We hope you all had as great of a time at the 5 Boro PicNYC as we did and thanks to everyone that came out! Check back in the future for information on the 2013 event and enter you email to be notified when tickets go on sale (Coming Soon).

That’s alright. Because not only can you (re)live it here in this fabulous video, you can also join us at our next big outdoor event on Governors Island:
Cook-Out NYC – July 7th-8th
Pig Island – September 1
Sunday PicNYC – September 2

Congratulations to all our amazing chefs and food vendors for a perfect two-day PicNYC! The weather threatened a bit, but we managed to escape rain during the festivities. The results were tasty, indeed. Our esteemed judges awarded several chefs with prizes, including:

Sausage Cook-Off

• First place – Vandaag with Chef Humberto Guallpa’s Boudin Blanc Sausage,
• Second place – Jason Debriere of Peels with a House-made Kielbasa;
• Third place – Vandaag’s Blood Sausage;
• Honorary Mention – Alobar’s Ian Kapitan for cooking under unrelenting fire in the midst of battle (and returning on Sunday in spite of transportation issues).

Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese Cook-Off

• Chrissy’s Cooking Club – The OMG Grilled Cheese put together by the students of the Bushwick Campus Farm.

Slow Food NYC Taco Challenge

• Left Bank (Laurence Edelman)

Zagat’s Special Awards

• Best Meat and Vegetarian Sandwiches: Jimmy’s No. 43 Bahn Mi. Both the vegetarian (tofu curry) and meat (ground pork simmered with fish sauce and lemongrass) were packed with flavor and delivered a refreshing crunch of pickled vegetables;
• Best spicy sauages: Alobar (Ian Kapitan) – thin, minty lamb merguez topped with cucumber yogurt sauce, and fat, spicy Bison topped with corn and chile salsas;
• Best Improvising: Chrissy’s Cooking Club – Homegrown vegetables in grilled cheese sandwiches brushed with garlic scape butter.
• Favorite Beers: Sixpoint Righteous Rye and The Crisp.

Notable Shout-Out

• The judges gave a “shout out” award to Jimmy’s No. 43′s grilled flank steak with chimichurri sauce.

Thank you to all our judges, chefs, food vendors and volunteers for our best Governors Island event thus far. We’ll see you at Cook-Out NYC on July 7th-8th.

Yesterday’s 5 Boro PicNYC was an overwhelming success, and as the sun starts to peek out, we’re predicting an even better day today (not so hot, just as many vendors!). Our friend and celebrity judge, Monica Forrestall, sums up the grilled cheese cook-off and tasting competitions from yesterday. We are sold out for today, so be sure and keep a look out for our next big food event: Cook-Out NYC, July 7th-8th, a part of July Good Beer Month.

From Monica: “An amazing day on Governor’s Island yesterday, May 26th for the opening day events for the 2012 season. The BIG (over 1200 attendees) foodie event was the 5 Boro PicNYC organized by chef/restauranteur extraordinaire, Jimmy Carbone of the gastropub Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village.” Read the rest here…

Did you know there’s an art to making great grilled cheese?  Here are some simple guidelines from our Grilled Cheese Pavilion Sponsor, Jarlsberg:

• Brush the tops of your bread with ultra soft or melted unsalted butter for even cooking.
• Using quality bread—like NY Handmade Breads—is important,
• If using semi-soft to firm cheese, shred or grate while it’s cold (easier to handle); grated cheese (when it’s at room temperature) cooks quicker, too.
• After the first “flip,” press with a tool (like a spatula) to get that crispy, golden-brown crust.
• Always cook on a medium-low heat.

Be sure to check out the Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese Cook-Off, where chefs will compete for a first-prize win of Lodge seasoned/cast iron skillet set plus cookbook, a 22lb wheel of Jarlsberg and Sur La Table gift card (together, a $500 value).  Runners-up will be awarded a Calphalon slicing/grating kit plus contemporary cutlery, a maple butcher block, and Sur La Table gift card ($250 value).

Celebrity judges include Cricket Azima (The Creative Kitchen), Kathy Blake (The Experimental Gourmand), Gloria Dawson of Edible Manhattan, Jess Kapadia (Food Republic), Monica Forrestall, Christopher Kompanek, Matt Timms, and Janet Zappala.

Jarlsberg will also have plenty of tasty grilled cheese sandwich samples and lots of giveaways at the Pavilion for attendees both days.

The beauty of tree-lined Colonel’s Row on Governors Island will offer a great location to picnic with friends and family when 5 Boro PicNYC brings together great craft beer, fabulous live blues bands, and amazing chefs from all five boroughs grilling up their favorites Memorial Day weekend, May 26 and 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some of the chefs you’ll have the chance to meet include:

• Jason DeBriere of Peels: Formerly with Jonathan Waxman, Jason will be grilling some of his home-smoked sausage;
• Steve Seabury (Mosh Potatoes) will be curating the Hot Sauce & Blues Music Festival, featuring a half-dozen blues bands and hot sauce tastings from his own award-winning High River Sauces, NYC Hot Sauce, Sol Sauce, and others TBA;
• Ian Kapitan of Alobar: This Canadian chef brings the best practices to Long Island City, where he frequently offers free pig butchering demos along with making his own charcuterie.
• Other renown chefs include William Kooper (Carlton Park), Laurence Edelman of Left Bank, Neil Cane and Ray Farrugia representing BigFood, and Humberto Guallpa of Vandaag;
• Select chefs from the “5 Boros”: Representatives from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island to include Lucky 777 Chili, Jimmy’s No. 43, Green Brown Orange, Deep River Snacks, and Suspenders Restaurant (samples guaranteed until 2 p.m.), in addition to food available for purchase from The Fat Beagle NYC, Red Hook Lobster, Wooly’s Ice, Ven Leeuwen, and Luke’s Lobster.

Rather than a “mega-festival,” 5 Boro PicNYC is the perfect place to mingle with cooking professionals, family and friends, all while enjoying craft beer from Sixpoint, activities for all ages, and a general “laid back” vibe that makes the summer events at Governors Island a delight to return to year after year.

In our latest video, Jimmy Carbone travels to Peels where he finds Chef Jason DeBriere smoking sausage, to Vandaag to meet Chef Humberto Guallpa, and finally to Alobar where Ian Kapitan talks charcuterie! Just a taste of what’s coming this weekend!

In just the past couple of days, 5 Boro PicNYC has been getting some amazing attention from various press outlets (for all our pre-event press, click here), including a write-up by The New Yorker!

Goings On About Town: Above and Beyond – “5 Boro PicNYC”

“Socially, summer starts this weekend, and if you’ve had to unload your house in the Hamptons for financial reasons or if you find yourself without an out-of-town invite, this two-day event on Governors Island will ease the pain. It features fine food and craft beer from all corners of New York City.”

5 Boro PicNYC is happy to announce its most recent roster of NYC chefs who will participate in “the official start of summer” on Governors Island Memorial Day weekend, May 26 and 27, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Chefs that will be grilling or competing in the food cook-offs include:

• Slow Food NYC Taco Challenge featuring tacos made with Queens-based Tortilleria Nixtamal; will include Laurence Edelman of Left Bank, Marc Meyer (Five Points), with others TBA;
• Fossil Farms Sausage Pavilion will sponsor a wild game sausage cook-off with Ian Kapitan (Alobar), Peels’ Jason DeBriere, William Kooper (Carlton Park), and Humberto Guallpa of Vandaag;
• Jarlsberg’s Grilled Cheese Cook-Off with 5+ competing chefs—including Neil Cane of Big Food and NY Hand Made Breads;
• Rooftop garden salads by Growing Chefs and Brooklyn Grange;
• Select chefs from the “5 Boros”: Representatives from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island to include Lucky 777 Chili, Jimmy’s No. 43, Green Brown Orange, Deep River Snacks, and Suspenders Restaurant (samples guaranteed until 2 p.m.), in addition to food available for purchase from The Fat Beagle NYC, Red Hook Lobster, Wooly’s Ice, Ven Leeuwen, and Luke’s Lobster.

Staged at the tree-lined Colonel’s Row, 5 Boro PicNYC will showcase craft beer from Sixpoint and a Hot Sauce & Blues Music Festival. Bands playing over the course of two days have been assembled by music industry insider Steve Seabury of High River Sauces. Jamming out blues will be Alec Gross; Tomcat & The Whisky Rats; Kirsten Thien; The Suit, Tyree & Thurrsty; Brooklyn Blues Project; and others TBA.

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