Dying to pet a Pekingese or give a Scottish Fold a scratch? Interact with lots of furry animals at this year's American Kennel Club Meet The Breeds, when thousands of doggies and kitties wiggle their way into the Jacob Javits Center. You can pet and play with all of them! Toss a ball for a 200 pound Mastiff dog or give a Cymric cat—the "bunny rabbit of the feline world," perhaps so named because of its adorable nubbin tail—a scratch behind the ears.
This year AKC has brought on the International Cat Association, the world's largest registry of purebred cats, to showcase a huge variety of cat breeds, including rare kitties you won't find at your local shelter. In addition to the furry friends, browse vendor booths selling the year's newest pet products or take in one of the demos, which cover law enforcement K9s, agility displays and more. Tickets for Saturday and Sunday's expo can be obtained for a very reasonable $15. We're not exaggerating when we say this is probably the cutest event of the year.
Also this weekend:
There are still tickets to a few events at the NYC Food Film Festival, which serves up the delicacies seen on the screen IRL. At noon on Saturday, nosh on Bark Hot Dogs, Hangover Buns, Wooly's ice and other local treats at Edible Adventure #005: Sweets, Meats and Fun Buns ($50) while watching 11 films centered around those three culinary themes. Then on Sunday at 8 p.m., attend a closing event of the festival, the Food Porn Party and Awards ($85), where you can seductively nibble on Top Pot Doughnuts, pig tails from Brooklyn Star and more, while you take in nine films about doughnuts, bacon and tofurky among other food stuffs.. Definitely get on those tickets asap as they'll sell out fast.
No Kraft and Velveeta in sight at this weekend's 3rd Annual Mac-Off, a macaroni and cheese competition at one of Brooklyn's best cocktail bars. Chefs—including people from Casellula, The Bedford and HBH Gourment Sandwiches—culinary students and a few amateurs will present their take on mac and cheese, which includes pumpkin, pretzel, bacon, and buffalo varieties in addition to other creative cheesy combos. Ommegang brewery helped sponsor the event so all attendees receive a complimentary BPA, plus you can purchase all the other delicious cocktails made by the Huckleberry Bar crew. Tickets are available ahead of time for $10 or you can pay $15 at the door. Proceeds from the festivities go to arts conglomerate |theclaque|.
It's been all about apples this month, and for the closing celebrations of Cider Week, Astoria's Queens Kickshaw has created a special, five-course meal and cider pairing to show off the versatile beverage in action. The meat-free menu starts with creamy arancini, followed by a cheese course, a crunchy veggie appetizer and then fiery kimchi lasagna with smoked tofu and chickpea ragout and, of course, a crab-apple cobbler to finish things off. Each course pairs with ciders like Pear Shrub Shot and Foggy Ridge Serious Cider for a flavorful and seasonal meal. The whole shebang costs just $55 (plus tax and gratuity) and reservations can be made by emailing info@thequeenskickshaw.com. We recommend reserve today as early evening spots have mostly been filled and they can only accommodate a few walk-ins. If you don't make it for the Sunday supper, drop by Monday night when they'll do it all over again.
