This month’s event guide is brought to you by Fruit Riot, a product that is beloved by our team. Made with real frozen fruit pieces tossed in a candy coating, Fruit Riot lies just at the intersection of real fruit and sour candy.
Find it in the frozen fruit aisle, or for delivery at Target. Thanks to Fruit Riot for supporting People & Food.
At People & Food, our goal is to change where folks choose to eat. Away from the chains and VC-backed restaurants that most publications and influencers are covering, and towards the small eateries and mom-and-pop businesses that we all love and want to preserve.
Our list of pop-ups and events is curated with that mission in mind. If you see an event that deserves a mention and aligns with our mission, please drop us a line and we’d be happy to add it.
This will be a monthly column, and we’ll update it as we learn of more events. Thanks for your support. - Rob, Angela, Sangita and Alexa
It’s impossible to think about the month of October without bountiful harvests coming to mind. That certainly seems to be the theme of this month’s food events guide, which features NYC’s first mooncake cinnamon rolls in honor of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a fungus festival, a fall pachanga, and so much more!
Lao Home Kitchen Meets Brooklyn Backyard
“It is inexplicably difficult to find Lao food in New York City. But once a month, Anita Pathammavong’s parents, Saychareunsouk and Melissa, drive four and half hours from Virginia to Brooklyn in order to share traditional Lao dishes with those who seek it out.”
Now’s your chance to try the bright, zesty, punchy flavors of this underrated cuisine at Heunkuoa, which translates to “home kitchen” in Lao. Read more about this family-run, labor-of-love pop-up in our latest article below:
When: October 2 & 3, 4:30 PM — Sold out
Where: Troost (📍 1011 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222)
How to Attend: Just pull up.
A Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration
Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional harvest celebration in several East Asian cultures. Welcome to Chinatown is taking Gotham Park for a jam-packed weekend of food, festivities, and fun for the whole family! Look out for some of our favorite vendors including Anna Ye Tea, Nine Treasures Creamery, and more.
When: October 2—4, 1 PM—7 PM
Where: Gotham Park (📍 1 Rose St, New York, NY 10038)
How to Attend: Just pull up.
Bake Your Stress Away…
During Mid-Autumn Festival, it is common to eat mooncakes, which symbolize family reunion and unity under the full harvest moon. Less common, but certainly no less delicious, is NYC’s first ever mooncake cinnamon roll (!!!) along with other Hong Kong-inspired delicacies on the menu at this exciting pop-up.
When: October 3, 11 AM—3 PM
Where: Harbour Kafe (📍 172 Borinquen Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11211)
How to Attend: Free RSVP here.
Pure Sourcery
Eat Sourcery is a purveyor of heirloom spices from small family farms in India. For one day only, they’re teaming up with Brooklyn Granary and Mill for a bakery showcase that highlights heirloom spices baked with fresh, stone-milled flour. Pair it with the Kerehaklu SL9 from Driftaway Coffee for a perfect start to your Monday morning.
When: October 5, 7:30 AM—Sold out
Where: Brooklyn Granary & Mill (📍 240 Huntington St, Brooklyn, NY 11231)
How to Attend: Just pull up.
Wine by the Glass (from one of Rob’s favorites!)
From Instagram: “Next week we’re lucky to have Alejandro Narváez of @forlongwine joining us from Cádiz for the night… Forlong works organically with the grapes and chalky albariza soils of the Jerez region, making wines that take some very fun detours from what you might normally expect from southern Spain.”
When: October 7, 5:30—Close
Where: Place des Fêtes (📍 212 Greene Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238)
How to Attend: Reserve here, walk-ins welcome.
Gentle Time Farm to Table
From Instagram: “After a summer of collaborations with chefs, growers, makers and herbalists we admire, we move into fall FRI 10.9 with @gentletimefarming, a trans and queer owned cooperative growing culturally significant East Asian vegetables for Asian communities and the diaspora in New York.
Through cooperative farming, mutual aid and their work alongside Choy Commons, they are helping build a more equitable, community-led food system rooted in food sovereignty, cultural continuity and care. This dinner arrives at the close of their growing season, marking the end of months of planting, tending, harvesting and sharing.”
When: October 9, 6:00 PM
Where: Public Records (📍 233 Butler St, Brooklyn, NY 11217)
How to Attend: Reserve here.
The Fungus Festival is Back!
From Instagram: “On Sunday, October 11, Fungus Festival returns to The Battery, bringing mushrooms into nearly every corner of the park.
From fascinating talks and hands-on workshops to fungal art, films, food, fresh mushrooms, and plenty of family-friendly activities, there’s a lot to discover.”
When: October 10, 4:00 PM—6:00 PM
Where: The Battery (📍 New York, NY 10004)
How to Attend: Just pull up.
The Great Astoria Bake-Off
Try dozens of baked goods and crown Astoria’s new Star Baker for a good cause! Proceeds benefit the Astoria Food Pantry. Tickets are pay-what-you-can at the door, via electronic or cash payment (Suggested ticket price: $20). Please also bring any non-perishable food items or sanitary supplies to donate to the pantry.
When: October 11, 4:00 PM—7:00 PM
Where: Astoria Food Pantry (📍 25-82 Steinway St, Astoria, NY 11103)
How to Attend: Just pull up.
A Little Fall Pachanga
You already know we’re big fans of Los Hermosos, one of only a few molinos in New York State. Read about the places preserving the tradition of Mexican masa, and then go taste the difference nixtamalized tortillas make at this fun Upstate shindig!
When: October 17, 1:00 PM—Sold out
Where: Across from The Meat Wagon (📍 22 Jansen Ave, Kingston, NY 12401)
How to Attend: Just pull up. Event flyer here.
From Tacos to Tahdig
Worlds collide as the famed taquería from Austin touches down in NYC for their cookbook tour, linking up with Chef Chintan Padya of Unapologetic Foods for a panel moderated by Nadia Chaudhury. Food and drinks provided by Dhamaka.
When: October 15, 6:00 PM—9:00 PM
Where: Essex Market (📍 88 Essex St, New York, NY 10002)
How to Attend: RSVP here.
That’s it for now! Stay tuned as we will update this guide throughout the month.