Edible Events: October 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!

NYC Craft Coffee Festival (Oct. 3rd): Who doesn’t love coffee?  Seriously, who? Held at the Villain space in Williamsburg as the official kickoff to NYC Coffee Week, this immersive event features 20 specially curated roasters and coffee shops, including Café Grumpy, Public Espresso, Dean’s Beans and The Kopi Trading Company, handing out samples and giving demonstrations, accompanied by live musical performances from Talibah Safiya and the Nat Osborn Band.

Cheers NY (Oct. 3-4th): Taking place at the exciting, ever-expanding artisan hub of Industry City, $50 tickets to this first annual craft and beverage food festival include unlimited tastes from local vendors, such as JoMart Chocolates, Damascus Bakery and Pelzers Pretzels, as well as access to an outdoor beer hall, sponsored by Red Hook favorite, Sixpoint.

Let Us Eat Local Benefit (Oct. 5th): A tasting benefit in support of Just Food, which empowers and supports community members in their effort to increase access to locally-grown food in underserved neighborhoods, this 8-year-strong event features a VIP Oyster and Cocktail Hour with Grand Army, Grand Banks and L&W Oyster Co., as well as participation from a serious slew of restaurants, including ABC Cocina, Franny’s, L’Apicio, Riverpark, Rouge Tomate, Telepan, and many, many more.

Slice Out Hunger (Oct. 7th): All dollar slices are not created equal, especially when you’re talking about the pizza participants at Slice Out Hunger — an organization that’s raised almost 70,000 since 2009, for its mission to fund hunger relief throughout the country.  During their upcoming annual event, almost 50 of New York’s most esteemed pie shops will dish out tastes of their creations for only $1 each — think DiFara’s, Lombardi’s, Totonno’s, Rubirosa, Roberta’s, Nicoletta and more.

NYC Wine and Food Festival (Oct. 15-18th): Arguably the biggest food festival of the year, this collaboration between the Food Network and Food & Wine features four straight days of panel discussions, workshops, culinary competitions walk-around tastings and one-of-a-kind dinners — think a tailgate party with Joe Namath and Mario Batali, an edible collaboration between April Bloomfield and Amanda Cohen, Rachael Ray’s always sold out “Burger Bash,” and “Homebrewing 101” with the team from Bitter and Esters.

Food and Film Festival (Oct. 22-25th): Taste what you see on screen at this one-of-a-kind event; a competitive film festival featuring dishes directly inspired by those movies.  This year’s official selections include “Baby Got Kale,” “Ravioli Perfection,” “Food Warriors,” “Hungry for Love,” and “Cocolo Ramen,” which investigates the growing, Japanese soup noodle craze in Berlin — so patrons can definitely expect snacks that go well above your standard popcorn, nachos and Diet Sprite.