Food Events This Week: Beer In DC, Feast PDX, Talks In Brooklyn And More
Here's your chance to show up your gloating marathon-training friend by conquering a feat just as impressive. This weekend, at the Denver Beerathon, you can experience all the superhuman glory without breaking a sweat (ok, you might sweet a little). And after crushing 26 beers, turn the marathon into an Ironman by hitting up Grapefest in Texas and Brooklyn Brewery MASH in D.C. We promise, there are many more upcoming food-centric events to cure your inevitable hangover, but this week, it's all about the booze.
Brooklyn, NY
Sept. 14-15
This inaugural edition of a new food festival based in Brooklyn features April Bloomfield as curator and an A-List roster of chefs like Paul Liebrandt, Mario Batali, Francis Mallman and many others. On tap is a mix of panel discussions, dinners, and, most likely, a lot of guys with beards. The Sunday events include a big cookout and a Cook It Raw dinner in Bushwick, where "chefs will work together to prepare an impromptu, outdoor meal using locally sourced Brooklyn ingredients and as little electricity as possible, all in matter of six hours."
Denver, CO
Sept. 14
There are plenty of worthy races for a cause out there. Considerably fewer are fundraisers that allow you to do good while celebrating the fact that you aren't running 26.2 miles in the scorching heat or pouring rain. The founders of this year's first annual Denver Beerathon sought to "create a marathon event for those of us whose enthusiasm for running stops at making a beer run." The course will lead participants to 26 of the city's best craft breweries each featuring a specialty craft beer, and ticket proceeds will benefit local charity Excelsior Youth Center. The event is more brew-connoisseur tasting paradise than frat-basement hazing, so don't beat yourself up if you can't finish all 26 beers (that's a lot of beer).
Grapevine, TX
Sept. 12-15
This weekend, the Lone Star State is calling out California on it's purple-stained wine ego. This tasting extravaganza highlights 140 varietals from 39 Texas wineries. Guests can tour the vineyards of Grapevine and participants of the People's Choice Wine Tasting Classic can judge the varietals for themselves. The winners are announced Sunday Sept. 15. The festival also features grape stomping, carnival rides and a culinary pavilion.
The Brooklyn Brewery MASH: Washington, DC
Washington, D.C.
Sept. 17-22
From March-December of 2013, New York's Brooklyn Brewery will be touring U.S. cities, hosting interactive events in food, drink, music, comedy and literature with ticket proceeds benefitting Slow Food USA. In September, MASH heads to Washington D.C. with a series of events including Chaos Cooking, a dinner where guests come with their own recipes and ingredients; Books & Beer: The American Way of Eating with Tracie McMillan, where guests can engage in conversation regarding the American food system over complimentary Brooklyn beer; and the beer-belly-laugh-inducing comedy event Found Footage Festival, which shows video footage from garage sales, thrift stores, warehouses and dumpsters across the country.
Upcoming:
Praise The Lard Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-Off
Murphysboro, IL
Sept. 19
The 26th year of this renowned barbecue cook-off will bring eighty national and international teams to 17th Steet Bar and Grill in Murphysboro, IL. Hosted by father-daughter team Mike and Amy Mills, the contest pits top grill-masters against one another in categories ranging from fish-fry and wings to the event's namesake determinant: pork. The winning team will score $25,000 in cash, and an invitation to participate in the Las Vegas Whole Food Championships taking place in November, and entry to the Jack Daniels World Invitational Barbecue Cooking Contest draw.
Portland, OR
Sept. 19-22
It's no lie this is one of our favorite food weekends of the year. Come watch the chefs of Portland and surrounding areas work their magic on Oregon's unbelievable bounty of ...well, everything that's good to eat and drink, period. Enjoy the Asian night market, beer and wine tastings showcasing Oregon's many wineries and breweries, recipe demos with some of our favorite cookbook authors and plenty of talks on slow food, GMOs and green design. Don't you want to go to the Face Meat demo? Where else are you going to learn first-hand what to do with that pig head?
Newport Mansions Wine And Food Festival
Newport, RI
Sept. 20-22
The 8th Annual Newport Mansions Wine And Food Festival will be held on the breathtaking grounds of The Elms, Rosecliff and Marble House. The festival features an impressive line-up of celebrity chefs including Alex Guarnaschelli, Michel Richard and Claudine Pepin, plus seven others who will offer seminars and demonstrations. Make sure to attend Saturday night's Newport After Dark Party, held at the chic waterfront venue Forty ° North with cocktails from Blue Chair Bay Rum and Partón Tequila.
Music City Eats: Nashville Food, Wine & Spirits Festival
Nashville, TN
Sept. 21-22
2013 marks the debut of this food, drink and music festival created by Grammy winners Caleb and Nathan Followill of Kings of Leon, chef Jonathan Waxman, Austin-based producer C3 Presents, and Vector Management's Ken Levitan and Andy Mendelsohn. The festival offers demos, panels, tastings and parties, so fill up your schedule with an arancini and lobster cooking demonstration from Giada de Laurentiis, a bourbon vs. moonshine formal debate, and after a farm-to-plate Harvest Night dinner, enjoy an all-star review of the music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Petty Fest.