They came, they saw, they tasted!
Thousands of foodies chowed down at East River State Park on Sunday during the Taste Williamsburg Greenpoint festival, which brought more than 50 restaurants from the nabes together to create a grub hub that offered attendees a satisfying culinary tour.
“It was fun to explore all of the different restaurants around the neighborhoods, and now there’s so many new places I’m excited to go back and try!” said Williamsburg resident Haley Garofalo.
Around two thousand people attended the 8th-annual event, which featured appearances by time-honored local haunts such as fried-chicken slinger Pies ‘n’ Thighs and oyster bar Maison Premiere, in addition to booths manned by newcomers including bakery Du’s Donuts and Cheeseboat, which served a pastry stuffed with melted cheese that Garofalo found particularly savory.
“Everything was delicious — especially the cheesy bread from Cheeseboat,” she said.
Williamsburg Italian joint Barano made its second festival appearance this year, offering saffron gigli — a pasta infused with the yellow spice served with honey and pecorino cheese — and a gin-and-beet-syrup cocktail that those who missed the fair will soon find on the restaurant’s menu, according to its chef.
“The cocktail will go on the fall menu within a week,” said Albert DiMeglio.
Diners were treated to performances by different musical acts: Potty Mouth, a group comprised of youngsters from the Williamsburg School of Music, rockers 1–800–BAND, and a jazz trio all took the stage during the five-hour fair.
And four attendees with especially strong stomachs received complimentary tattoos at a station set up by neighborhood ink shop Three Kings Tattoo, where owner Alex McWatt debuted four designs created for the occasion.
“We are a very local company and always interested in contributing to our neighborhood,” said McWatt. “The event was really great.”
The food fest raised more than $100,000 in profits — a larger haul than in years past — all of which will go toward transforming a vacant firehouse on Wythe Avenue and N. Ninth Street into a community center, according to the event’s director.
“Profits were slightly higher than they have been in years past, we were lucky with generous sponsors and donors,” said Dana Krieger. “We hope to start construction on the community center this fall with the money we received.”
