Good Beer by Edible Manhattan

This Oyster Festival is near and dear to my childhood heart. I learned how to swim with oysters under my feet. Since I was 10 his festival, named after the bi-valve and the town I grew up in, has taken over the small North Shore Long Island village. Back then, a few buses of people would amount to 10,000 people over the three-day extravaganza. Now in its 32nd year, 200, 000 attendees flock to what was my sleepy hamlet on the bay. It’s fair to call it BIG TIME. The food vendors now require a food court. There’s a seafood themed shopping pavilion. Music is no longer sourced from the high school band talent. Of course, there are plenty of competitive eating bouts. Most oysters, fastest oysters, biggest oysters, they all get prizes and make for some crowd roars. Being an insider, I tend to hang back. Belly up at one spot and let the action unfold around me. Give it a try. October 15 – 16 Weekend in Oyster Bay, NY.

Washing down a big bite of food with a comparable gulp of wine has long been a top pastime of the whole FT Crew. So much so that we’ve come to know the difference between a 2 Buck Chuck and a grape grown in Montalcino. Although they both have a place in our wine cellar (read closet), learning more never hurts. The Brooklyn Wine Fest does this learning thing in the non-snooty, approachable, fun kind of way. I guess you’d expect this from a Brooklyn born wine festival but the legacy of stodgy wine makers is still a hard ship to turn. The organizers have broken these stalwarts down and curated a producers list that will make everyone punchdrunk happy. In addition to the 50+ wineries repping their grape juice there’s some on point food to help coat that belly. Heavy hitters like the Mac Truck, Luke’s Lobster and the Brooklyn Oyster Party, just to name a few, will help you savor every wine wheel tagged sip. Time management alert, the day is broken up into two sessions. (12-4 and 5:30-9) Our advice is, BIG brunch, go early, pace yourself, no spitting and stay until the sun is gone. You’ll be fine. Enjoy yourself and stop by Dandelion Wines post fest to try your new knowledge out. Lily and team will be waiting to help. Saturday, October 28th from 12-9:30 in Brooklyn.

Set in the incredible and manicured 50-acre gardens of this English country estate you’d be hard pressed to find a better setting then Sandon Spring Fair for a food and craft weekend in April. Of course there might be some travel involved. Just 45 minutes out of London (7h 45min from NYC) the grounds transform into a global street food cornucopia and a craft market featuring artisans from all over the isle. If a reprieve is necessary, afternoon tea is quintessentially available inside the majestic, 162 year old hall itself. While inside make sure to explore a little and enjoy the beauty of the building but be careful the Harrowby family still operates part of it as their home.

Hey Americano! You may know these as Disco Fries. Just know the best late night cheese fry and brown gravy throwdown you’ve ever had can’t hold a candle to a proper Canadian poutine. It’s all about the curds. Double that up with old town Montreal, one of the prettiest of North American city waterfronts, and you’re two goals to a hat trick. (It’s hockey country. Yes, even in the summer) That third goal can be scored in two ways. The best strip clubs north of the Dade County line (not recommended) or a post poutine cocktail crawl up Boulevard St. Laurent to the Plateau. Whatever your evening entails, be certain The Great Montréal PoutineFest will blow your taste buds into a Nova Scotian Noreaster and prime your belly for an evening of mixologist guided, gastro-debouchery. June 29th – July 3rd in Montreal.