Eat your way into Fall at one of these upcoming food festivals

As summer days begin to wane this month, we’re looking forward to a lineup of food festivals that offer New Yorkers a chance to enjoy the (slightly) cooler weather and discover all sorts of culinary treasures throughout the city’s neighborhoods. With many food events slated to take place throughout the Fall season, here’s a roundup of three, block party-style festivals that will get things started over the coming weekends in Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg, and Gramercy Park.

Tastes of Columbia Waterfront
Saturday, September 14th from 2-6 p.m.

Tastes of Brooklyn is adding a brand new food crawl to their lineup this fall, exploring Columbia Street along the East River. Guests can venture into participating places of business (check out the full map here) to taste an array of dishes, including south of the border specialties at Alma Restaurant, Asian food at KROK and Lum Dee Cuisine, and the famous calzones at House of Pizza and Calzone. A $22 ticket will let you try samples at four locations and a $54 ticket will get you into eleven spots. In addition, there will be an artisan flea market filled with wares from local talent, a scavenger hunt and free soccer for kids, and live music.

Image courtesy TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint

TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint
Sunday, September 15 from 1-4 p.m.

Now in its 10th year, the block party-style tasting event brings together top restaurants, bars and independent merchants from North Brooklyn to the scenic Williamsburg waterfront at East River State Park. The lineup this year includes Baba’s Pierogies, Dolly’s Swing and Dive, Ela Taverna, Keg & Lantern Brewing Company, and much more. It’s a family-friendly event with activities for a variety of ages, ranging from velcro archery tag to vintage video games.

Since its inception, proceeds from the event have gone toward renovating and reopening the Firehouse North Brooklyn Community Center, and this year’s proceeds are expected to cover the last phase of construction. New this year, the event is making an eco-conscious effort to eliminate unnecessary waste. As part of that, all guests will receive a reusable glass and all plates used will be 100% compostable.

Taste of Gramercy Neighborhood
Saturday, September 21 from 12-4 p.m.

The annual food festival will take place at Irving Place between 17th and 18th Streets. The “ultimate food-lovers affair” will include participating restaurants like Bouley at Home, Boucherie, The Breslin, Irvington Bar and Restaurant, Taco Electrico, and The Clocktower. Guests can expect to sample dishes like lobster rolls, North Haven Oysters “double-crunch” style with pomegranate and sesame seeds, and arancini with beef ragu, buffalo mozzarella, and saffron. Early bird pricing is unfortunately over, but a regular $30 ticket will get you six tastings or, if you plan on going all out, you can purchase a $70 ticket and get to sample food at every participating restaurant (there are almost two dozen!).

Every year net proceeds go toward healthy meal programs at local public schools and all leftovers go to the Bowery Mission.