The 11th Annual Latke Festival, December 16
Hanukkah is just around the corner and it’s officially latke season. The Latke Festival returns to the Brooklyn Museum once again, with every kind of potato pancake imaginable. Taste classic and re-imagined latkes from an array of participating restaurants and vendors, enjoy drinks and a DJ set, then vote for your favorite latke of the night. New this year—a latke recipe contest for home cooks. The results are in: you’ll get to sample winner Sasha Shor’s Russian Latkes with Smoked White Fish and Horseradish Sour Cream. All proceeds from the festival benefit the Sylvia Center, a non-profit organization providing cooking and gardening classes to children and their communities.
Brooklyn Museum. Tickets $60 – $120. More info: latkefestival.com
Soft Kitchen: PAMILYA, December 8
Chef Alexis Convento helms the latest edition of Soft Kitchen’s pop-up dinner series. Alongside her team, she’ll be serving a four-course, Kamayan-style meal, inspired by the long history of cultural connections between the Philippines and Mexico. The shared plates include: Arkipelago Bandeha, Pipian Bola Bola, Adobo Tako, and Bibingka. Chef Convento hopes that guests will share both food and conversation about history, culture, decolonization, and diaspora. BYOB permitted.
Soft Surplus. Tickets $30–$35. More info: eventbrite.com
The Good Batch Sinterklaas Cookie Fest, December 7
The Good Batch invites all cookie-lovers to get into the holiday spirit with a Sinterklaas party honoring their half-Dutch roots. In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas traditionally kicks off the start of December festivities with lots of sweets. Warm up with the Good Batch’s fresh stroopwafels, hot apple cider, and Dutch baked goods. There will be crafts for kids, including ornament and cookie decorating, plus some special giveaways. For cookie decorating, the bakery asks for a $5 donation to benefit NYC youth education programs.
The Good Batch. Free admission. More info: eventbrite.com
Dead Distillers Trolley Tour, December 14
Green-Wood Cemetery partners with Kings County Distillery for a very special trolley tour of their premises. Visit the “permanent residences” of Brooklyn’s long-gone distillers and bootleggers, including the sole casualty of the Brooklyn Whiskey Wars. The trolley will then take you to the distillery at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where you’ll get a behind-the-scenes tour of the whiskey-making process and taste four Brooklyn-made whiskeys.
Green-Wood Cemetery. Tickets $35–$40. More info: green-wood.com
Rum Academy – Winter Session, December 10
If you’re a bar industry professional or serious amateur mixologist, this course from the NY Cocktail Expo has everything you need to deepen your knowledge of rum. In the first session, expert Shannon Mustipher will take you through the expansive category of rum and a variety of international pours. You’ll learn about rum styles and production, then make a custom Daiquiri and Tiki Punch blend. In Part II, you’ll learn to distinguish flavor profiles and how to use rums in cocktails, plus how to adapt classic rum drinks, make traditional and contemporary garnishes, specialty ice, and Tiki rums/spirit blends/infusions. Students receive Rum Academy Level One Certification, with an optional exam to receive NYCE Rum Level 1 Certification.
Sisters. Tickets $40. More info: eventbrite.com
