Edible Events: December 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…

Fest of the Best (12/3): Back for it’s second year, Thrillist’s “Fest of the Best” honors the winners of this hip website’s best in food categories.  And for $75, attendees get to sample all of the award-winning creations, from NYC’s Best Burger (Saxon + Parole’s maple bacon and havarti-topped patty), to the Best Seafood (the Maine-style shrimp rolls from Luke’s Lobster), to Best Mac and Cheese (Delaware & Hudson’s potato chip-crusted noodles), the Best Dessert — a tasty trifecta of ooey gooey butter cake, chocolate milk and cookies, and pretzel-studded munchies ice cream from Ample Hills.

Cookies for Kids Cancer (12/5): An afternoon of sweet fun supporting pediatric cancer research, dessert maven Christina Tosi hosts this annual fundraising event.  In addition to live entertainment, cookie and cupcake decorating stations, arts and crafts and yes, even cocktails for the adults, tickets include all-you-can-eat cookies from a roster of NYC’s most exceptional pastry chefs, including Karen DeMasco’s Lemon-Lime Snickerdoodles, Bien Cuit’s Chocolate Buckwheat Cookies, Pies ’n’ Thighs S’mores Blondies, and Linzer Newtons courtesy of Jen Yee from the Patisserie at Lafayette.

Meatball & Beer Chowdown (12/6): When you think of traditional holiday eats, foamy pints of beer and red sauce-sloshed meatballs probably don’t spring to mind. But since you’ll probably be suffering serious tastebud fatigue when it comes to sugar cookies and potato pancakes (see our other event listings) by season’s end, why not diverge from the expected with tickets to Time Out New York’s inaugural chowdown?  $35 tickets will allow you to feast on five different meatballs, from Crave.it, Houston Hall, The Ainsworth, Brother Jimmy’s BBQ and Atwood Kitchen & Bar Room, all accompanied by craft brews from Greenpoint Beer Works.

The 7th Annual Latke Festival (12/7): Raise your own potato pancake game by purchasing $65 tickets to this fun latke face-off.  Top local chefs and restaurants will battle it out to win both judge and audience approval for their unique, Hanuk,ah inspired creations, with past participants including Japanese Sweet Potato and crispy chestnut, Duck Rillette and truffle, Green Tomato and horseradish, and schmaltz-fried Celeriac and Chopped Liver latkes, from contenders like Taboon, Veselka, Toloache and
Shelsky’s.

Brooklyn Cookie Takedown (12/12 + 13): Being that cookies are one of the most seminal sweets of the holiday season, it makes sense that they’re the subject of this month’s Brooklyn Takedown — a series of competitions that allow at-home chefs to strut their culinary stuff.  Divided over two days, it’s only $20 to partake (and judge) a massive array of treats, from Sriracha Pinwheels to Twisted Sister Samoas, accompanied by bottomless glasses of eggnog.

The 7th Annual Winter Ball (12/12): Make like Cinderella this holiday, by
attending this honest to goodness winter ball, held at the Academy Mansion across from the Central Park Zoo.  Formal dress is required for this ultra-festive event, which includes live jazz and holiday music, a premium open bar, savory light fare, sweet treats, and even a visit from Santa Claus.  VIP tickets ($275), even include access to the Jazz Age Tea Dance the next day, featuring a spread of exotic teas, bespoke cocktails and gourmet food carts, at the historic Webster Hall.