Sunday, July 11, 2010

MEATOPIA

So this weekend on Governor's Island was what should have been a brilliant event entitled "Meatopia." Dozens of well respected and popular chefs and representatives had tents serving various forms of BBQ'd meat. Unfortunately, the people who planned this clusterf*$k had no idea how to organize it, how to limit human traffic, or how to plan for how many tickets they sold.
Ideas for the future:
Limit the number of attendees (a.k.a. have a sell-out point)
Inform the chefs of the highest projected number of attendees
Have different entry times. Try using different colored wristbands so people have to leave.
Just a few suggestions...
I planned this day as a gift to the hubs, as our 4-year wedding anniversary is later this week, and as I may have mentioned before, he is a big fan of most meats and just about anything barbecued.

We got to the event about 3 hours in (would have been earlier except there were delays on the ferry) and three hours before it ended. We each had a ticket for six tastings, which means we SHOULD have been able to sample about half of the dishes available.
We were not.

Examples of things we did not get to try:
Pecan Smoked Short Rib over Asian Slaw & Bourbon Infused Mashed Sweets
Pulled Pork Shoulder
Pulled Pork Sliders
La Caja China Roasted Pigs
Smoked Duck Tacos (Sue Torres of Sueños Restaurant)
Barbacoa De Boreggo (Mexican BBQ Lamb)
Baron of Beef (from The Little Owl)
Marinated Skirt Steak (Christopher Lee of Aureole)
Grilled Bacon Sandwich
Honey-glazed Baby Back Ribs w/ Thai Basil & Mint (The Hurricane Club)
Lamb Spare Ribs, Plum & Sesame Glazed

The reason we did not get to try any of these things is because THEY RAN OUT! Hours before the event ended most of the tents were empty, and in the last hour there were only 4 places still serving, and the lines were hundreds of people long. We only got to taste three things total, and the only really decent one was the bison steak from High Plains Bison.
Apparently the people running it had no clue how many tickets and tastings had been sold and so no information was passed to the chefs. NOT COOL, PEOPLE!
Standing in lines in alternating sweltering heat and showering rain, after paying between $60-90 for tickets, and only get three 2oz tastings (rather than 12) is absolutely unacceptable.

Luckily the hubs kept his calm, I only got moderately cranky, and when it really started to rain we found a little tarp set up on a field and hung out under it. So we only got severely damp instead of drenched.
If you enlarge the photo above, you can see the rain drops on the right that are falling even while the sun is shining. It would have been an interesting day, had we been fed.

The alternating rains made for some seriously dirty feet.
I showered the instant I got home.

While the rest of the grumbling crowd went to stand in line for the return ferries (at least they are free!) the hubs and I went to explore some of the old barracks on the island. It was very interesting and very pretty. 
I took this picture from a rocking chair on the deck inside a square that once had a moat around it!

View of the southern tip of Manhattan from Governor's Island.

You can see all three bridges going up the East River from the ferry port as well.

The Statue of Liberty with some interesting post-rainstorm clouds.

The Governor's Island Ferry Station. Really interesting architecture, if a questionable color scheme...

A moment of cuteness between two hungry & bedraggled folk on the ferry.
(a.k.a. me & the hubs)

The post rainstorm clouds were doing some stunning things.

I leave you with this stunning image, and know that upon returning home (and showering) I made some lovely panko & lemon thyme encrusted tilapia so we did not die of starvation.
(I had planned on fish for dinner because it would be light after our feast of various meats. HA!)
The day may not have gone even remotely how I'd hoped and planned, but it was an adventure if nothing else. And I'm thankful that the hubs is the type of person to put the positive spin on things ;)
But man do I hope they get their sh*t together before next year...


2 comments:

D. Jean Quarles said...

Lovely photos. Thanks for sharing.

Joe Ambrosino said...

Great pictures. We like Governor's Island too, but a bummer about the BBQ. Here's an alternative suggestion; Take him to Rubs on 23rd Street and order something called the "Burnt Ends Dinner" This is pure BBQ decadence! Oh! Happy Anniversary too.