I spent all of last week in New York City for work and for my final night in town I was planning to meet one of my childhood friends. In the days leading up to my trip we had been talking about where to go together and she suggested this new weekly festival called Hester Nights.
Hester Nights happens every Thursday from 4:00pm - 9:00pm at the Eventi Hotel which is at the corner of 30th Street and 6th Avenue. I actually wanted to stay at the Eventi during this trip, but it didn't work out.
We arrived at 6:30pm and there was a wooden sign pointing us toward the event.
To reach Hester Nights you walk down a long, decorated hallway.
The hallway is basically a combination of a circus tent and a beach cabana. I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
When we emerged on the other side, the scene looked like this:
Before circulating through all the vendors, we hit up the bar which had a beach theme. I felt like I was in Key West! This place did not feel like New York.
My friend ordered the Cisco beer and I chose the pink sangria which was made with pisco, sauvignon blanc and hibiscus tea. The sangria was sweet, ice cold and super refreshing!
Once we had our beverages we started making the rounds to all of the food vendors. We took a full lap and were so overwhelmed with the choices that weren't quite sure where to start! This is the best type of problem.
We wound up deciding to start with something small. Our first purchase was the mushroom and cheese quiche from Yona's Gourmet Delights. We cut the quiche in half and since it was mini, we each got to have two bites. I have to say, it was delicious! I could have popped two or three more of these right into my mouth, no problem.
My friend was starting to get very hungry so she decided to order a sandwich from the Bombay Sandwich Co. All the sandwiches they serve are vegetarian. My friend selected one that had kale, tofu, red cabbage, toasted walnuts, caramelized onions, garlic cloves, tumeric and curry. It also came with a side of pear and mint chutney. She said the sandwich was very unusual, but she did like all of the strong Indian flavors. She just wasn't used to having them in between two pieces of multi-grain bread! One final note on this vendor, their salesman is super handsome, sort of a Dev Patel meets Justin Timberlake.
I chose our next item, which came from the funky and spirited crew at Little Muenster. Yes people, I am talking about grilled cheese. As we walked towards their table my friend said, "Oooo, they use the good bread! It's at all of the farmer's markets." Well then!
We agonized over which grilled cheese to choose (there were so many good choices!), but ultimately decided on a version with a Mexican twist. Our sandwich was stuffed with oaxaca and cotija cheese, corn puree, tomatillos and jalapenos. Let me tell you something, this is one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever eaten in my life. Imagine everything you love about nachos and quesadillas, squished and then grilled between two pieces of bread. I'll let you take a moment.
We sat for a while gossiping before we moved on to our next round. After another lap around the tents, we headed towards a banner that read, "Gourmet mac 'n cheese." We noticed right away their chalkboard sign that boasted, "All orders cooked fresh." No congealed bowls of orange mac 'n cheese here!
On their display table were multiple varieties of mac 'n cheese including one with tater tots and one with lobster. We asked why the lobster bowl had a cartoon on the bowl instead of the grub and they said, "Well, lobster doesn't hold up so well under the hot sun." Touche.
We eventually decided on the roasted broccoli variety and when we placed our order, the chef shouted back to the cashier, "Ok, that's the last broccoli!" We got the very last one!
The broccoli mac 'n cheese was awesome. It was made to order (as promised) and came piping hot. The pasta was rotini, which is perfect for soaking up the cheese sauce. The broccoli was clearly fresh, not frozen, and because the whole dish was cooked in a frying pan, it had a nice, brown crust to it. It was so good! I am drooling just thinking about it again. Thanks to the team at Good Eats at Home!
After another half hour of so of lounging, we decided we were ready for dessert. We couldn't remember which vendors had dessert options, so we took another lap. At this point, a large crowd had developed and people were squatting anywhere they could find a seat.
For dessert we were attracted to Kitty Lee Thomas Sweets, who was showcasing gourmet marshmallows!
In the display case there were rows and rows of tantalizing options - lemon honey, banana nut and more!
I decided on two flavors, the first which was the neopolitan. It was a strawberry marshmallow topped with milk chocolate and garnished with white chocolate shavings. I wanted this to be fantastic, but the marshmallow tasted like kindergarten paste.
My second choice was the rocky road marshmallow which was amazing! The chocolate and nut coating had a nice crunch. These could be very addicting.
For our last and final item of the night we headed toward the Melt Bakery ice cream cart. Melt specializes in ice cream sandwiches. In fact, in their store they offer 47 flavors! The four flavors showcased at Hester all looked so wonderful that we asked the owner for his top choice. The guy was super sarcastic and kind of a jerk. Had I been there alone, I probably would have walked away after being on the receiving end of his snark, but my friend really wanted to try one. I was rooting for the red velvet, but she lobbied for the zen flavor. Since she discovered this gem of a festival, I let her go with the zen.
The zen ice cream sandwich is green tea ice cream in between two ginger doodle cookies. First of all, the cookies had candied ginger in them and they were rolled in sugar. They were heavenly! The green tea ice cream had exactly the right amount of green tea flavor and was the perfect match for the ginger doodle. Snarky owner, I hate to admit it, but you make a damn good ice cream sandwich.
As the night went on people started to take seats all around the courtyard. There was a beautiful section in front of a light wall. You can't see this well in the photo, but the lights are actually a rainbow of colors - blue, purple, yellow, green and pink. It was really gorgeous.
Even though we'd finished eating and drinking, we weren't quite ready to head home, so we hopped up onto a ledge and just watched the sun go down over the courtyard.
I took this photo as we walked out of the Eventi to head back toward the hotel. Sigh. I love you, New York.
If you live in New York City you have to make a point to block off a Thursday night for Hester. In addition to the great food and just being outdoors, they also show a free movie in the hotel at 9:00pm. The night we were there it was "Ghostbusters."
Thank you to my fabulous friend for discovering this diamond in the rough! This is precisely the kind of event I would pride myself on finding in Boston. Bravo, beauty!
What is your favorite outdoor event of the summer?
