Much like the trainwreck that is the 2016 presidential election, this nightmarish heat wave seems like it will never end. If you're looking to cool down (or chill out) this week, let sumo wrestlers and the American founding fathers be your guides. Chilled Japanese stew and copious amounts of craft beer abound at this week's food events—prepare your stomach (and your liver).
On Tuesday, bulk up sumo style at the Brooklyn Kitchen's ninth installation of Sumo Stew. This month's dinner is beef-based and served chilled, to help you persevere through the sweltering inferno that is summer in the city. (Sidenote: eating hot foods actually cools you down. Look it up.) As always, the stew will be served alongside a bento box (this time, with a ramen burger twist), plenty of sake, and beer from Brooklyn Brewery. To make it all official, live Japanese sumo tournaments will be streaming all through dinner. Entering the code KANPAI10 will get you $10 off your ticket price.
Literary buffs, this one's for you: Court Tree Collective and Table of Contents are hosting a Haruki Murakami-inspired dinner, also on Tuesday. The four-course meal includes dishes cooked by the characters in some of his most well-known books, like beef tartare, noodles with shrimp, mackerel sashimi, and mochi for dessert. Don't forget to bring a tear-stained copy of Norwegian Wood (recommended, but not required). Purchase tickets here.
Every election year, candidates invoke the founding fathers: who would they vote for? What would they do if they were here today? As it turns out, the answer to that last question is most likely "drink a ton of beer." On Wednesday, get ready to party like it's 1776 at WNYC's Craft Beer Jam. Three local breweries—Bridge and Tunnel Brewery, Gun Hill Brewing, and Harlem Brewing—will be pouring up authentic, early American brews based on eighteenth-century recipes. Drink up; it's what Ben Franklin would've wanted. Purchase tickets here.
Ever wondered what vegan ceviche tastes like? What about a lobster-free lobster roll? On Friday, sample animal-free delicacies at NYC's first-ever vegan butcher shop. Kols Steam & Eséé Ché, a new business by the founders of Veganizer NYC, will be hosting a twelve-course tasting dinner full of vegan treats, and the imaginative menu goes far beyond plain fruits and veggies. Sliders, cheesecake, and short ribs are just a few of the samplings on the menu. Purchase tickets here.
