An Undersung Food Neighborhood, Celebrate Local Craft Beverages, Rediscover Polish Vodka, + The Creepy Crawly Food of the Future
This time of year, it seems every neighborhood hosts a food festival. Now it's Sunnyside's turn. This residental neighborhood in Queens has some of the most undersung restaurants in the city. Tickets get you samples from a variety of restaurants like Tito Rad's Filipino barbecue and I Love Paraguay, the only Paraguayan restaurant in the city. Also expect live music, raffles, and drinks from local breweries (Big Alice, Queens Brewery), cideries, and wineries.
We are well aware at how exciting and diverse the local New York craft brewing, distilling, winemaking, and cider scene has become. Head down to Pier A to bask in and sip the exciting craft beverages available from local producers - including Yonkers Brewing, Aaron Burr Cider, NY Distilling, Brooklyn Winery, and over 50 other producers.
In the craft cocktail world, vodka is less appreciated than fuller flavored whiskies and rums, but it's time to get a better grasp on the history and culture of this remarkable spirit. Hear the story of Elizabeth Koszarski-Skrabonja whose family brought a taste of different vodkas (including rye vodka and bison grass vodka) to the growing New York Polish community. Sample Polish bites and learn the history of this local community.
As crops and cattle are changing with the climate, we may have to turn to an alternative food to survive. Who's ready to eat bugs? Paleo and high in protein, they may just be the food of the future. Chef PV and Merci Mercado are focusing on four chaupline (grasshopper) recipes at Brooklyn Food Works that you can learn to prepare at home.