THIS WEEKEND
MAY 31st-June 2nd: Red Bank: Riverfest | Food & Music Fest. Three days of sunsets and evening stars with the best Red bank area restaurants, non-stop music and family fun for everyone. Free admission. Click for more details.
JUNE 1st: East Rutherford: JerseyFest at Meadowlands Racetrack, 5-11pm.
A partnership of the Meadowlands Racetrack and North Jersey Media Group, the festival will showcase businesses with a New Jersey connection. During the afternoon and into the evening there will be local, family-appropriate entertainment featuring Kimmy Schwimmy and local performing arts students and lots of fun stuff for the kids. Once the races begin, there will be live music sponsored by classic rock station WDHA-FM, craft beer sampling, barbecue and harness racing!
Sports Authority sponsors the ‘Fun Zone’ for kids. Jersey Bites is sponsoring the ‘Jersey’s Best Bites’ area, which features local food producers like Bai, Rutgers Food Innovation Center, Jersey Flavored Chips, Fatboy Cookies, Crazy Steve’s Pickles and Salsa, Semisweet Desserts and many more. JerseyFest will also feature a sampling section from NJ craft brewers and wineries. Click here for more information and to pre-register.
JUNE 1st: Oldwick: The Food Truck Festival: A Moving Culinary Event
Equine meets epicurean when a Hunterdon County non-profit hosts an evening of charitable giving this June called The Food Truck Festival: A Moving Culinary Event. Mane Stream is an organization that provides equine therapy to over 200 riders with physical, developmental, emotional, and medical challenges. In keeping with the hottest trends in food and drink, The Food Truck Festival: A Moving Culinary Event will feature six gourmet food trucks from the tri-state area plus beer pairings from the tri-state’s finest microbreweries, full open bar, dancing, and two raffles. This will all take place in a fantastic lounge atmosphere on Saturday June 1, 2013 at 6:30 P.M. at 14 Holland Brook Road, Whitehouse Station, NJ.
The featured food trucks are sure to satisfy adventurous eaters and picky eaters alike. The evening will begin with The Cow and the Curd’s battered and fried cheese curds, plus Rickshaw Dumplings will feature all of their most sought after dumplings and dipping sauces. Next to roll up are the main course trucks. Amped up comfort food from Lil Dan’s, Foo Truck’s Asian-fusion flavors and Indian cuisine from Mausam Curry & Bites will not disappoint. End the evening on a sweet note with Belgian waffles piled high with Wafels & Dinges’ gourmet ice cream, fresh fruit, and toppings galore —everything homemade and everything delicious. These food trucks may call NYC and Philadelphia home, but they are coming to the country to satisfy hungry Mane Stream supporters.
Additionally, New Jersey Craft Beer has carefully paired each truck’s cuisine with amazing local brews. It’s the perfect opportunity to taste test the best of New Jersey’s pint-sized selections. These nine different breweries will be serving up cold ones: Weyerbacher, Smuttynose, Troegs, River Horse, Flying Dog, Yards, Boulder, Breckenridge and Sly Fox.
There will be a riding demonstration (weather permitting), so festival participants will be able to see how Mane Stream’s clients benefit from equine assisted therapy and other equestrian activities. Music and dancing will provide additional entertainment well into the night.
All-inclusive tickets are $150 and must be purchased online via manestreaminc.org, under Special Events.
JUNE 2nd-9th: Cape May: Cape May Restaurant Week. Known for its variety of fine dining experiences, from casual sit-down to formal dining, Cape May, NJ will showcase its best restaurants for the eight-day event, with restaurants offering fixed prices that make our culinary adventure both affordable and tempting. cmrestaurantweek.com
AND BEYOND…..
JUNE 6th: Holmdel: Italian Essentials: Wine & Entertaining with Victor Rallo
Dearborn Market is thrilled to include an evening with Victor Rallo in their new series of Home & Garden Workshops for the months of May and June. “Italian Essentials: Wine & Entertaining with Victor Rallo” will take place on Thursday, June 6th from 7pm- 9pm in their garden center. To coincide with the launch of a new book, restaurateur, wine connoisseur, and television personality Vic Rallo, along with his co-author, Anthony Verdoni, will discuss their favorite Italian Wines and how best to enjoy and entertain with them. Guests will sample rosé, white, & red wines, an assortment of authentic Dearborn antipasti & cheeses, and purchase their brand new book, 21 Wines. Beautiful Italian Specialty baskets will be raffled throughout the evening.
The cost of the evening is $20 and space is limited, so guests are encouraged to purchase spots by calling 732.264.0256 or online at www.dearbornmarket.com. Copies of Vic and Anthony’s new book, 21 Wines ($45), will be available for purchase at Dearborn prior to and during the event. To purchase tickets, click here.
JUNE 7th: Morristown: Five Course Tasting Dinner at The Artist Baker
A five course tasting menu of locally sourced foods will be prepared by Chef Andrea Lekberg at her boutique bakery located in downtown Morristown to raise funds for Slow Food Northern New Jersey‘s School Vegetable Garden Program. Gary Tonucci, the chapter’s wine enthusiast, has selected the New Jersey wines to pair with each course. Gary will provide information about the wines being served and viniculture in the state.
Please note that both vegetarian and vegan options will be available upon request. Tickets are $80 for Slow Food Members and $85 for non-members. Please book soon as space is limited by purchasing tickets online.
JUNE 7th-9th: Belmar: 27th Annual Belmar Seafood Festival
Visit Belmar for all things seafood during the New Jersey Seafood Festival June 7th 4-8pm, June 8th 11am-8pm and June 9th 11am-6pm. Held at Silver Lake Park, 5th & Ocean Ave, there are tents from top NJ restaurants, a beer and wine garden, children’s activities and live music. Click for more information.
JUNE 8th: Allendale: Nosher-Rye Deli Fundraiser
Nosher-Rye, the New York-Style deli, will be hosting a series of Borscht Belt comedy and trivia nights to be hosted by stand-up comic Esther Goodhart, a.k.a. Oriental Beauty. The series will kick off on Saturday, June 8th at the 51 West Allendale Ave. eatery with two shows: 6-8PM and 9-11PM.
Patrons pay $20 as a cover and may choose from a price fixe menu ranging from $15.95-$17.95 for three courses. Nosher-Rye’s over-stuffed sandwiches have a cult-like following among deli enthusiasts who clamor for their house-prepared pastrami, corned beef and chopped live,r and other traditional kosher-style favorites. Goodhart promises to have guests laughing “their tuchases off” with her schtick (she’s a Korean who converted to Judaism, and her humor blends Asian and Jewish/Yiddish flavor) to salute Catskill’s greatest comics. The event will raise funds for Pascack Valley Meals on Wheels. Reservations are required: 201-784-1818.
June 8th and 9th Stone Harbor Seafood Festival. Saturday Noon to 8pm. Sunday Noon to 6pm. The best in Stone Harbor Seafood from local restaurants. Enjoy the Stone Harbor Chamber of Commerce Beer Garden, a Clam pitching tourney, children’s activities, crafts, and boats and jetskis on display.
JUNE 8th: Asbury Park: Asbury Park Blues & Brews Festival. 12-8pm. Enjoy six great bands, a beer garden, vendors, crafters, art and above all, Music! Click for more information.
NJ Beer & Food Festival takes place at Crystal Springs June 14-15. This weekend-long celebration of craft beers also coincides with Father’s Day June 16 making it the perfect destination with something for everyone: beer lovers, golfers and families, with two top US ranked spas and the Biosphere indoor/outdoor pool complex as well. The two days of beer fest events include the “NJ Chefs & Brews” walk-around reception on Friday 6/14 (8-11pm, $95), with six chefs serving food paired with six New Jersey and New York beers. Participating chefs include Timothy Fischer and pastry chef John Sauchelli of Crystal Springs, Mike Carrino of Pig & Prince Restaurant & Gastrolounge (Montclair), John Halligan of Park Steakhouse (Park Ridge), Carlo Carbonara of Bottagra (Hawthorne) and Eric Levine of Morris Tap & Grill (Randolph). On Saturday 6/15, the ” Beer and BBQ Fest” tasting event gives attendees the opportunity to try 135 beers from 50 breweries including many craft brews from New York and New Jersey paired with delicious barbeque in a picturesque outdoor setting (3pm-7pm, $75 early bird, $85 after June 1st).
Also on Saturday 6/15 starting at 9am golfers will have the chance to participate in the “Brews & Birdies” golf tournament on the resort’s award-winning Wild Turkey and Ballyowen courses. Tastings of craft beers will be available on six holes of the course ($195 for golf and beer tastings). Other activities include a free outdoor grilling class Sat. 6/15 10-11am by Crystal Springs chefs in the resort’s lovely Chef’s Garden and free daily tours of the wine cellar, which is the deepest, most extensive collection in the Northeast US situated in over an acre of underground space and featuring some of the most prized bottles, rare vintages and perfect score 100-point wines.
All weekend, the resort’s two main restaurants, Crystal Tavern and Restaurant Latour, will each be serving special tasting menus paired with craft beers. Crystal Tavern features a three-course “Highlands” menu while Restaurant Latour offers an eight-course tasting menu in addition to a three-course prix-fixe and a five-course vegetarian Garden Menu.
On Sunday 6/16, the beer festival will wrap up with a special Father’s Day Lunch 12-4pm in the Chef’s Garden, a beautiful outdoor restaurant surrounded by a lush garden full of herbs and vegetables used in the resort’s restaurants. Three chefs will each prepare a course that will be paired with a different craft beer ($70 inclusive of food and unlimited beer; lunch menus sans beer will be offered to those under 21).
Reservations for all events can be made at www.njbeerfestival.com or by calling 973-827-5996 x 3.
JUNE 23rd: Holmdel: Italian Food Festival
Sunday, June 23rd from 11am – 7pm, Dearborn Market’s first-ever Italian Food Festival will take place tented outside in the garden center. Enjoy delicious, Italian-American cuisine like homemade sausage, peppers & onions, porchetta, cured meats, cheeses, gelato, cannoli, zeppoles, and samplings from some of our favorite Italian Specialty vendors. Enjoy good food & family fun with live music, face painting and pony rides.
More information is available by calling 732.264.0256, or online at www.dearbornmarket.com
