New York Dining Deals and Events May 14-20

Lowcountry Lobster Boil; Image via Facebook

Monday

Give the start of your week some Southern flavor at the West Village’s Lowcountry, which will be offering a Lobster Boil dinner special every Monday/Sunday night for the rest of the summer. $30 buys you 1 ¼ lb lobster, shrimp, Andouille sausage, potato and cornbread. And, if you arrive between 5-7:30PM, you can also take advantage of happy hour specials on bar snacks like fish tacos, fried pickles and pork belly sliders, washed down with discounted wine, beer and house cocktails.

Tuesday

Explore Italy via a five-course meal at chef Edwin Bellanco’s newly opened Midtown-spot Vitae tonight at 6:30PM. The $90 tab includes fare from different regions across the country—like hand-rolled cuscussu from Sicily or agnolotti dal Plin with braised beef cheeks and favas from Piedmont—with each course paired with two wines. Click here for more info.

Wednesday

New American eatery Dovetail hosts a five-course vegetarian dinner tonight, in association with the New Taste of the Upper West Side. The meal is a collaboration of several top chefs, including Missy Robbins (A Voce), Ed Brown (Ed’s Chowder House, Perilla), Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar) and Dovetail’s John Fraser. Tickets for the evening are $195, with proceeds going to benefit the O’Shea School complex Greenhouse Classroom Project.

Thursday

In need of a little mid-week comfort? Check out the Comfort Food Dinner Tour, a five-course moveable feast of hearty fare like fried chicken from Bob White, mac and cheese from S'MAC, and New York cheesecake from Veniero’s. The tour begins at 5PM, lasts two hours, and costs $38. Get more info and purchase tickets here.

Friday

The 5^th Annual Whole Foods New Taste of the UWS officially kicks off today with a Comfort Classics tasting, hosted by the Travel Channel’s Adam Richman and Andrew Zimmern. $95 buys you access to over 35 neighborhood chef’s renditions of classic comfort food, and wine and cocktails from Southern Wine & Spirits. The festivities continue on Saturday with the Best of the West showcase, with chefs including Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Jacques Torres serving up seasonal fare from 7-9:30PM. Click here for more info.

Saturday/Sunday

Eat and drink your way through the weekend with three festivals throughout the city:

The Ninth Avenue Associate presents the 39^th Annual International Food Festival in Hell’s Kitchen. Dozens of restaurants will have booths set up along the avenue from noon-5pm on Saturday and Sunday, with fare from countries including Poland, Japan, Greece, Thailand and more.

Downtown, the Taste of Tribeca takes place on Saturday, featuring bites of signature dishes from the neighborhood’s top eateries (Bouley, Tribeca Grill, The Harrison to name a few) going down from 11:30AM-3PM. The event also offers a self-guided wine tour, with the area’s wine shops pouring for Taste attendees throughout the day. One ticket ($45 advanced purchase/$50 day-of) provides six tastes from any of the participating restaurants—see the complete list here.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the Great Googa Mooga hits Prospect Park. Attendees can look forward to fare from 75 food vendors, 35 brewers, and 30 winemakers plus live music. While general admission to the festival is sold out, there are still VIP tickets available, with extras including special access to Main Stage viewing areas and a specially chosen menu of premium cocktails and all-inclusive food.