New York City’s favorite sightseeing cruise, Circle Line, welcomes locals and visitors to kick off the season with a Brews Cruise craft beer tasting event on the Hudson River. A beer festival like no other, Circle Line’s Brews Cruise on Sunday, June 9 will offer guests a unique taste of the city with sights and suds from eight local New York breweries including:
Brews Cruise guests can look forward to sampling 16 craft beers accompanied by a delicious BBQ-themed menu, live DJ entertainment, and a branded tasting glass to sip from onboard and bring back to shore as a keepsake. All brews, bites, and beats will be enjoyed with breathtaking panoramic views of the New York City skyline and iconic landmarks, making this event one that’s not to be missed. Guests can opt to take Circle Line’s Brews Cruise to the next level with a Premier ticket including all the above perks with an added hour of private beer tasting, special hard-to-find beers from the brewers, and exclusive access to the boat’s third deck.
The Brews Cruise is just one of several specialty cruises offered by Circle Line throughout the season. Dance your way through summer with the Rockin’ the River Music Cruises featuring live bands from Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience (Thursday, June 27) to Classic Stones ‘The Greatest Rock and Roll Tribute in the World’ (Thursday, August, 29). And cruise to the beat with the Summer DJ Series featuring amazing DJs from Steve Lawler (Friday, June 7) to Hernan Cattaneo (Saturday, August 24).
The Circle Line Brews Cruise will set sail on Sunday, June 9, 2019. Prices start at $69 for Standard tickets and $99 for Premium. The first lucky fifty to book their Brews Cruise tickets online will receive a $10 discount on standard or VIP tickets with the promo code BEER10. Boarding at Pier 83 on Manhattan’s West Side will begin at 1pm for VIPs and 1:30pm for standard, with departure at 2pm and return at 4:30pm. Guests must be 21+ to cruise; all individuals must purchase a ticket; there are no infant or child rates; no outside food or beverages allowed on board.
For more information or to book the Brews Cruise, contact Circle Line at 212-563-3200 or click here.
In honor of Taste of Tribeca’s25th iteration we chatted with four people involved: Tracy Nieporent, Director of Marketing & Partner of the Myriad Restaurant Group whose restaurant Tribeca Grill has been part of the event since its inception, Franco Vlasic, Owner of Holy Ground, Matt Abramcyk, Owner of A Summer Day both of which are joining the festival this year, and Bettina Teodoro, co-chair of Taste of Tribeca.
Downtown: What does it mean to have been part of this event for its whole life?
Tracy Nieporent: It’s very meaningful for Tribeca Grill to be celebrating 25 years as an original participant in Taste of Tribeca. That’s a quarter century, which is a significant amount of time in everyone’s life! The Tribeca neighborhood has changed and evolved in many ways over these years. The Tribeca Grill has been the site of many memorable celebrations, and the Taste of Tribeca gives us the opportunity to support our local public schools in a festive setting with our neighbors.
Downtown: How did you get involved in the first place?
Pastry Chef Stephane Motir of Tribeca Grill. Photo by Shintaro Ueyama.
TN: Tribeca Grill is now in its 29th year, and has always been civic-minded in supporting a wide variety of charitable causes. We have a deep commitment to the neighborhood, whether it’s sponsoring a Little League team or the local schools, and participating in an important local culinary event is a tangible way to help.
Downtown: Why is it so important to have this event?
TN: As a product of NYC’s public schools, I know how important it is to support them. But it’s also an opportunity to bond with our neighbors in a celebratory environment. It’s wonderful when a guest comes to our booth and says that they were a young student during the early years of Taste of Tribeca, and are now starting their own families. That is an amazing feeling. With all the changes in the Tribeca neighborhood, the feeling of community is strong and vital.
Downtown: How did you get involved with Taste of Tribeca?
Franco Vlasic: Our partners have been doing Taste for years! We have watched over the years just how impactful and fun a neighborhood gathering is.
Downtown: What does it mean for your restaurant to be included?
FV: Being a part of the Tribeca neighborhood and community has been important to us since day one. Intertwining our restaurant’s identity with the neighborhood’s rich history was something we spent a lot of time considering before we opened and thus “Holy Ground” is named for what the area was known as to locals in the mid 1700’s. We take a tremendous amount of pride in being a Tribeca restaurant and we look forward to getting to serve our neighbors!
Downtown: What are you most excited about?
FV: For us it’s a fantastic opportunity to give a little taste of what Holy Ground is all about to members of the community that may not know about us yet, we’re definitely most excited about that. We are also really excited to support other local businesses, that’s what the essence of community is really all about. Plus, there is truly no better way to kick off the summer season than serving our neighbors BBQ!
Downtown: How did you get involved with Taste of Tribeca?
Matt Abramcyk: Our partners and sister restaurants have been doing Taste for years. We wouldn’t miss it as we have seen how much it brings the neighborhood businesses and people together. With today being such a digitally focused world, we believe the most powerful marketing is being able to meet our neighbors in person. Being a new restaurant in Tribeca and having the opportunity to meet our neighbors face-to-face, serve them great food, and hang out with them is every restauranteurs dream!
Downtown: What does it mean for your restaurant to be included?
MA: We are a true part of the local community. We have the opportunity to support other local businesses which always creates a positive impact on a community. We also get to learn about our neighbors, talk to them, and let them know the doors are officially open to Summer Day! Nothing brings people together more than good food and we are excited to be able to contribute to that.
Downtown: What are you most excited about?
MA: Having the sun shine over all our friends and community members, making “A Summer Day” into reality! Our restaurant exudes that “feel good” experience of hanging out with friends and family, eating good food, drinking rosé and cocktails, listening to music, watching the kids run around…the essence of a perfect summer day. Taste of Tribeca allows us to share that experience, we couldn’t ask for anything better!
Photo by Shintaro Ueyama.
Downtown: How did Taste of Tribeca start?
Bettina Teodoro: Taste of Tribeca was started on the shipping dock of the former Bazzini building on Greenwich and Jay, where Sarabeth’s is now, by a small group of PS 150 parents in response to cuts to the school’s art budget. Tribeca was an artists’ neighborhood and they believed the school should have an excellent art program. At the same time, Tribeca was becoming a dining destination, so the parents developed the idea of a fundraiser built around restaurants offering tastings to promote themselves. They worked with the local restaurateurs and community leaders, and the idea took hold. For the first few years, Taste of Tribeca was held on Jay Street because the Bazzini company generously provided all kinds of infrastructure support, but within a few years it outgrew that space and moved to its present location on Duane Street.
Downtown: What does it mean to be at the 25 year mark?
BT: Taste of Tribeca exists because different groups — parents, restaurants, and sponsors — come together and make it happen. It takes incredible effort on everyone’s part to pull off this one-day event, and that we are still doing this after 25 years shows the strength of our community.
Downtown: What have some challenges been throughout the 25 years?
BT: I can only speak about my involvement for the past six years, and as co-chair for four. Our goal is to produce a high-quality event that looks and feels like it has been produced by professionals, when in fact we are parent volunteers from all different backgrounds. It isn’t easy, but we owe it to our supporters to give them an effortless and enjoyable experience.
Downtown: What are you most excited about this year?
BT: Seeing all of these great restaurants and local businesses come together is always exciting. In addition, this year we have a very special guest: Chef David Waltuck, the owner of the former Chanterelle, will be serving alongside his colleagues from the Institute of Culinary Education in nearby Brookfield Place. Chanterelle was one of Tribeca’s first fine dining restaurants, and it participated regularly in Taste of Tribeca until it closed in 2009. Chef Waltuck readily agreed to return for our 25th anniversary and we’re thrilled to have him. Finally, as an eco-nut, I’m proud that we are eliminating single-use plastic bottles from this year’s event!
Downtown: How did you decide to ditch the single-use plastics?
BT: There are too many disposable products in this world, and we can’t recycle it all. At Taste of Tribeca, we could easily produce 50 bags of recyclables over the course of one day. We resolved to cut into that. So instead of handing out bottles of water, we will have on hand two NYC Water On The Go stations so our festival-goers can help themselves to a complimentary and unlimited supply of cold tap water. They can drink directly from the fountain or fill their own reusable bottles. This is a work in progress. We haven’t yet found an affordable and sustainable alternative to plastic cutlery, but that is next on our wish list!
The Creative Kitchen Kids Food Festival is a celebration to educate families about making balanced food choices to help create wholesome lifelong eating habits for both kids and parents. The event will offer a host of family-friendly activities including:
Cooking classes in the James Beard Foundation Future Foodies Pavilion
Live family programming, including music, yoga, and more!
The Balanced Plate Scavenger Hunt for kids with goody bag prizes
Food sampling
The festival will also feature contestants from the popular television show, MasterChef Junior, and activities with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Leading dietitian Joy Bauer will be on hand to answer any questions about healthy eating for children. General Admission free and open to the public. Tickets for hands-on cooking classes are available for purchase atwww.kidsfoodfestival.com or via KidPass, the festival’s Official Ticketing Partner.
OZY Media’s third annual OZY FEST has been extended to two days this year—July 21-22 on Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The massive event, described by the New York Times as “part music festival, part TED Talk, part food fair” is New York’s answer to SXSW. It features world-class entertainers, thought leaders, celebrity chefs, artists, and more.
This year, headliners include Common and Grouplove, Chelsea Handler, Laverne Cox, Taye Diggs, designer Christian Siriano, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Padma Lakshmi, authors Salman Rushdie, Roxanne Gay, and Malcolm Gladwell, celebrity chefs Marcus Samuelsson and Roy Choi, Martha Stewart, and many others.
Says OZY Media Co-founder and CEO Carlos Watson, “OZY FEST is a massive party that descends upon New York City, bringing together the most diverse group of performers, thinkers, chefs, and entertainers. It’s an unprecedented exchange of ideas and the most fun you’ll have all year. This year we’re taking over Central Park for two days of laugh-out-loud comedy, delicious food, and the hottest music. You don’t want to miss it!”
Organizers bill OZY FEST as an experience rather than just a run-of-the-mill concert/festival performance, and last year’s festival attracted over 5,000 people. In addition, previous events have included headliners such as Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, as well as Jason Derulo, Issa Rae, Katie Couric, and Senator Cory Booker. Guests experienced new technology, amazing eats, and electric musical performances. Plus, they listened to provocative speakers with expertise in everything from politics to the arts.
VIP tickets to the two-day event include complimentary food and drinks, celebrity meet-and-greets, and reserved premier seating. General admission tickets include all-access passes to the festival grounds, gourmet food experiences and merchandise to try-and-buy. In addition, tickets can be purchased as a two-day pass, or individual day passes for either Saturday, July 21 or Sunday, July 22.
Attend the festival the Daily News called, “one of the hottest tickets in town this summer!” For more information, visit the OZY FEST website.
Pizza, guac, and ice cream, oh my! On May 22nd, 2018, the Downtown Alliance and Fosun hosted the Dine Around Downtown Food Festival at 28 Liberty Plaza. The festival was held coincidentally just as Downtown Magazine celebrates the launch of its culinary issue this Spring. The festival was any foodie’s dream; with 39 of Downtown’s best restaurants, including places such as Delmonico’s, Insomnia Cookies, and Eataly, there was something for everyone to enjoy. As a vegetarian, I was pleased to find that there were many tasty vegetarian options being served at the festival. I sampled quite a few dishes from some of the most well-known restaurants of Downtown NYC, and I’m here to give you readers the heads up on some of the best dishes served at the festival.
First up is pizza, which, in my opinion, always deserves to be first. I was excited to find an Adrienne’s Pizzabar station, as I’ve heard many great things about this place. I decided to opt for the classic cheese square slice. Overall, I enjoyed this slice, but it certainly did not live up to the hype, in my opinion. I found the pizza to be a little too cold for my liking, and not quite as flavorful as some other New York slices I’ve tried. I did, however, enjoy the square shape of the slice, as it gave it a certain crustiness that not all slices achieve. Overall, I’d give this slice a 3.5/5 stars.
Next up, I tried the caprese sandwich from Parm of Battery Park. This spot is named after its signature dish, chicken parmesan, so I wasn’t expecting their caprese sandwich to blow me away, as it’s not their signature dish. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised. This sandwich was good; it was flavorful and had just the right amount of spice in a unique sauce that one does not typically find on a caprese sandwich. The mozzarella cheese tasted super fresh, as did the bread. I would rate this sandwich a 4/5 stars.
With all of these carbs, I decided it was time to try something a little lighter and healthier. I decided to go for the roasted cauliflower with pine nuts, raisins, and pecorino cheese from Underdog. Although it might sound like a simple side dish, this was one of my favorite things I tried. As a vegetarian, I’m a sucker for a vegetable dish with a twist. This dish was classic, with its own unique twist with the addition of the golden raisins. I loved the sweet and savory flavor combination of this dish, and the workers at Underdog were super friendly and fun. I rate this dish a 4.6/5 stars.
Now, time for a drink. I couldn’t resist trying The Tuck Room’s Heizenberg Farmer’s Market Rhubarb-Berry Lemonade. I have one word for this drink: YUM. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was the perfect combination of sour, sweet, tang and tart. It was the perfect refreshing beverage to break up all of the food sampling. One of the coolest things about The Tuck Room’s stand was the way they made their food; for example, the lemonade was made through a contraption that extracted the flavor from the fresh berries through a water-drip container (pictured below). They were even making fresh ice cream from liquid nitrogen. Super cool and delicious; I rate this drink a 4.8/5 stars.
I couldn’t resist Mad Dog & Beans Mexican Cantina’s stand when I saw everyone walking around the festival with the most delicious looking corn, chips and guacamole platter. One of my favorite cuisines is Mexican, and this dish hit the spot. The Mexican corn was so fresh and flavorful with its sauce and cheese toppings, flavored with just the right amount of zest and spiciness. The guacamole was as perfect as guacamole can get. This dish is the perfect food festival kind of meal. This might have been my favorite dish of all; I rate it a 4.9/5.
I just couldn’t resist the temptation to fulfill my sweet tooth before leaving the festival. I decided to try out Sprinkles Land’s Tropical Paradise Wine Glass Ice Cream. I mean – even the name sounds magical. This treat was the perfect instagrammable food, for all of you readers who can’t resist an insta-worthy meal. I chose to get vanilla ice cream, which is then placed over a mixture of strawberry and mango juices, as well as butterfly pea flower tea. In my opinion, the ice cream and the drink would taste best separately, as the drink was quite sour. It’s also important to note that this treat was a little messy and impractical, as it spilled and got sticky quite easily (pro tip: get napkins, and don’t wear white!). I will say, though, that the ice cream tasted really fresh and delicious. I could have done without the fruity drink part of this treat, but that’s what makes the dish so colorful and ‘insta-worthy’. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for a good shot, right? Overall, I’d rate this treat a 3/5 stars.
The Dine Around Downtown event was super fun and opened my eyes to all of the food trends of the moment. Just a tip, if you decide to attend next year’s event, I’d suggest getting there early to avoid long lines, and to make sure you get all of the dishes you like (some stands ran out of food quite early). Overall, the festival was a great time and was a perfect celebration of the growing culinary culture of Downtown NYC.
The festival returns on Thursday, September 14th for a day of culinary treats in all shapes and forms. Everything over savory dishes and sweet desserts from 50 of the area’s hottest spots to wonderful wines and boss brews from wineries and microbreweries in New York State.
The popular restaurants will offer tastings of signature dishes, featuring fresh produce from the Union Square Greenmarket, and serve them with carefully selected beverages from the wineries, microbreweries and other beverage companies.
Gadi Peleg, owner of both Breads Bakery and Nur, will serve as Restaurant Chair of this year’s event.
“I start my day at Breads Bakery, cherishing my walk back and forth to Nur several times a day. I always walk through the market, saying hello to my favorite farmers, other restaurateurs and chefs. The stretch of Broadway, just north of Union Square Park, feels like a small town,” said Peleg.
“The Union Square Partnership’s Annual Harvest in the Square brings together these incredible eateries and chefs which make up this neighborhood for a wonderful evening, and I am always proud to be part of this exceptional event,” he added.
All proceeds of the annual celebration will support the Union Square Partnership’s work to beautify, improve and program Union Square Park. For more information on the event, learning more about the sponsors and for tickets, go to Harvest in the Square’s website.
