Chili Crabs? What Chili Crabs?

It was with high hopes for spicy seafood and fun that Gothamist trekked to the waterfront of DUMBO this past Sunday to partake in The First NYC Tiger Beer Singapore Chili Crab Festival. And while Gothamist is most definitely a sucker for a street fair, we were disappointed to find that by 2:30pm (only a third of the way through the 6-hour festival) all the chili crabs had sold out. Still on offer were butter crabs, chicken with peanut sauce, beef with coconut milk sauce, hot dogs, hamburgers, and a soupy red dessert. Unfortunately, the food and beer lines were confusing and tremendously long, making Gothamist newly appreciative of your more run-of-the-mill street fair in which you can grab and go.

While waiting on the food line for half an hour, we enjoyed the drumming demonstration and the dragon dancing performance, although it was difficult to see these performers because they stood on the street instead of the stage. Only the live music (serviceable but unexciting rock and R&B) was on a raised stage and was much easier to see.

Once we got our hands on some chicken and beef and found a sidewalk stoop to sit and rest on, we were finally able to relax and enjoy the atmosphere, no longer worried that the line we were standing on might turn out to lead nowhere or get lost amongst the folks just trying to watch the drumming performance. So while all in all it was a fun atmosphere down on Water Street, we hope that the organizers of this event can learn some lessons from the mistakes they made, especially if they plan on making this festival an annual tradition.

--Allison Bojarski