It’s time for THE GRUB STREET FOOD FESTIVAL MENU! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!
CUPCAKES:
Chicken n’Waffles: Vanilla “Waffle” cake, vanilla buttercream, buttermilk soaked fried chicken dunked in pure Vermont maple syrup (yes, it’s really chicken)
The Ebinger: Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate fudge, chocolate cake crumbs
Iona: Pear Olive Oil cake, blue cheese buttercream, candied walnuts, port wine reduction
Butternut Spice: Butternut squash cake, vanilla buttercream, spiced candied pumpkin seeds, butternut squash seed oil
BROWNIES:
Classic with French Sea Salt
The Maltz with Bourbon and Bacon
The Fany with Cinnamon and Cajeta
WHOOPIE PIES
Classic Vanilla Marshmallow
NEW!!!! Pumpkin Spice: Valrhona chocolate cookies filled with pumpkin & toasted marshmallow buttercream and brown sugar streusel
ARE YOU GUYS AS EXCITED AS WE ARE?!?!?!?!
Along with Meatopia and the Lobster Roll Rumble, this is one of THE best food events of the year. And yes, it will probably get crowded, but so does every good food event worth checking out. As someone who’s worked on the other side of the table at tons of these things, I thought I could help you all out with this:
THE ROBICELLI’S GUIDE TO FOOD FESTIVALS!!!
1.ARRIVE EARLY. Grub Street runs from 10am til 6pm. Several thousand people are going to attend, and they are all going to show up between 1 and 4. If you are one of those people who are shows up during that window, don’t be surprised if there’s gigantic lines. This doesn’t necessarily mean the event was poorly planned, disorganized etc and you need to complain en masse over Twitter- it just means that in a city of 8+ million people, a few thousand other folks thought a food festival with free admission would be a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Your best bet is to get there before noon, when we’ll all be fully stocked and most of the city is still hungover in bed. You can also try hitting us up after 5pm- though some vendors will be sold out at this point, many won’t, and there will be virtually no lines. However, I will more than likely have not had a cup of coffee for several hours at that point, so I may be either speaking in tongues or passed out on our table. Just FYI.
2. HELP US KEEP THE LINE MOVING. If you’re looking to chat with vendors you’re friendly with, pitch a service to, etc, again show up before noon or after 5. We really, really, really want to talk to you, but when we’re slammed we have to put customers first. Events like this are honestly some of the only time we get to socialize, so if we miss you because the lines backing up, we’re genuinely dissapointed. Please feel free to come back when the craziness dies down to talk to us- we really do love hanging out with you all!
3. BRING SINGLES. We bring as much change as we can, but there have been times where I’ve gotten ten people in a row paying with a $20 bill on a $3-4 item. If you’re the 11th guy with a $20, you’re going to have to stay on the line while I call people with singles up to the front. I’ve had instances where people have gotten to skip 15 places in line just because they had singles, so not only does this help us out, it helps you out, too.
4. DESSERT LINES MOVE THE QUICKEST if there’s a line at all. Since all our stuff if prepared off-site, all we need to do is grab your cash and give you your food. Personally we don’t want our line to get too long, so we’re going to try to move you guys out as fast as we can. Tell us your order, I’ll get you your food while you pay Matt, and you can be on your way!
5. TRAVEL IN PACKS. Even if you show up early there’s going to be lines, especially for hot food. Get one person to stand on the longest one, then split up and go grab stuff that you can all pick on together while you wait.
6. PLAN YOUR ATTACK IN ADVANCE. Here’s a map!
7. BRING BAGS AND CONTAINERS. You are not going to be able to eat everything, and you may want to take some of what you order home. It also helps you navigate better- fill up your bags, then grab a place to sit and you don’t have to get up except to grab more beer or pee. Some vendors will have to-go containers for their stuff, but some won’t. And please don’t go to vendors and ask them for containers to use for other food- it’s disrespectful if you don’t offer to pay for it.
8. READ THE MENU BEFORE YOU ORDER. We want to be respectful to all of our customers by keeping the waiting to a minimum. If you were at our store we’d be able to spend the time with you to describe our products in detail, but you will need to forgive us at a crowded festival if we just rattle off the names of what we have quickly, or ask you to step to the side to read the menu as we help other customers (we’ll take your order as soon as you’ve made your decision). We honestly are not trying to be disrespectful- we just need to keep the line moving not only to be fair to everyone, but to keep walking paths clear for safety reasons.
Of course, if you’re asking a question regarding a food allergy or sensitivity- feel free to ask it. We’re more than happy to help!
9. BE POLITE AND GOOD THINGS HAPPEN! Most of you have no problems with this, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret- we may not always remember names, but we remember faces. And we ALWAYS remember the people who are extra nice and make us smile every time we see them. Those are the people who occasionally get discounts, or get a little something extra thrown in their bag if we can manage it, or have us go above and beyond to handle special requests or last minute orders. I’m not saying we’re going to be handing out free cupcakes to everyone who give us a wink, but you DO go in our memory banks, and there will come a time where that pays off.
Plus when you’re nice to us, we end up in super good moods and are extra nice to all the rest of our customers! Then they’re nicer to everyone, and we all have an awesome time! WINNING!
I’m sure some of you have tips of your own, so visit us on Facebook and let me know what they are! And come visit us tomorrow- we can’t wait to stuff your faces with baked goods!
GRUB STREET FOOD FESTIVAL AT THE HESTER STREET FAIR
CORNER OF ESSEX STREET AND HESTER STREET
LOWER EAST SIDE, NY
F train to East Broadway, JMZ to Delancey, D to Grand and then walk a little bit
