Eating In Translation

New York-area food events, September 12-19

The Jewish Cookbook
Thursday, September 12, 6:00-8:00
Honey's, 93 Scott Ave. (at Randolph St.), East Williamsburg, Brooklyn
www.Eventbrite.com/e/the-jewish-cookbook-launch-event-hosted-by-jewish-food-society-phaidon-tickets-68625850767
Tickets: $55

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Festival
Thursday through Sunday, September 12-15, various evening and weekend hours, rain or shine
Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 10 Mill Rd., New Rochelle, New York
www.HolyTrinityNR.org/calendar/greek-festival-2019
Donation: adults, $2; children under age 12, free when accompanied by a parent

Blauvelt Sons of Italy Italian Feast and Carnival
Thursday through Sunday, September 12-15, various evening and weekend hours
Masonic Park Fairgrounds, 89 Western Hwy., Tappan, New York
www.BlauveltSonsOfItaly.org/italian-feast.html
Admission: adults, $5; children under age 12, free

Feast of San Gennaro
Thursday, September 12, through Sunday, September 22, 10:00-6:00
On and around Mulberry St., Little Italy, Manhattan
www.DoNYC.com/p/guide-to-san-gennaro
Free admission

Macedonian Food Festival
Friday, September 13, 4:00-8:00; Saturday, noon-10:00; Sunday, noon-8:00
Macedonian Orthodox Church St. Nikola, 55 Wentick St., Totowa, New Jersey
www.Facebook.com/events/316522912632107
Previously: www.EatingInTranslation.com/2018/09/st-nikola-macedonian-orthodox-church-food-festival.html
Free admission

Pig roast to benefit Immigrant Families Together

(Please note: In exchange for my help in promoting what I think is a worthy cause, I've received four tickets to this event.) On the final weekend afternoon of summer, Rodrigo Duarte — the proprietor of Caseiro é Bom ("homemade and good") in the Ironbound District of Newark, New Jersey — will bring a very special taste of Portugal to Long Island City, Queens. Duarte will roast a Portuguese Alentejano hog, the genetic forebear of the pata negra, and serve charcuterie made from this remarkable animal.

The ticket price also includes side dishes and desserts; a cash bar will be provided by the venue, Anable Basin Sailing Bar and Grill. Tickets ($40; free for kids under age 12 with a parent) are available from Dining for Justice. All proceeds benefit Immigrant Families Together.

New York-area food events, September 5-12

Studying Food in Public: A Conversation
Thursday, September 5, 7:00-9:00
Museum of Food and Drink, 62 Bayard St. (Lorimer-Leonard Sts.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn
www.MOFAD.org/events/2019/8/17/foodstudies
Tickets: $15
One in a series presented by MOFAD

St. Markella Greek Orthodox Church Street Festival
Thursday through Sunday, September 5-8, various evening and weekend hours
Cathedral of St. Markella, 2268 26th St. (near 23rd Ave., Astoria, Queens
www.Facebook.com/events/1367105690122395
Previously: www.EatingInTranslation.com/2017/09/st-markella-greek-orthodox-church-street-festival.html
Free admission

St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church Festival
Thursday through Sunday, September 5-8, various evening and weekend hours
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 721 Rahway Ave., Union, New Jersey
www.Facebook.com/StDemUnion
Admission: $2

Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Festival
Friday through Sunday, September 6-8, various evening and weekend hours; repeats September 13-15
Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1641 Richmond Ave., Bulls Head, Staten Island
www.SIGreekFestival.org
Admission: adults, $2

Norwalk Oyster Festival
Friday through Sunday, September 6-8, various evening and weekend hours
Veterans Park, Seaview Ave., Norwalk, Connecticut
www.Seaport.org/Oyster-Festival
Tickets: adults, $12; reduced on Friday, and for seniors, children, and active-duty US military personnel with ID

St. Joseph Feast of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church

A "fishmonger's dozen" of mussels — I counted 15.

St. Joseph Feast of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
40 Spring St. (Summer-Prospect Sts.), Lodi, New Jersey
www.Facebook.com/St-Joseph-Society-Lodi-NJ-252338921465350
(The 2019 feast takes place August 30-September 2)

New York-area food events, August 29-September 5

Spaghetti Dinner Block Party
Thursday, August 29, 5:00-8:00
Sinatra Drive Walkway, 100 Sinatra Dr. (1st-2nd Sts.), Hoboken, New Jersey
www.HobokenNJ.gov/events/spaghetti-dinner-block-party
Tickets: adults, $30; seniors, $15; children under age 12, $10; advance purchase required

Santa Rosalia Society Festival (a.k.a. the 18th Avenue Feast)
Continues Thursday through Sunday, August 29-September 1, various evening and weekend hours
18th Ave. between 67th and 75th Sts., Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
www.Facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10218436048509163&set=gm.2552413428124907
Previously: www.EatingInTranslation.com/2012/08/lucys-palace.html
Free admission

St. Joseph Feast of Lodi, New Jersey
Friday through Monday, August 30-September 2, various evening and weekend hours
St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 40 Spring St., Lodi, New Jersey
www.Facebook.com/St.Joseph.7547
Free admission

Indonesian Street Festival: Seventybration
Saturday, August 31, noon-5:00
In front of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, 5 East 68th St. (Fifth-Madison Aves.), Manhattan
www.Facebook.com/IndonesianStreetFestivalNYC
Previously: www.EatingInTranslation.com/2016/08/journey-to-indonesia.html
Free admission

Japan Performing Arts Bon Odori Festival
Saturday, August 31, noon-8:00 (accompanied by evening performances on August 30 and 31)
Nolan Park, Governors Island, New York
www.JapanPerformingArts.org
Free admission

Go Africa Carnival

Common on the streets of Dakar, rare on the streets of Harlem: fatayas. On this day the Senegalese patties took an empanada-like form and featured either minced chicken (paler shell, paler filling) or a paste made from fish. Tuna is traditional.

Previously: Even in Manhattan, a neighborhood street festival that celebrates local merchants can serve up uncommon fare, provided you're in the right neighborhood. Cases in point (shown below): hilib ari, the terrific Somali-style roasted goat from Safari; Haitian black rice with legumes from Harlem Karibe; and fried tilapia and plantains from La Savane. The cooks at that last restaurant, who hail from various countries (the owner himself is from the Ivory Coast), excel at preparing the thick sauces that are staples on West African lunchtime menus. The two shown at bottom, I'll bet, would have been delicious if I'd been willing to commit to the calories, and perhaps to a nap.

Go Africa Carnival
West 116th St. between Seventh and Eighth Aves., Manhattan
www.GoAfricaCarnival.org
(The 2019 festival was held on July 13)

Bastille Day celebration of the French Institute Alliance Française

Festival food of the French diaspora: poutine, a one-day-only offering from Spanish churros evangelist Dulcinea.

Bastille Day celebration of the French Institute Alliance Française
East 60th St. between Fifth and Lexington Aves., Manhattan
www.FIAF.org/event/2019-07-14-bastille-day
(The 2019 celebration was held on July 14)

Carnaval Mixteco en Staten Island

Enchiladas are corn tortillas imbued with a chile pepper sauce. Enfrijoladas (en-Free-ho-Lah-dahs) instead employ a sauce based on frijoles, that is, beans. For this trio, black beans were the foundation of the filling, too — enfrijoladas elevate them from side dish to featured attraction.

Also shown, but not ventured, since this was but the first stop of a long afternoon excursion: manzanas con chamoy, apples coated in a salty-sour-spicy-sweet sauce and, most likely, extra sugar, too.

Carnaval Mixteco en Staten Island
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, 1000 Richmond Terr., Livingston, Staten Island
www.Facebook.com/events/430025437772770
(The 2019 festival was held on May 26)

Coptic Egyptian Spring Festival

Light bites after an impromptu church tour: homemade baklava and basbousa.

Coptic Egyptian Spring Festival
St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church, 6254 60th Pl. (Metropolitan Ave.-Bleecker St.), Ridgewood, Queens
www.Facebook.com/events/457711448309183
(The 2019 festival was held on June 14-16)

Romania Day

Festivals organized by churches, mosques, and temples often feature food prepared by members of their congregations. Many wonderful dishes rarely surface except at such events; they don't appear on local restaurant menus because the recipes are too labor-intensive or too poorly codified, or because ingredients are too hard to source.

Even at festivals in public settings, such as city streets, it's good practice to seek out food stalls affiliated with houses of worship. The sărmăluțe (Sar-mah-Loo-tay) above were prepared by the ladies of St. Dumitru Orthodox Church, on the Upper West Side. At a glance they seemed fresher than the stuffed cabbage rolls at neighboring stalls; the pork-and-rice filling was loosely knit and nicely seasoned, notably with onion and thyme. The jaunty savarinas below were unique to the table of St. Andrew Orthodox Church of Jamaica, Queens; these Romanian rum babas sold out posthaste.

Also shown below: the makings of kürtös kalács (Coor-tozh Cah-latch), for which a strip of sweet dough is wound around a spindle, baked, then further sweetened by being rolled in the likes of cinnamon, sugar, and crushed walnut. The result is a hollow cylinder meant to be broken off, bite by bite, with the fingers (mine were too busy to take a final photo). A decade ago, this anonymous festival stall was a curiosity, and perhaps an inspiration. Nowadays, branded "chimney cakes" are not uncommon at New York's outdoor markets.

Romania Day
Broadway near Bowling Green, Manhattan
www.RomaniaBroadway.com
(The 2019 festival was held on May 18)