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Food Travel / Brooklyn Travel / New York City / Events / Food Festivals / → All Tags

Prepare to Burn Your Mouth Off at the First Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo

A similar event in Austin, TX

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Homer has to coat his mouth with wax in order to withstand some really hot chili peppers? That should help you prep for New York City's first-ever Hot Sauce Expo, which will go down at East River Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on April 20.

Events during the two-day festival include a hot-sauced-laced-brownie-eating contest and a chicken cookoff. If you just want to wander around looking for trouble, there are plenty of places to buy and sample hot sauces and other spicy snacks from brands like Volcanic Peppers and Deception Salsa. The expo is also focusing on NYC-area brands like A & B American Style and Long Island's High River Sauces.

Pack your sunscreen...and a few gallons of water.

[Photo: ChroniclePromotions]

Travel Media / Blogs / Bon Voyage / Victor Ozols / → All Tags

Such Sweet Sorrow: Farewell From Your Weekend Editor

Back in June, 2008, I was a correspondent for a blog called Gridskipper, a snarky travel site run by Gawker Media. Gridskipper wasn't hitting its numbers, so Gawker sold it to the Curbed Network, which relaunched it as a luxury travel site. I don't blame them for trying something new, but I didn't love the direction it was going, so I decided to jump ship. I got in touch with the editors at Jaunted, Gridskipper's longtime competitor, or, as I often described it, the Pepsi to Gridskipper's Coke. Jaunted was good enough to take me on as a weekend editor, and I spent the next 18 months posting 363 entries (now 364) on topics as varied as the vagaries of TSA I.D. requirements and the vacation habits of my Russian barber, Oksana.

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Religious Festival Travel / Religious Travel / Festivals / Brooklyn / Giglios / → All Tags

Watch the Giglio Dance in Brooklyn

For the past ten years or so, the north Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg has been identified primarily with avant-garde art galleries, stylish bars, and of-the-moment restaurants, but every summer, residents are reminded of a much deeper history. Each July, the neighborhood hosts the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a festival that honors a Catholic saint named Saint Paulinus with music, food, parades, and the famous dancing of the giglio. For those who don't know, giglio is the Italian word for lily, and in this case it refers to an 80-foot tall, three-ton statue (pictured) that is carried and "danced" along Havemeyer Street by about 130 thick-necked men known as the Giglio Boys.

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Pizza / Food / Food Fights / Food Travel / Restaurants / Williamsburg / Brooklyn / → All Tags

Further Reflections on Pizza: Brooklyn's Motorino Pizza Napoletana

It takes coglioni to open a fancy new pizza restaurant in an Italian part of Brooklyn, but Motorino is giving it a go in Williamsburg anyway. Just three blocks from the mostly take-out Sal's Pizza - a longtime favorite of mine - Motorino is looking to attract a more upscale, sit-down clientele, with a handsome wood-accented interior, dim lighting, and downtempo techno tunes piped through the sound system. Motorino's claim to fame is its wood-burning oven, which produces Neapolitan-style pizza with its signature fluffy crust that's ever-so-slightly scorched on the bottom. Since Williamsburg was originally populated by Italians from in and around Naples, particularly the town of Nola, Motorino's version of Neapolitan pizza is sure to receive a curious yet skeptical reception.

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Quirky Travel / Contests / Bizarre / Brooklyn / Bars / → All Tags

Is Your Facial Hair of World Champion Quality?

Aside from the occasional octogenarian who refuses to admit the Dodgers ever moved away, Brooklyn is not known for its sports prowess. But that doesn't mean it isn't a highly competitive place, so we're glad to see the Williamsburg crowd has found something productive to channel their energy into.

The borough's competitive streak will be on display this Saturday at Public Assembly for the New York City Beard and Moustache Championships. Cash prizes will be awarded for the craziest facial hair in a wide range of categories, including goatee, sideburns, patchy beard, full-grown freestyle, and yes, even a contest just for the ladies (who are allowed to fake it).

Who knows? You might even catch a facial hair legend-in-the-making. The best of the best may try their luck at the World Beard and Moustache Championships (no joke), to be held this Spring in Anchorage, Alaska.

Related Stories:
· New York City Beard and Moustache Championships [Official Site]
· World Beard and Moustache Championships [Official Site]
· Brooklyn travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: roendoftheroad]

Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives / Donuts / Cupcakes / Brooklyn / Greenpoint / Food Travel / → All Tags

Are Donuts the New Cupcakes?

We think so! Judging by the fervor we've seen around the virtual food world lately, we're ready to say the cupcake craze is over and donut madness has begun. It makes sense really, given the economy, that foodies would abandon the trendy, overpriced, over-fancified cupcake for the original fried dough comfort food.

So over the next few weeks we'll be taking a look at our favorite Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives—from beloved old school pastry shops to designer donut newcomers.

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NYC BBQ / Restaurants / Food Travel / BBQ / Williamsburg / → All Tags

Hipsters Need BBQ Too

The bizarre-but-tasty NYC BBQ trend isn't just for outer borough dives and trendy Manhattan celeb faves. One of the city's most celebrated new-ish BBQ joints is Fette Sau, a giant party scene of a restaurant set in an old factory space on Williamsburg's crowded Metropolitan Avenue.

There's something that screams not-genuine-BBQ when you walk into Fette Sau on a weekend evening and see hundreds of drunk 20-something hipsters spread out on picnic-style benches, downing flights of whiskey and shouting each other down while they impatiently await their orders. Despite the faux-rustic décor, you'd never think you were anywhere but Williamsburg.

But whether this is your kind of scene of not, the grub comes through in a big (and most-definitely-genuine-BBQ) kind of way. Smoked ribs fall off the bone, juicy pork belly melts in your mouth, and meals are finished with perfect pickles trucked in from Lower East Side legend Gus' Pickles.

· Fette Sau [Yelp!]
· NYC BBQ Coverage [Jaunted]
· BBQ coverage [Jaunted]

Photo: [Gandhu & Sarah]

Punk / Hardcore / Live Music / Music Travel / → All Tags

Rock Out at Brooklyn's Passout Records

After finishing up Saturday's entries, I met a friend and walked over to Passout Record Shop, an independent music store on Grand Street in Brooklyn dedicated to punk, hardcore, garage, and soul. Our friend Seth was performing an in-store show with his band, Blackout Shoppers, in honor of the release of their first album, Pass Out, and we showed up to offer our support and witness the insanity.

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Bars / Rockabilly / Williamsburg / Brooklyn / → All Tags

Rockabilly in Brooklyn - The Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co.

As is often the case, we started out last night at the Brooklyn Brewery, and when the taps went dry, we made our way east on North 11th Street to the Sound Fix Lounge, a homey pub attached to one of Williamsburg's most well-regarded independent record stores. There were seven of us, and we shuffled in quickly, shaking off the cold and taking our places at the last available table, a bit of good luck that set the tone for the rest of the evening. As our eyes adjusted to the dimly-lit space, we noticed a handful of people dressed in 1940's-style clothing, ladies in flouncy skirts and snug white blouses, gentlemen in brown suits and crisp white dress shirts. They were here to see the Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co., a local rockabilly trio, and they were serious about their swing.

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Breweries / Beer Travel / Brewery Tours / → All Tags

The Brooklyn Brewery: A Splendid Friday Night Destination For Those Who Love Beer and Hanging Out

There's something special about visiting the Brooklyn Brewery during Friday night Tap Room Hours. It feels liberating in a way that a regular pub happy hour doesn't. After all, it's not a bar, it's a brewery, and even when it's crowded, there's room to wander among the huge vats and kettles and sacks of barley, malt, and grain while sipping a freshly-brewed beer and savoring the weekend as it unfolds. So in the interest of serving any readers who consult this site in an earnest attempt to ferret out fun things to do in their destination, let me give you the ABC's on one consistently enjoyable option in New York City.

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Live Arts in Brooklyn / Live-Arts-Brooklyn-Map / Williamsburg / → All Tags

Being A Grownup Is Sweet

Break the bounds of Broadway with our coverage of the Brooklyn arts scene.

The sweet-toothed might be disappointed not to find a sugar emporium at the site of Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg--and that it is, in fact, a bar. So bring your own Ring Pops and candy beads when you check out this hive of activity during its flagship event, the Williamsburg Spelling Bee.

Held on alternate Mondays, the Bee is one of those hipster-y institutions that's easy to mock but hard not to enjoy. With real grown-up prizes and comedian Jen Dziura at the mic, it's way more fun than the now-closed "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" on Broadway--not to mention cheaper, even if you run up your bar tab. Pete's also regularly hosts a Euro-style pub quiz not to mention intimate concerts.

This weekend: Seattle folk rockers Whiting Tennis keep their Wimbledon wardrobes clean Thursday at 10. Four local poets read Friday at 7 at Pete's Big Poetry for a mellow start to the weekend. On Sunday, atone by stopping by rebel minister Jay Bakker's Revolution Church at 4 pm. As the son of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye, he knows a little bit about holding the attentions of a crowd.

Related Stories:
· Exercise Your Mind And Body At The Brooklyn Lyceum [Jaunted]
· Brooklyn Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: karenfoto]

Live Arts in Brooklyn / Live-Arts-Brooklyn-Map / Live Music / Williamsburg / → All Tags

Give Me That New Old Thing

Break the bounds of Broadway with our coverage of the Brooklyn arts scene.

Despite its old-timey sound, the Music Hall of Williamsburg wasn't around for A Tree Grows In Brooklyn: The combination bar and concert space opened last fall out of the bones of former venue Northsix, which itself found life in a former mayonnaise factory.

With three levels and two bars, it's far from a neighborhood dive, but there are some couches too--in case you prefer your indie rock basement style.

This week at the Music Hall of Williamsburg: It's sold out, but if you're savvy you can still catch nouveau glam rockers MGMT Friday (if you can stand all that glitter); Saturday brings the works of arcane folkie Rachael Yamagata, and not only the lonely will appreciate next Thursday's show by Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts.

Related Stories:
· Music Hall of Williamsburg [Official Site]
· Neither Arenas Nor Dives, New Clubs Hope to Succeed with More Style [NYT]
· Brooklyn Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bryan Bruchman]