishes here. I won't go through and list all of them here, but as soon as I walked in, the first bite was a curried scallop and it was perfect. The night just continued with so much great food and we also got a lot of free stuff. Some foods weren't that great; however, there were like 30 different restaurants so if you don't like a few that's fine. I would definitely go again. Make sure you go when you are hungry, because you will be stuffed.

This event is declining. I attended this year after having a blast a couple of years ago. This…read moreyear, they had a very small selection of wines, so I found myself revisiting the same stations while we were there. The selection wasn't impressive. Seemed like they just purchased cases from the Wine and Spirits store and served it (I feel terrible for admitting that). In the past, you were lucky if you reached all of the stations in time. Also, there were few demonstrations. A nice addition was the food. The samples were amazing! I tasted some of the best nachos I've ever had - they were from Papi's in Brooklyn. I would rate it 5 stars from my first experience, but most recently, it's more like a 3. Second Glass, keep the food, add more wine and demonstrations. I understand that it comes at a price, but people love wine, so they'll probably pay it. Also, I'm not sure if we had the option to purchase the wines, but that would be a great addition for the people who showcase their wine. People will be nice, loose, and ready to buy some of the great wine if you give them the chance to. :)

Did you want to try 240 wines in one night? Wine Riot is a fun informal way to try wines from…read morearound the world. They had wines from California, Australia, France, Italy, Brooklyn, the Finger Lakes, Chile, New Zealand and Germany. Wine Riot had a fun theme for all the millennials: photo booths, a champagne station and temporary tattoos. My favorite wines were from Chile, New Zealand, Australia and France. And one wine from Germany. I loved the fruity fragrant Blue Nun from Germany. Very fragrant and sweet. Their wine station was decorated with fully bloomed purple orchids. Beautiful. Continuing on the sweet theme, Maison Marcel had this fresh crisp sweet rose blend from France that I loved. Maison Marcel tasted like a perfect digestif or great with a fresh fruit platter. My favorite of the night was the Quintay. The Quintay was buttery minerally rich Chardonnay from Chile. If I had a full pour of this, I would have been happy all night. We didn't even get to try the wines from Italy due to the long line. If you get there at 6pm, the crowd was large but well organized. People would sip, chat to the wine pourer and move on. Definitely eat something fatty before you start, to help slow down the alcohol absorption! Thankfully, me and K got grilled cheese sandwiches from the the Melt Shop, which definitely helped us retain our facilities! Also Cypress Grove cheese had a creamy gritty goat milk cheese (Midnight moon) and a truffle, black pepper, brie-like consistency goat cheese (Truffle Tremor). The cheeses were a great accompaniment with the white wines. Also stay hydrated with Vita Coco! Their booths gave free samples of flavored coconut water. Very helpful to replenish your electrolytes. Also keep taking small sips of water. Water pitchers were circulating to help keep you hydrated. I had a wonderful time with my friends and I really enjoyed trying so many varieties of wine. Thank you Yelp and Emily for tickets!

Unfortunately, the Rutherford Labor Day street Fair was cancelled due to the Pandemic in 2020 and…read morehas never resumed. I hope they bring it back,;it was the biggest yearly event and was great for everyone. They just need to get some funds together to restore it.

Super consistent every year! What's not to love about all the great restaurants along Park Ave…read morecoming together for a quick grab and go bites?? So starting down towards the train station is where most of the food vendors start, working your way up from there is all the antiques, clothing, books and more. I love to start at the top because I can work my way down to the goodies and work up an appetite. This year was SUPER hot, I always recommend triple checking the weather before bringing your pups. Saw a ton of them this year huffing and puffing and I felt terrible. It's a huge street fair and they will get tired. Even kids, bring a stroller. Make your life easier! The Rutherford library was out this year and I scored some awesome cookbooks for a dollar. I also snagged some fantastic homemade candles. I love the vendors that have dog treats and clothing, I always grab some sweet potato and chicken treats. Down to the food - the best bang for your buck is Red Basil. They always have a huge stand with 5 dollar options and 3 dollar appetizers to sample. So so tasty! Such a good way to try different things on their menu too. Materas on Park always has some fantastic pasta dish to go, this year they had penne vodka in a paper cone so you can walk and enjoy your carbs. What more can we ask for? The Cuban spot and Suprema also always cook up some delicious treats. You have your standard ice cream truck, hot dogs and typical fair food but stray outside the box and try some of the awesome cuisines they offer on Park Ave. The one bad thing is parking, after 11 am it's a MAD house. Just give yourself a good half an hour to be patient and find a spot.