Taste of the Upper West Side (Taste UWS) has been scheduled to take place on October 1 and October 2, with two food-filled evenings featuring live music and samples from over 80 chefs. Each event will take place under a tent in the playground on Columbus Avenue between 76th and 77th Streets.
All attendees will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination at the entrance. Taste of the Upper West Side will also be honoring all tickets purchased for 2020 on its newly scheduled dates.
Grillin’ in the City, taking place on October 1 from 7-10pm, will feature two restaurants – Pekarna and Covacha – making their Taste UWS debuts.
Slovenian-American restaurant and cocktail bar Pekarna opened its doors at 594 Amsterdam Avenue (89th Street) towards the end of 2020. For those of you who haven’t yet been, the space comes with two floors, a backyard patio and three private banquet rooms. Some noteworthy menu items include a Crispy Wild Boar with Rice appetizer, Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb entree, and Slovenian Apple Pie. Pekarna’s extensive cocktail offerings – which include “Summer Slushie Drinks” and absinthe drinks – have also received much praise.
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Mexican restaurant Covacha opened its doors at 368 Columbus Avenue (between 77th and 78th Streets) in April 2021, replacing Cafe Frida after it had served the UWS for 22 years. While Cafe Frida’s late 2020 closing was undoubtedly a loss for the neighborhood, its former owner – Cristina Castañeda – is also the current owner of Covacha, which she considers a revival of her original eatery.
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Castañeda describes Covacha as “a tribute to the food of the western Mexican ‘Ranchos,’ particularly inspired in Jalisco, honoring the ‘Milpa’ culture (a pre-colonial agricultural system configured around polycultures).” Covacha offers “revised versions” of traditional Mexican dishes (including vegan and vegetarian options), Mexican spirits and natural wines (with a focus on small-batch producers).
Castañeda Beyond Restaurants Hospitality also owns and operates El Mitote and Ella Social, both of which will be making Taste UWS appearances this year.
MORE: NEW + OPENING SOON on the UWS
Also participating in Grillin’ in the City:
- Bareburger
- Big Gay Ice Cream
- Bodrum
- Billy’s Bakery
- Da Capo
- El Mitote
- Gazala’s
- Hudson West
- Insomnia Cookies
- Jacob’s Pickles
- Jing Fong
- Make My Cake
- Osteria Cotta
- Pappardella
- Playa Betty’s
- Rosa Mexicano
- Shake Shack
- Tacombi
In addition, bartenders from Tiki Chick and Nobody Told Me will be serving beer-inspired cocktails “in the TASTE Beer Garden,” and there will be unlimited wine and spirits.
Tickets are $99 each. Learn more and buy your tickets here.
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Best of the West will be helf on October 2 from 6:30-9:30pm (with a VIP reception taking place during the first hour). VIP ticket-holders will get to meet and mingle with chefs and will have access to an exclusive Bubbly bar and seating area.
The second evening of Taste of the UWS will feature live music by Project Orange and will be hosted by NBC’s Lauren Scala. The focus will be “elevated cuisine” and “the perseverance of restaurant owners on the Upper West Side.”
Several Saturday night participants will be making their Taste of the Upper West Side debuts as well. These include Italian restaurant Felice, which opened in August at 240 Columbus Avenue (between 71st and 72nd Streets); Mediterranean and Israeli restaurant Dagon, which opened in February 2021 at 2454 Broadway (between 90th and 91st Streets); Spanish and Latin-Caribbean restaurant Tasca, which opened in November 2020 at 505 Columbus Avenue (between 84th and 85th Streets); and Kissaki, which brought its omakase to 286 Columbus Avenue (between 73rd and 74th Streets) in September 2020.
Also participating in Best of the West:
- Alice’s Tea Cup
- Bluebird London
- Cafe Luxembourg
- Calle Ocho
- Crave Fishbar
- Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola
- Elea
- Ella Social
- Gabriel’s Bar and Restaurant
- Good Enough To Eat
- The Gin Mill
- Jake’s Dilemma
- Harvest Kitchen
- Kefi
- Leyla
- Magnolia Bakery
- Maison Pickle
- Make My Cake
- Mille-Feuille Bakery
- Nobody Told Me
- Orwashers Bakery
- RedFarm
- Salumeria Rosi
- Shake Shack
- Storico
- Sushi85
- Tavern on the Green
- Tessa
- The Consulate
- The Smith
- The Leopard at Des Artistes
- The Mermaid Inn
- The Smith
- The Ribbon
VIP tickets are $215 and general admission is $135. Learn more and buy tickets here.
Within the context of dining out during ‘covid’ wouldn’t a tent be equivalent to a dining shed? I fail to see why the unvaxxed need to be prevented from taking part in the Taste event. Why the rush to institute policies as yet untested in the courts and quite distasteful to the traditional American way of life especially at a time when safe inexpensive drugs have been found to be 100% effective within 48 hours.
sir, this is a Wendy’s
Wow! What “safe inexpensive drugs…100% effective within 48 hours” are you referring to? “effective” against what? Are you talking about drugs to treat, or prevent, COVID-19 infection?
If so, this is major news to me. I’ve not heard of any drugs that are 100% effective. Such huge news would be amazing, so I’m surprised not to have heard!
Do you mean that you take one of these drugs [since you use the plural I assume you mean that there are more than one such drug] within 48 hours of exposure to COVID? But how do you know you’ve been exposed and so fast, to be able to get the drug in time?
For example if you went to this event, unvaccinated, would you automatically go the next day to obtain one of these drugs? Or, would you wait to hear if anyone was infected/contagious? Or, can you get the drugs in advance to have on hand in case of exposure?
Are these drugs available through doctors or drug stores? In what format? Are they related to the COVID vaccines?
Can you please share a published citation with evidence of the “100% effective” claim? Amazing news!
Have you taken one of these drugs? Side effects?
Please share more details! I’m sure I’m not the only one who would like to know.
Thank you!
Thanks Dave. I know where i am. There is merit in writing for the record.
. PS next time please be appropriate as well as courteous when addressing me. thank you.