As you may have heard, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic went down this weekend. And oh…it was a time, folks. Read more »

Manhattan Cocktail Classic
New York’s greatest barkeeps will converge this weekend for the city’s first cocktail conference. Seminars led by saloon superstars like Sasha Petraske are going down throughout the festival. Prices and locations vary; see manhattancocktailclassic.com for a full schedule.

Epicurious Entertains NYC
’Tis the season for high-profile food festivals. The go-to site for recipes, Epicurious, is behind this five-day marathon of tastings, demos and dinners. Some sessions are sold out, but you can still score access to events like a Sunday football party with grub from Zak Pelaccio’s forthcoming Fatty ’Cue, or a molecular mixology course with bartender Eben Klemm. Home Studios, 873 Broadway between 18th and 19th Sts (212-475-4663). Various times and prices; visit epicurious.com for the full program and tickets.

See all food events this week

See all drinking events this week

Oyster Frenzy
According to lore, the cooler months are the best times to enjoy oysters. Welcome them in style at the Grand Central Oyster Bar’s annual festival. Watch pros split apart bivalves during the shucking competition, or enter the slurp-off—a race to down 12 oysters in under a minute. You can view the carnage for free, but the mollusks (including bluepoints and Totten Inlet Virginicas) are market price. FREE Grand Central Terminal, Lower Concourse, 42nd St at Park Ave (212-490-6650). Noon–6pm.

Chili Fiesta
If torching your taste buds is your idea of fun, check out this annual chili-focused fete, featuring culinary workshops, panels and tastings. Highlights include a cooking demonstration with Fatty Crab chef Corwin Kave, samples from local chocolatiers like the Mast Brothers and an Indian chutney-making course—all free with garden admission. CHEAP Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 900 Washington Ave at Eastern Pkwy, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (718-623-7200, bbg.org). Noon–6:30pm, $8.

Sixpoint Pizza Pairing
If Ray’s with Bud no longer cuts it, don’t miss this highfalutin pie pairing, hosted by Sixpoint Craft Ales and the pizzeria Co. Five brews will be paired with just as many signature pizzas from bread master Jim Lahey: Sip malty Brownstone Ale with a veal meatball pie and Bengali Tiger IPA with the Popeye (pecorino, Gruyère, buffalo mozzarella and spinach). Reservations are recommended. Co., 230 Ninth Ave between 24th and 25th Sts (212-243-1105, co-pane.com). Noon–4pm, $35.

Epicurious Entertains NYC (through Oct 4)
’Tis the season for high-profile food festivals. The go-to site for recipes, Epicurious, is behind this five-day marathon of tastings, demos and dinners. Some sessions are sold out, but you can still score access to events like a Sunday football party with grub from Zak Pelaccio’s forthcoming Fatty ’Cue, or a molecular mixology course with bartender Eben Klemm. Home Studios, 873 Broadway between 18th and 19th Sts (212-475-4663). Various times and prices; visit epicurious.com for the full program and tickets.

Freaktoberfest
You’ve taken your final spin on the Wonder Wheel this year, but Coney’s not through with you yet. Taste Schmaltz Brewery’s seasonal Freaktoberfest lager at this boozy party, also featuring burlesque dancing. Other local breweries (like Smuttynose) will be dispensing suds—the 20-buck cover buys five sample pours. Public Assembly, 70 North 6th St between Kent and Wythe Aves, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-384-4586). 2–9pm, $20.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic (through Oct 4)
New York’s greatest barkeeps will converge this weekend for the city’s first cocktail conference. Seminars led by saloon superstars like Sasha Petraske are going down throughout the festival. Prices and locations vary; see manhattancocktailclassic.com for a full schedule.

See all food events this week

See all drinking events this week

Count on seeing a few of these gents at MCC this weekend.

This season’s abundance of food and drink festivals must have your calendar pretty inked up. But we do hope you’ve saved room on your dance card for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic preview, going down this weekend. The roster of seminars, talks and tastings is pretty impressive, but the one not-to-be-missed event is the Sunday Night Spectacular: A highfalutin affair featuring 12 bars dispensing classic cocktails at the New York Public Library. Yeah, it’s gonna be good.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased here. But we’ve got a gratis pair for one lucky reader—the first to correctly answer the following cocktail trivia question.

What do Jerry Thomas—the godfather of the American cocktail—and Restoration Hardware have in common?

Send your best guess to cocktails@timeoutny.com. Best of luck, ladies and gents. We’ll see you Sunday.

That's some pour! (Photo: Lizz Kuehl)

Announced today: Tickets to the seminars, hoedowns and demonstrations that make up Lesley Townsend’s bookish booze bacchanal go on sale Monday at 7:33pm. (Are we supposed to know the significance of this hour? Might it have something to do with, hm, the repeal of Prohibition?) The talent is multiple—all the usual suspects that you’d want to see (Philip Ward, Julie Reiner, David Wondrich, etc., etc.) will be participating in the weekend fest. Check out the bill of fare here. Save the dates (October 3 and 4)—because New York really does deserve its own version of Tales of the Cocktail. And commuting to the Astor Center is much easier than flying down to NOLA.

Related: Eff you, NOLA: The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is coming soon

Ah, synergy. On the heels of this afternoon’s announcement that the Astor Center will be debuting an expanded space in time for the NYCWFF, the Feed hears that former AC worker bee Lesley Townsend is organizing a festival of her own.

A preview of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic is planned for October 3 and 4 (the weekend prior to the NYCWFF) and will feature panels and discussions with some of the country’s greatest bar talent. You know the names: Dale DeGroff, Sasha Petraske, Julie Reiner, Dave Wondrich—it’s like a micro Tales of the Cocktail without the po’ boys! (Bummer—everyone loves a po’ boy.)

The best news of all: That dude with the malfunctioning mustache should find it much easier to tame in autumnal New York.