Hall Of Heroes

For 7 years now, The Jamaican Jerk Festival has brought together some of the best in island music and food. In a time where music/food festivals seem to hop the bullet train to corporate run monsters, this little indie festival guarantees true local flavor. Even though the title sponsor is one of the largest producers of West Indian food products, you can’t rattle the “real” out of the 5 borough Caribbean community. This year will be the biggest, best and booyakasha of all years with Barrington Levy anchoring the vibes and a quarter mile of jerk stands to spice up the day. Appropriately hosted by our new home borough in Roy Wilkins Park, take the E train to Jamaica center and then get cozy up on the Q5 bus. We promise a Sunday adventure in sound, culinary and transit. Sunday, July 23rd from 12-8pm in Queens, NY.

Everybody loves a young gun. You know, those underdogs that are full of hustle and grind. The ones that have everything to prove but nothing to lose. Back in my MadMen days the Young Guns were Art Directors putting out the best creative they could muster. This isn’t that different in the “best” and “creative” departments. The plus up is, you can eat all this creativity. The Eater Young Guns Summit is set up to showcase, educate and head-to-head some of the best up-and-comers in the biz. Paired with some snacks by the likes of Pies and Thighs, King David Tacos and a handful of others the programming is top notch tasty. A roster of conversations are also part of the day. Amy Sedaris, Alison Roman, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Solomonov and Ruby Tandoh will be doing some soap boxing on the future of dining and restaurant culture and most likely eating along side you. Saturday, July 27 from 10:30am – 7:00pm in Brooklyn. 

Year two of the Harlem Eatup is set to blow year one out of the proverbial special sauce. Broken up into dinners, main stage and grand tasting events then sprinkled with names you love like Flay, Emeril and Waxman, there’s something for ever foodie style. Plus, your in Harlem USA (as they say). Historic, reborn and ground zero for so many cultural transformations, and now food, just being up on the 125th is exciting. Make a day and a night of it. Go hungry and with your party shoes on. You just might end up on stage at the Apollo. You know you have it in ya. May 18-22 in Harlem, NYC.

Returning this year from last years launch, the Queens Night Market summons the foodie crowd out to Corona, arguably the heart of the original NYC food scene. While hovering over Peruvian, Dominican, Indian, Ecuadorian and Irish neighborhoods while on the 7 train, ready those tastebuds for a similar cultural explosion of food, drink and sometimes music. Jump off at the 111th St. station and head to towards Hall of Science parking lot. Don’t miss the shark sandos, chicken fried bacon and fresh Ecuadorian juices. Starting April 23rd on Saturdays from 6PM-Midnight @ New York Hall of Science in Queens.