This week's food events are all about duality: feeding yourself while helping to feed others, eating Japanese specialties while petting adoptable kitties (yes, really), and downing drink specials while watching a live comedy special two men argue over the future of this country.
Tuesday's vice presidential debate promises to be, well, something—and no one will fault you if you need a drink or three to get through it. Humbolt & Jackson in East Williamsburg is offering a happy-hour debate special: half off wine and draft beers in the two hours preceding the event and $10 cocktails all night long, so by the time Mike Pence opens his mouth, you'll be good and tipsy. The Sweet Chili food truck will be outside, so you can get your grub on while you watch.
On Wednesday, Local Fare BKLYN is hosting a five-course dinner benefitting City Harvest. Each course is prepared by a different Brooklyn-based chef using locally-sourced ingredients and paired with local beer and wine. The menu's still a secret, but the lineup includes chefs from The Finch, Runner & Stone, Vinegar Hill House, Luksus, and Rucola. There's really no way to go wrong here: you get to help feed others by enjoying great food yourself. Purchase tickets ($235) here.
If you're looking for another opportunity to help feed hungry New Yorkers, City Harvest is having another benefit on Thursday. Their annual Bid Against Hunger auction/tasting features tastings from more than 70 of the city's best restaurants, including Jean-Georges, Le Bernadin, and Mission Chinese Food, as well as an open bar and sweet treats from 14 dessert purveyors including Boulud Sud and Mad Mac Macarons. Purchase tickets (beginning at $400) here.
In China, the expression Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy is used to describe both the flavors present in the country's varied regional cuisines and the vicissitudes of life. The Museum of Chinese In America's installation, which opens on Thursday, focuses on both interpretations of the phrase. The exhibition includes an immersive video installation featuring 33 Chinese and Asian-American chefs' tales of cooking and culture, and a banquet-style dining table displaying artifacts from their personal kitchens. Place settings from China's various regions link contemporary cooking styles to regional traditions, drawing parallels between Chinese and Chinese-Americans' diverse culinary cultures.
(Koneko)
Also on Thursday, Koneko—America's first cat cafe/sake bar combo—is hosting a tasting event featuring six courses of Japanese fall classics like sashimi, udon, and tonkatsu. There will be food. There will be sake. Most importantly, there will be cats (which you can adopt and love forever if you are so inclined). Purchase tickets ($65 or $95 with sake pairing) here.
