The 22nd Annual Harvest In The Square Food Festival Comes To New York's Union Square

Since 1995, the north end of Union Square has annually celebrated the bounty of restaurants in the neighborhood, as well as the region's great wine producers, with its Harvest in the Square, a walk-around tasting and fundraiser for the Union Square Partnership. The 22nd annual event recently once again graced the square, and hundreds of supporters flocked to the big tent to sample offerings from 46 local restaurants and nearly 20 beverage producers.

Proceeds from ticket sales went towards the partnership, which in turn supports a wide range of initiatives including landscaping, seating area installation, and free community programs. Not only is it a very worthy cause, the event itself was also pretty spectacular. Each restaurant and drink producer (primarily wineries) had its own table and cooking station, and handed out small servings of a signature dish to guests. There was also a seating area just outside of the tent, and the event overall had a relaxed and upscale vibe.

Some standouts among the local restaurants' offerings included those from Aleo (shrimp risotto), Barbounia (braised lamb ragù with homemade hummus), BLT Prime (braised short rib with sake reduction), Blue Smoke (baby back ribs), Blue Water Grill (creamed corn with crab and black truffle, above), Breads Bakery (apple turnover), Burger & Lobster (lobster roll), By Chloe ("BLT" with shiitake bacon on seven-grain toast), Craft (tuna crudo with cherry tomato), Daily Provisions (PB&J croissants), Junoon (ghost chile murgh tikka), Knickerbocker (T-bone steak), Ngam (red curry chicken), Tocqueville (chilled corn soup with crab and baby basil), and Union Square Café (marinated seafood crostino). Wines included offerings from Bedell Cellars, Brotherhood, Casas Patronales, Ravines, Lens, and Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery (which was also pouring several varieties of spirits).

As in previous years, the event lived up to all expectations, and it also helped to raise plenty of much-needed funding for the Union Square Partnership. We're already looking forward to next year's event!