From down on Duane Street to up on Columbus Ave, the West Side of Manhattan was buzzing with some of the year’s best culinary celebrations this past weekend. On Saturday, with my sister and friends in tow (and blissful disregard for the impending swimsuit season), I ate my way through Taste of Tribeca before heading uptown to the Best of the West.

Taste of Tribeca is a day filled with food, fun and festivities to support programs for local elementary schools, P.S. 150 and P.S. 234. Besides offering some of the best dishes from more than 80 area establishments, this unique fundraiser demonstrates the camaraderie among the neighborhood’s many restaurants and families.

Unlike other tasting events, Taste of Tribeca offers you a tasting card, which is good for six plates of food—the hardest part is deciding which booths to hit. Having already tried ten of the day’s offerings at the press preview lunch a few weeks ago, made it even harder to choose! With such an incredible lineup, you need a strategic approach. My advice is to split plates with friends, so you can sample a variety and then go back for more of the ones you really loved. Though at this year’s event, there wasn’t much not to love.

Popular savory bites included Terroir’s meatball sandwich, Marc Forgione’s bison prime rib with ramp chimichurri (which drew the longest line by far), Max‘s cheesy meat lasagna and Locanda Verde’s lamb meatballs with pecorino. Sweet relief came from a variety of confections, such as creamy gelato from The Odeon, chewy s’mores cookies from Landmarc and mini cupcakes from Billy’s Bakery. And polishing off the last ooey, gooey bite of Duane Park Patisserie‘s sinfully decadent molten chocolate cake convinced me that Rapture had come a few hours early. I thought I had died and gone to Heaven.

Thalassa‘s olive oil cured Diver Scallop over Caviar Mousse and Zucchini Fritters, wrapped in Kataifi

Marc Forgione served his tender High Plains Bison Prime Rib with Smoked Salt and Ramp Chimichurri

Chunky Maine Lobster Roll with grapefruit-splashed greens from Church Lounge

Centrico turned up the heat with their Tacos de Carnitas and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Pork Rillette Sliders with House-Made Pickles and Tomato Jam from Plein Sud

Got milk? Children and adults alike loved Landmarc‘s chewy and chunky S’mores Cookies

1. That bison prime rib looks and sounds AMAZING!

   Sarah

   May 23, 2011 at 4:45 pm