the weekend buzz

“Four Ways to Spend your Saturday! Taste of Tribeca, Bistro Crawl, Grilling 101 and Wines of Sicily!”

If you're not sure how to spend your Saturday afternoon, here are four different options -- hope one of them works for you! Enjoy!

1. Taste of Tribeca

Make brunch an afternoon affair at the Taste of Tribeca as over 60 of downtown’s restaurants, both classic and new on the block, such as The Odeon, Macao Trading Company, and Bar Artisanal, host an outdoor culinary festival to raise money to benefit local schools. To spice things up at 1 PM, two of Tribeca’s star chefs, Amanda Freitag, executive chef of The Harrison, and Kurt Gutenbrunner, chef/owner of Wallsé, Café Sabarsky and Blaue Gans, will face off in an Iron Chef style American Lamb Cook-Off. “Top Chef’s” Gail Simmons and Mr. Cutlets (Josh Ozersky, restaurants editor for Citysearch), will judge the dishes and announce a winner. Amongst other live entertainment, musical acts and a wine tour, there is nothing better I can think of for a sunny May afternoon.

The festival kicks off at 11:30 AM and goes until 3 PM and is located at Duane Street between Greenwich and Houston. $40 Tickets bought in advance, or $45 purchased day of, will get you six tastings and access to the American Lamb Cook-Off. Premium seating and table reservation packages are available starting at $175 and up and include amenities such as food runners, gift bags and more.

To purchase advance tickets and attain additional information, please visit http://tasteoftribeca.org.

—Dara Levine

2. The Bistro Crawl

Picture a foodie’s version of The Amazing Race crossed with a good old-fashioned pub crawl with more sophistication and we present to you the Benoit & City Harvest Bistro Crawl hosted on Saturday, May 16th.  Grab your elastic waist pants, three friends and study up for an afternoon of crawling through some of New York’s finest French bistros including Artisanal Fromagerie and Bistro (2 Park Avenue), Brasserie Cognac (1740 Broadway), Cercle Rouge (241 West Broadway) and more, starting at 3 PM. Plot your route as you please, but be prepared to answer a question at each stop, relevant to the bistro that you are at, based on the history of food and drink. A correct answer wins you a token, but all will receive a bite to eat and a drink along the way.

To reward you for your travels, from 6-9 PM teams can feast at the “Finish Line Party” at Benoit (60 West 55th Street) as Chef Pierre Schaedelin’s prepares a lavish spread for all teams. The team with the most tokens when crossing the “Finish Line Party” will be awarded a grand prize that includes a dining experience at each of the participating bistros, well worth the challenge if you ask me.

Tickets cost $200 per team, each consisting of four people, and can be purchased by calling 917.351.8716 or online to www.cityharvest.org, which features a full listing of the participating bistros. Tickets include: Unlimited MTA day-pass and map, and a bistro packet (menus, addresses, bistro crawl map, and day-of contact number).

—Dara Levine

3. Learn to Grill at Wildwood Barbeque, 225 Park Avenue South at 18th St., 212-331-0328.

We’re entering the season of the grill, and to get your skills primed, Wildwood Barbeque’s Executive Pitmaster “Big” Lou Elrose is teaching a class on grilling summer’s backyard favorites like grilled skirt steaks, tuna steaks and seasonal veggies. The demonstration-style class is held from 11:30am-2:30pm and includes lunch, beer pairings, and recipes for $65 per person plus tax and gratuity. For more information or to reserve your spot, contact events@brguestinc.com or 212-331-0328.

4. Wines of Sicily with The Wine Wise Guy

If you’re itching to learn about Sicilian wines, sign up for this Saturday’s wine seminar, Under the Sicilian Sun with The Wine Wise Guy Anthony Giglio from 1-4pm at De Gustibus Cooking School at Macy's Herald Square. Giglio, the renowned author and sommelier, is not your average wine educator. He’s hilarious and promises to make this afternoon of wine as entertaining as it is educational. His seminar takes you on a viticultural tasting tour of the best wines in Sicily, from Insolia to Nero d’Avola, sharing hilarious family stories, recipes and treats from his famiglia along the way. Tickets are $95 (wine, food all inclusive). To reserve your seat, and get more info, go to: http://www.degustibusnyc.com/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=45&func=details&did=116

And that’s your Strong (weekend) Buzz for this week! Be sure to check in with The Strong Buzz daily for more cutting edge news, reviews, events and more!

Share ! Post a comment