Governors Ball 2017 kicked off on Friday, with a successful opening day thanks in part to lovely weather and a solid line-up that included Lorde, Flume, Danny Brown, and Chance the Rapper. As with every festival of the past few years, this one comes with a solid food lineup, as well. There are also a ton of great food options available around the festival ground on Randall's Island, more than 50 different vendors in all. Here's a look at a few of the most notable things I ate yesterday, and the dishes I'm most looking forward to eating over the weekend.
Many booths played host to long lines all day, including Smorgasburg favorite John's Juice ("All Juice, No Cups") who offered a full menu of fruit options: orange, dragonfruit, watermelon, pineapple, and grapefruit. DŌ, the place in the Village that serves raw cookie dough in scoops, like ice cream, attracted as much attention here as it does on LaGuardia Place, but these "confections" really hit the spot if you're in the mood for something super sugary. Another sweet treat comes courtesy of famed Magnolia Bakery, who at Gov Ball is selling six flavors of their banana pudding, with photogenic toppings like fruity pebbles and gummi bears.
Pastrami Rueben Tater Tots at Harry and Ida's, $10. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)
The best thing I ate all day was probably Harry and Ida's Pastrami Rueben Tater Tots, a big boat of crisp fried potatoes peppered with chunks of the smoked meat that makes their East Village sandwich shop such a pleasure to visit, as well as pickled sauerkraut, and drizzles of melted Swiss cheese and Russian dressing.
Double Dip at Mister Dips, $8. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)
Also delicious was the Double Dip from Andrew Carmellini's Mr. Dips, the pair of patties juicy and perfectly medium rare, with plenty of melted cheddar and secret sauce to make it all nice and gloppy. Bonus: there was virtually no wait at either these spots.
Uma-Ritto at Uma Temakeria, $15. (Scott Lynch/Gothamist)
And going three-for-three in the savory department, Uma Temakeria's phenomenal Uma-Ritto, which chef Chris Jaekle calls a "sushi burrito" but is really just a monster hand roll, packed with salmon and tuna, crisp vegetables and "tempura crunch," rice and tobanjan mayo. This is one of those dishes that, while you're eating it, you feel like you're making good choices in your life.
Other vendors I have my eye on for Saturday and Sunday include Dan and John's Wings, Excell's Kingston Eatery for jerk chicken, the burrito at Tacqueria Diana, the Van Leeuwan truck for a scoop of their Honey Comb, the fried mozzarella masterpieces at Big Mozz, and Roberta's for a Bee Sting.
