A Review of the Food at the Great Googa Mooga 2013
By Siobhan Wallace
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Food and music lovers focused on Prospect Park this past weekend for the second annual Great Googa Mooga on the Nethermead Meadow. Though the weather didn't cooperate for the Sunday portion, those who were able to make it out on Friday evening or Saturday were rewarded with delicious eats and great music.
The festival started Friday evening with a ticketed concert headlined by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and dinner supplied by some of the 85 food vendors. The slow trickle in allowed the audience to see if some of the dishes lived up to the hype. Henri the Hamageddon pig made reappeared, this time with an entire line of BaconLand vendors serving up everything from bacon flights to The Meat Hook's bacon sandwiches. Situated close-by, garnering rave reviews, was the James' duck sausage corn dog.
A few out-of-town restaurants with New York City plans showed up to wow the crowds including LA's Umami burger—which is opening a shop in Greenwich Village soon—and Boston's Toro. Toro's chef Jamie Bissonnette was on hand to oversee the heaping servings of perfectly done rabbit and snail paella. And Umami Burger's umami burger wasn't the only one to be had: Manahttan's Burger Joint and Brindle Room plus Williamsburg's DuMont Burger doled out fine specimens of the American classic as well.
Behind the main stage was a slightly hidden line of vendors and a relaxing canopied area with tables. Rockaway Beach's Rippers brought the fun with funnels and torta-style hamburgers, while Northern Spy Food Co. created one of the best egg sandwiches known to man: a sous-vided egg on a bed of kale and hash.
And though the glow-in-the-dark cake wasn't edible, the desserts that were made up for it. A serious highlight was the brownie parfait being whipped up by Robicellis. A fudgy Guinness brownie base topped with Baileys ricotta crème, whiskey chocolate sauce, and beer nut praline. For $8, it was one of the best deals to be had.
Unfortunately, due to the weather and concerns over the effects on the grass, the Sunday portion of Googa Mooga had to be cancelled.
Siobhan Wallace is the co-founder of Blondie & Brownie.
