A party and a harvest
Lately I’ve had this thing where things happen in bunches. But since I can’t really have separate food events in their separate posts, they’ll just both converge here. A few days ago I read about the Edible Manhattan magazine launch party. It sounded cool, and for $10 dollars, probably the cheapest party you could find with food and booze. And the second half of this post will focus on Harvest on the Square, which was a fund raiser for Union Square. The ticket for that was north of $100. I couldn’t afford that one, but even from the outside, it was a good time.
I haven’t actually read Edible Manhattan magazine but the party had two things going for it. It featured food from vendors I normally would not visit and it was just $10 bucks. If you’re doing the math at home, that’s three orders of dim sum at most places, but just 1.5 at Chinatown Brasserie. This kind of deal appeals to other people as well. When I went, it looked like 90% of the people were on some sort of a list. Of the ten people ahead of me in line, no one else actually bought their ticket at the door.
There were many vendors there giving out generous food samples. Russ and Daughters was on hand to to give out lox and bagels. Hoboken Farms was there with mozerella that was made earlier that day. Both were tasty and delicious.
Il Brigante was on hand and demonstrating their pizza tossing prowess. Head over to Blondie and Brownie if you want to see a video of the pizza tossing. It’s quite a site while you’re in line waiting for some grub. Speaking of grub, the former editor of Grub St, Josh Ozersky, was there too. Yes, sneaky blurry shot, but that’s how it goes when it’s dark.
Heritage Foods was there with some pulled pork and ribs. They were somewhat enjoyable. They put this horseradish mayo that overpowered the pulled pork. Donut Planet was there with a wide variety of donuts. I sampled a few, and the coconut with coconut cream hit the spot along with the chocolate donut.
I wish all food events were just $10 dollars to attend, but alas… not to be. The Harvest in the Square fund raiser was a wee bit out of my price range. I was in the park already and had the chance to take some pictures of what was happening.
We’ll start with a blurry paparazzi shot of Lisa Fernades of Top Chef fame. Really, I need to get better as a paparazzi at these things.
When Lisa walked to the entrance, there was Ted Allen, a Top Chef judge. They seemed happy to see each other. I can tell you right now, that it feels super creepy to take shots like this from far away. I don’t know how a paparazzi can get used to stuff like this. Maybe it’s different if they’re posing for you on the red carpet. But if you’re from the outside stalkering in, then you just feel like your intruding. Yea so why am I posting the pictures if I felt like a stalker? Um, because I ran out of real food entries this week.
Around 6:30pm, a group of protesters came around to bang on pots and pans. They caused quite a ruckus and attracted the police. For the most part, none of the party goers took notice. They were too busy eating probably. One man in a suit looked like he was in charge of security. He tried to scale the wall to talk to the police and protesters. It resulted in ultimate fail as he lost his footing and fell flat on his face. It’s kind of mean to laugh at someone else breaking his face, but even the security guard pushing him up had a laugh. Look close, he’s immediately to the left of Ultimate Fail, and he had a toothy grin.
Later they arrested preacher man and took him off in a van.
The protesters were led by a dude dressed like a preacher. He had 80’s hair. He’s quite passionate about the restaurant being built in Union Square Park north. Honestly, I’m not sure why he’s so angry. Sometimes after sitting in the park, I just want some food. This is also New York City; if I want parks and greenery, I’d move to Portland. Maybe all the hair products he uses is starting to seep through his skull.
Posted by Danny on September 19, 2008 at 3:58 pm
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