Saturday night's stops include Maison Premiere and a bevy of fancy cocktails...
If you were burned by the empty promises of ExtraMooga, the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl is a true eating and drinking extravaganza that is very well priced for the amount of cocktails, sliders, fried chicken, smoked meats, oysters and live music you’ll get to indulge in this weekend. The magazine’s editors chose three Brooklyn neighborhoods with major bar and restaurant appeal, and each night of Grub Crawl, ticketholders make at least five stops and get to rub shoulders with chefs like Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli of Frankies 457 and Prime Meats, Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop, and Noah Bernamoff of Mile End, while enjoying all that artisinal food and drink that the world now knows, and sometimes ridicules us for.
...plus balls at the Meatball Shop and a hang with the chef-owners.
Grub Crawl moves on to New Orleans and Los Angeles next, so we should feel a little proud that Bon Appétit bypassed Manhattan on the New York leg of their journey. Personally, I’m impressed that they were able to get Sunny Balzano to open his Red Hook bar especially for Grub Crawl, considering the bar’s extremely odd hours (just Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights).
Below is the itinerary, and tickets are on sale here. A weekend pass is $250, while each night/day is roughly $100, with the exception of Saturday night, which includes a show at the Knitting Factory with Brooklyn band Wakey!Wakey! and an open bar (you can opt to attend the show and get the free-flowing drinks for just $30).
You can also enter our Best Summer Ever contest and subscriber drive by Wednesday May 31 for a chance to win a pair of tickets!
Bon Appétit Grub Crawl—Brooklyn itinerary
Friday, June 1 starting at 6:30pm: Carroll Gardens
• Clover Club: Enjoy a punch demonstration with cocktail savant Julie Reiner, followed by drinks tasting, deviled eggs, and mini pulled-pork sliders
• Frankies 457/Prime Meats: Taste Lambrusco and seasonal crostini served in the garden with Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli—chefs, Brooklyn residents, and local celebrities
• Seersucker: Sample fine Southern food and libations with chef Robert Newton including seasonal vegetable amuse-bouches,fried chicken and biscuits with homemade spreads, and local New York State wine on tap
• Treats Truck: Try some assorted sweets with Kim Ima at the first brick-and-mortar shop. Warning: will cause extreme elation and a sugar high
Saturday, June 2 beginning at 4pm: Williamsburg
• Meatball Shop: Hang out in the garden with the guys from Meatball Shop—Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow—as you enjoy their addictive meatball sliders, ice cream sandwiches, and pitchers of Sangria
• Maison Premiere: Explore absinthe and oysters at one of the most beautiful new restaurant spaces in New York, which has received national praise from local and national media
• Allswell: Experience pairings of “foraged” cocktails with dishes
• Brooklyn Winery: Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of the winery and a tasting of truly incredible wines that you cannot find anywhere else
• Rye: Indulge as chef Cal Elliott personally prepares some of his comforting bistro classics, including crab cakes and his signature Southside cocktail
• Knitting Factory: Special concert with Wakey!Wakey! at 9pm, open bar
Sunday, June 3 beginning at 11:30am: Red Hook
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Join Stumptown as they explain the full range of beans roasted there, including tastings and demonstrations of the various methods of brewing to make the perfect cup every time
• Fort Defiance: Sample a Ramos Fizz (demonstrated by proprietor St. John Frizell, who describes Fort Defiance as a “place between home and work” for the denizens of “the most neighborhoody neighborhood in New York”), along with cold fried chicken and oysters
• The Good Fork: Experience the inviting atmosphere and food at this local favorite—including a homemade Korean-style breakfast with chef-owner Sohui Kim
• Mile End: Encounter a tasting of meats and pickles on the newly opened pier on the water with Mile End’s chef-owner, Noah Bernamoff—who cures, pickles, or smokes everything in-house
• Sunny’s: Kick back and relax. You’ve successfully eaten your way through Brooklyn. Enjoy live music and drinks at one of the oldest bars in the borough
