They came, they ate, and it tasted good.
Hundreds of hungry Brooklynites chowed down at the Taste Williamsburg Greenpoint festival in East River State Park on Sunday, and the crowd was so ravenous, some of the more than 50 vendors ran out of food.
“We quickly sold out of 500 barbecued oysters,” said Dakota Rooney, owner of Hotel Delmano, which gave patrons the option of washing down their fire-roasted bivalves with fig rosemary jam margaritas.
Close to 2,000 hungry patrons showed up and the Berry Street hotel was not the only eatery doing a brisk business. Peter’s Restaurant sold between 350 and 375 pulled pork sliders and the people slinging them say they are glad the food frenzy only happens once a year.
“It’s good to do every once in a while,” Peter’s owner Melissa Magal said. “If you do it all the time, it loses a little of its je ne sais quoi.”
DJ Jonathan Toubin provided music for the event and fest-goers who pigged out can rest a little easier knowing that the money they spent will stay in the neighborhood in a serious way. The event raised nearly $100,000 toward the building of a Northside Town Hall and Cultural Center, a permanent home for activist groups Neighbors Allied for good Growth and the People’s Firehouse that will also house gallery space.
