Looking for food events in New York City on the web comes close to trying to find a needle in a haystack. While we can’t find everything that is going on in the City, we will do our best to list out events you might find interesting and save you some time from searching. The listings are in chronological order, scroll down for the latest events!

16th Annual City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival

  • Date: February (all month)
  • Time: N/A
  • Cost: N/A
  • Location: Locations change by day
  • Website: http://www.hotchocolatefestival.com/
  • Synopsis: Sample a different type of hot chocolate everyday at different locales throughout New York City.

Time Out For Hunger

  • Date: Mar 2, 2008 (Sun)
  • Time: Lunch, Dinner
  • Cost: N/A
  • Location: Various locations
  • Website: www.timeoutny.com/tofh
  • Synopsis: 10% of the bill will be donated to the Food Bank For New York City at selected restaurants

New York Wine Festival

  • Date: Mar 7, 2008 (Fri) - Mar 8, 2008 (Sat)
  • Time: Mar 7: 7pm-10pm, Mar 8: 2pm-6pm
  • Cost: Mar 7: $75.00, $85.00 if ticket purchased after Feb 29; Mar 8: $85.00, $95.00 if ticket purchased after Feb 29
  • Location: Jacob Javitz Center
  • Website: http://www.wine-expos.com/Wine/NY/Default.asp
  • Synopsis: Access to wine samples from over 150 producers, access to wine maker “meet and greets”

The Village Voice’s Choice Eats

  • Date: Mar 11, 2008 (Tue)
  • Time: 6:30pm-10:30pm
  • Cost: $25.00 in advance (sold out), $35.00 at the door (limited)
  • Location: The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, NYC
  • Website: http://www.choice-eats.com
  • Synopsis: In recognition of the tantalizing and eclectic cuisine featured by resident food critic, Robert Sietsema, The Village Voice is proud to present our first-ever Choice Eats tasting event. Featuring over 30 restaurants, and representing foods from many nations, this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to treat your taste buds to a trip around the world. In addition, a portion of ticket sales will go to benefit The Academy of HospitaDlity & Tourism at Erasmus, a public high school group with a student club dedicated to studying the evolution of world cultures through the history of regional cuisines.

Dine In Brooklyn

25 Anniversary Can-Do Awards Dinner

  • Date: Apr 7, 2008 (Mon)
  • Time: 6pm
  • Cost: $150.00
  • Location: Abigail Kirsch’s Pier Sixty and Chelsea Piers, 23 Street and the Hudson River
  • Website: www.foodbanknyc.org
  • Synopsis: Save the date for the Food Bank For New York City’s Can-Do Awards Dinner, April 7, 2008 at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers — recognizing 25 years working to fight hunger in New York City. Join Co-Chairs Mario Batali and Susan Cahn, Honorary Dinner Chair Michael Stipe and Emcee Stanley Tucci for cocktails, live music, dinner, auctions and raffles. Honorees will include Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Christensen, Acosta Sales & Marketing Company, MTV Networks and West Side Campaign Against Hunger. Attendees will also enjoy a surprise musical appearance (past years have included performances by Patti Smith and Elvis Costello!).

3rd Annual Coffee & Tea Festival NYC

  • Date: Apr 12, 2008 (Sat) - Apr 13, 2008 (Sun)
  • Time: Apr 12: 11am-6pm; Apr 13: 10am-5pm
  • Cost: $20.00
  • Location: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011
  • Website: www.coffeeandteafestival.com
  • Synopsis: Sample coffees and teas from around the world plus: sweets, demos, classes, shopping, contests, music, and more.

Ninth Avenue Food Festival 2008

  • Date: May 17, 2008 (Sat) - May 18, 2008 (Sun)
  • Time: 9:30AM - 6:30PM
  • Cost: Restaurants, Vendors, Merchants, and Food Shops will charge each food item accordingly
  • Location: 9th Avenue from 37th Street to 57th Street
  • Website: http://hellskitchen.bz/info/ninthavenuefoodfestival.shtml
  • Synopsis: The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival in May has become a favorite weekend for New Yorkers since it began in 1973. From 37th Street to 57th Street, Ninth Avenue closes to cars and the festival takes over. More than a million people visit the festival each year. It’s unique and amazing, celebrating the joys of ethnicity through food, entertainment and every kind of street fair stall.Most street fairs in New York all look the same but this one stands out. The food is the big draw, but the festival is a fabulous expression of the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood – teeming with ethnic food shops and fine restaurants and offering an eclectic global smorgasbord of national and regional foods. Outside venders participate as well, but the Ninth Avenue merchants and restaurants and the community organizations of Hell’s Kitchen are out in all their neighborhood glory.

Taste of Times Square

  • Date: June 2, 2008 (Mon)
  • Time: Main ticket booth opens at 3pm, all others at 5pm
  • Cost: Free admission to festivities, tickets can be purchased at the booths for “tastes”
  • Location: West 46th Street between Broadway and Ninth Avenue, including historic Restaurant Row.
  • Website: http://www.timessquarenyc.org/about_us/events_taste.html
  • Synopsis: One of New York City’s most popular annual outdoor food festivals, Taste of Times Square, presented by the Times Square Alliance, is your chance to sample “tastes” of delicious signature dishes from Times Square’s best restaurants, enjoy classic New York street performers, catch top-notch local entertainment on three stages, and show off your hottest dance moves all evening with help from a swing band and free dancing lessons from Swing46

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

  • Date: June 7, 2008 (Sat) - June 8, 2008 (Sun)
  • Time: 12pm - 6pm
  • Cost: $8.00 per plate from the country’s top pitmasters, $100 for a FastPass
  • Location: Madison Square Park
  • Website: http://www.bigapplebbq.org/
  • Synopsis: The Sixth Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party returns to Madison Square Park June 7–8, 2008, from Noon–6:00 PM. The weekend-long event takes place every June and brings together the country’s top pitmasters who cook up their award-winning food for over a hundred thousand barbecue enthusiasts. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Madison Square Park, the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party attracts people from near and far to sustain and celebrate America’s authentic culinary and musical traditions.

NYC Food Film Festival

  • Date: June 14, 2008 (Sat) - June 20th, 2008 (Fri)
  • Time: Opening ceremonies start at 8pm on June 14, food starts at 7:00PM (except Weds, June 18th, food starts at 7:30PM)
  • Cost: Free admission, food will be available for purchase
  • Location: Water Taxi Beach, Long Island City, Queens
  • Website: http://www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com/index.html/
  • Synopsis: The festival is a multi-sensory experience where filmgoers are able to watch food films then sample the food portrayed in those films.

NYC Restaurant Week Summer 2008

  • Date: July 21th, 2008 (Mon) - July 25th, 2008 (Fri), July 28th, 2008 (Mon) - August 1st, 2008 (Fri)
  • Time: Lunch/Dinner
  • Cost: Three Course Lunch - $24.07, Three Course Dinner - $35.00
  • Location: New York City
  • Website: http://nycvisit.com/restaurantweek/
  • Synopsis: NYC Restaurant Week stands apart as one of the City’s most exciting and anticipated events. More than 235 restaurants participate—a cross-section of the NYC culinary scene that encompasses a diverse range of cuisines and includes some of its most time-honored restaurants and buzz-worthy newcomers. Through its evolution, however, the driving force behind the program remains the same: to give visitors and residents the opportunity to experience the quality, variety and hospitality that embody the NYC dining experience.

NY Brewfest 2008

  • Date: Sep. 12, 2008 (Fri)
  • Time: 5pm to 10pm, Gates open at 4pm
  • Cost: Beginning June 1st, tickets will be available online through ClickNPrint for $45
  • Location: South Street Seaport
  • Website: http://www.nybrewfest.com/
  • Synopsis: The 3rd annual NY Brewfest presented by Heartland Brewery will be held on Friday September 12th 2008 from 5:00PM until 10:00PM in New York City at South Street Seaport’s Pier 16 & 17. The festival is a celebration of Craft Beer and will showcase samplings from New York State’s outstanding breweries. We have expanded our participating craft breweries this year beyond NYS’s borders to pay homage to outstanding breweries thorough the US with emphasis in the Northeast region.

Food Network’s New York City Wine & Food Festival

  • Date: Oct 10, 2008 (Fri) - Oct 12, 2008 (Sun)
  • Time: Starts Friday evening
  • Cost: Variable, Tickets on sale June 16, 2008
  • Location: Meatpacking District
  • Website: http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com/
  • Synopsis: This fall marks the debut of the first ever Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine magazine. Like its sister event, the wildly successful Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the three-day weekend will also feature the hottest celebrity chefs and the biggest names in wines and spirits, all set against the backdrop of the country’s culinary capital – New York City. The event will benefit two important charities, the Food Bank For New York City, fighting hunger in New York, and Share Our Strength, one of the nation’s leading hunger relief organizations working to end childhood hunger in America.

    The weekend kicks-off Friday evening with Meatpacking Uncorked, a neighborhood block party featuring the area’s great restaurants, retailers and live entertainment throughout the Meatpacking District. At the Grand Tasting on Saturday and Sunday, guests will be able to sample delicacies from their favorite New York City restaurants along with wine and spirits. They can also enjoy culinary demonstrations, wine seminars, book signings and opportunities to meet renowned food personalities. Building upon the success of 2007, the festival will also continue the tradition of Sweet on Saturday night which showcases delicious creations by select Food Network stars and New York City’s best pastry chefs.