Edible Events: August 2015

There are all manner of fun, food events taking place in New York on a daily basis — from lavish, charity-driven galas to crowded, walk-around tastings and an endless array of pop-ups.  But unless you have the time and money to party seven days a week, you’ll have to be somewhat discerning about what goes onto your calendar.  So here are just a few worthy food celebrations we recommend getting tickets (or making reservations) for now.

Taste on the Beach (8/7): Plan a getaway to Long Beach for this fantastic food and film event, with a portion of proceeds from each $100 ticket benefiting The Long Beach Food & Friendship INN (a local soup kitchen).  Guests will walk down a red carpet and onto the pristine beach, for craft beer, wine, delicious eats, live music, and a series of short films from around the world, screened inside a custom-built movie theatre erected right on the sand!

Brooklyn Beer & Wine Fest (8/14-15): This two-day affair is taking place at Restoration Plaza in Bed Stuy, with $20 tickets guaranteeing 15 free, 3-oz tastes from over 50 artisan beer and wine purveyors, access to many of New York’s most sought-after food vendors, and top tunes from the 70’s and 80’s, played by two dynamic DJ’s.

Jazz Age Lawn Party (8/15-16): Don your Roaring Twenties-inspired finest, and shimmy your way to Governor’s Island, for their annual summer weekend of prohibition-era revelry.  Activities include dance lessons (best to bone up on your Charleston for the competition immediately following), a pie bake-off, a vintage portrait studio, a bathing beauties and beaus promenade, and a 1920’s motorcar exhibition, accompanied by St. Germain signature cocktails, and a Clover Club collection from the incomparable Julie Reiner, such as the “Flappers Delight” with elderflower liquor, juniper and mint.

Blues BBQ (8/22): Close out the summer in style at this free, annual event along Hudson River Park, featuring one of our favorite seasonal eats (i.e., barbecue), accompanied by the ultimate, swinging soundtrack (the blues).  Artists include the Otis Taylor Band, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, and the Ed Palermo Big Band, and there will be smoked, sauce-slathered meat to spare, from barbecue heavyweights like Delaney and Dinosaur.

Governor’s Island Seafood and Music Beach Party (8/22): Governor’s Island is evidently the happening place to be this August! So don’t worry if you can’t make the Jazz Age Lawn Party, as this seafood soiree is taking place at the 172-acre inlet the weekend after.  $60 will cover admission to a funky reggae dance party on the beach, as well as an extensive seafood dinner, including Lobster Rolls, Steamed Clams and Fried Calamari.

Tomato Dinner with Joseph Leonard (8/26): Brooklyn Grange hosts some of the very best dinner parties in the city, at their sprawling, rooftop farm situated high above the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  And this August, they’re welcoming in West Village favorite, Joseph Leonard, to kick off their annual September Tomato Fest with a bang, by offering attendees a scrumptious, seriously seasonal, all-tomato dinner, celebrating the highly versatile fruit in all of its many shapes and sizes.