Diana and I had volunteered via CleanVibes for the Googa Mooga event. I didn't actually realize that not only had we signed ourselves up for CLEANING, but we also had to put down a $55 deposit to "hold our volunteer" spot. Stupid. Makes no sense in my opinion. Why do I have to pay to volunteer? Upon completion, our $50 of the $55 deposit is refunded and we get $50 worth of food vouchers for the event. For 4 hours of HARD labor, it is totally NOT worth it. Diana may feel otherwise...
In any case, I just kind of want to block the painful memory and jump right into what I did enjoy about the first time ever held Great Googa Mooga food festival. We started getting food around 6pm and we were both starving by that time. Diana had her eye on trying M. Wells' Bologna Foie Gras Grilled Cheese. It was DELICIOUS! Definitely one of my favorite, if not my favorite of everything we tried (total of 10 items). The foie gras was so rich and the bread was nice and toasty. YUM!
M. Wells // Bologna Foie Gras Grilled Cheese
We were not happy about the volunteer experience...
This was how we felt x 500000
Next up, we got on a pretty long ling for the Burger Joint. I've always wanted to go check this place out which is actually at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel, but never had the chance to trek all the way there. The burger was standard, nothing special about it.
Burger Joint // The Works Burger with everything
Following the burger, we went to get some nachos at Calexico. They were supposedly serving Roasted Corn nachos but by the time we got them, they ran out of corn and was serving guacamole in lieu of the corn. I ain't complaining :) The Nachos were, well, nachos, no differentiation whatsoever.
Calexico // Guacamole nachos
Next, we had this bombass Phillipino "hotdog" at Maharlika. We actually had no intention and had never heard of this vendor but decided to give it a try because there was no lines/wait (that was a huge risk to take since every stand had long long lines). High risk, high reward - the hotdog was amazing. Diana loved it and said it was her favorite food at the festival. It had so much flavor: salty, spicy, sweet, you name it. I liked it a lot as well, definitely on the top of my list. I only wish that they did something with the bun, they could have easily toasted it to make it THAT much better as a whole.
Maharlika // (nameless) Hotdog
Taking a break from all the food, this was a picture of what part of the event looked like, mainly the stage. It was so packed. People brought blankets and just chilled. Loved the concept, but I really hate (crowds of) people. Eeeek!
Stage @ Googa Mooga
The Roots performing
We were thirsty after having a decent amount of food and I finally got to try kombucha! I'm so glad Diana spotted it and got us a cup. It was soooooo delicious; I didn't think I would like it so much. I first learned about the drink from Blogilates, and didn't really set my heart out to try it, but Diana ordered it for me to try and it was a total hit! Delicious and healthy - works for me!
Macarons // Kombucha
We got some macarons: salted caramel, pistachio, and passion fruit. Our favorite was the passion fruit, but I've definitely had better (i.e., at Per Se - can't believe I didn't finish them there!! Should have brought them home in hindsight!).
Macarons
Diana ventured out to get a ginger milkshake from Momofuku while I waited in line for some smoked meat. She literally inhaled the milkshake. I'm not a big ginger fan so I took a sip and passed. I'm glad Diana really enjoyed it, we both got lucky on the drinks :). Diana said she had some really good smoked meat once and wanted us to try it. They ran out of bread for their sandwich (eeerf? Don't call it a sandwich then...and reduce the price! They did neither). We got about 6 slices of meat for what? was it $7? It was salty.....and salty. The bread would have really helped.
Mile End // Smoked Meat
A view of what the food stands looked like. They were scattered in groups all around the park.
Red Rooster was here! Holla!
Diana's obsessed with cheese so of course we had to get a second grilled cheese sandwich. This one looked promising but did not meet our expectations. The cheese was not melted enough. I guess that's what happens when you have a long time of hungry customers...
Little Muenster // Grilled Cheese
Last but not least, we finished off the night with 2 orders of some awesome wings from Blue Ribbon. I didn't even know they made wings; I always thought it was a sushi place. The skin/batter was super crunchy and it was seasoned with lots of paprika and drizzled with honey. The honey was definitely a really nice twist. The meat itself could have used more marinade/flavor but the super crunchy shell made up for it. Delicious!! Since we got 2 orders, Diana and I could not finish it and after we left Prospect Park after nibbling on these wings, I delivered the leftovers to Andrew at his office as he happened to be working over the weekend.
Overall, I thought Googa Mooga was pretty successful. Many vendors ran out of food 3/4 of the way in, so that definitely was a let down; better planning would have helped. I wish we did not sign up for CleanVibes and wasted half the day "working". It was a hot sunny day and it would have been very enjoyable just laying on the grass.
After I met up with Andrew for a bit, I headed over to Josie's cousin-to-be, Jaz's, apartment over at NYU and got ready for Betty's promotion and Jaz's graduation celebration. We went to the Park in Chelsea and waited on line for a good hour. We took 2 shots of soco lime (pretty yum) and a cocktail. I stayed till about 2am and Andrew came to pick me up as he got out of work and we cabbed it back to his apartment.
