Taste the West Village

It’s that time of year again- food festival season!! This is my favorite time of year. The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change and food festivals are abundant. Sunday Mr. T and I attended one of our favorite events from last year the Taste the West Village. A bunch of downtown restaurants get together and put on a fabulous spread of food and drink to support public schools in the area. It’s a wonderful cause that I will happily support any time. I can’t show you everything I ate, that would take forever, but here's a few highlights.



Two of the best offerings of the day were these from Gusto. The savory was a Malfatti with organic spinach, ricotta cheese and a sage butter sauce.



Yum! This was absolutely divine. The pasta shell was pretty light allowing the fabulous creamy ricotta and fresh spinach to shine through. The addition of sage to the brown butter sauce won me over completely and I would happily eat a whole bowl of these for dinner.



Then they took the ricotta one step further and inserted it inside a pillowy sugar dusted bomboloni. This was also a very light, airy treat and I enjoyed it even more than the bomboloni I had at Maialino.



Mr. T’s favorite of the event came from Market Table. Charred autumn corn with chili, Parmesan cheese and a splash of lime. What is it about charred corn that’s so delicious? Everyone around me was raving about this dish and I have to agree. They used some fresh seasonal ingredients that really aligned with the flavors of fall.

Behind the corn was a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup that I really don’t remember much about. The soup was very thick and boiling hot. It wasn’t very comforting to eat on such a sunny hot day.



Another favorite was a short rib arepa from Yerba Buena Perry. The short ribs had a nice thick sauce with creamy, spicy slaw on top. Next to that was a crab and tomato gazpacho that was pretty good as well.

Now I said this festival wasn’t just about food but drink as well. This year they tripled the amount of drink vendors from last year and there were a ton of tasty offering.



Blue Point was there pouring their seasonal Pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers. We also enjoyed some pale ales from Greenpoint Harbour and a Pilsner from Sixpoint Brewery.



The cocktails were in abundance as well and my favorite was the offering from Yerba Buena Perry again. Blood Orange liquor, watermelon juice, lime and sage were in the mix for this one and it was deliciously refreshing in the hot sun.

Overall we had a great time. This festival always has a nice mix of neighborhood folks and families which give it a relaxed, happy vibe. So we’re off to a good start! Not sure which festival is up next but I am excited and ready to go!