Dining by Design: The Great Googa Mooga!

People line up for food at the Great Googa Mooga

"What the heck is googa?!" my confused friend asked after I relayed my Sunday plans.  "Googa Mooga," I answered.  Based on the look on his face, I realized that I had just made the whole thing sound even crazier.

A month ago I was just as clueless as he was.  When I first heard the word, I had no idea what the strange cacophony referred to.  It turns out that "The Great Googa Mooga" is a festival in Brooklyn, New York that ushers in the summer season.  Rockers and chefs collide to offer a unique experience for foodies, fans, and people looking to spend the day in Prospect Park.  Think Woodstock meets Food & Wine Classic.  Hippies meet Locavores.  Awesome meets even more awesome.  (And even though I was still rocking my boot and getting over my fractured heel, I wasn't about to miss it!)

This year, Googa Mooga featured over 75 food vendors from quality New York City restaurants.  Two Tom Colicchio restaurants, Colicchio & Sons and Craft, drew enormous crowds. Culinary heavyweights Marcus Samuelsson and Daniel Boulud also had booths from Red Rooster and DBGB respectively.  The food lines grew to epic lengths as the day progressed.  My plan was simple: hit all of the best places and consume the most food upon arrival.  Some may percieve me as a small girl, but I love food and have confidence in the capacity of my stomach :).  So I set to work.

Pork belly taco and spicy watermelon juice from Colicchio & Sons

The first thing I tried, and my favorite dish of the entire day, was the pork belly taco from Colicchio & Sons.  The outer tortilla was perfectly crisp.  It also made the dish portable, a crucial detail in the festival setting.  The pork belly was succulent, moist, and warm.  On a hot day, the warm protein could have been off-putting.  However, Colicchio & Sons artfully counter-balanced the pork with shredded cabbage.  It provided texture and instant refreshment.  C&S served a "spicy watermelon juice" with the taco.  The iced beverage had a slight jalapeno kick.  Summertime perfection.

What amazed me most about the C&S booth though was how hardworking the crew was.  It was an all-hands-on-deck effort; I recognized the faces of the manager and the Food & Wine nominated pastry chef enthusiastically handing out tacos to the crowd.  Tom himself even made an appearance- a highlight of my day!  Although he was only scheduled for a demo in the special area of the festival, Extra Googa, he still jumped in with his crew and got his hands dirty cooking with them.  I have no idea how they kept it up all day!

Tom Colicchio takes time to talk to a dorky fan... me :)

Plantains at El Olomega Pupusas

I got the chance to taste some other dishes that morning, including the Dirty Duck Dog at Craft and plantain chips from Red Hook's El Olomega Pupusas.  Both were good.  And I always save room for dessert!  I paid a visit to legendary Momofuku Milk Bar for birthday cake truffles and a cornflake marshmellow cookie.  The birthday cake truffles were A-MA-ZING.  Momofuku served them cold too, so it was like eating cool cookie dough on a hot summer day.  Forget the concept of "birthday"...you don't need a special occassion to partake!

As you know, I am an avid fan of wine.  I certainly enjoy drinking it, but I mostly like approaching it from an educational perspective.  The nerd in me loves learning about the idiosyncrasies of the regions, varietals, and winemakers.  Googa Mooga was the perfect setting for that.  They had a large tent devoted to wines with representatives ready to pour tastes or glasses of high quality bottles.  I went for the tasting option so that I could explore wines I might not encounter otherwise.  One of my favorites was a Chardonney from Scribe.  The Chardonney was fermented in its skins.  Usually skin imparts the red color to red wines, but in this case that was avoided.  The wine retained the character of the skins, but the light familiarity of Chardonney.

After what I experienced, I can officially say that Googa Mooga is the Mecca of the NYC food world.  And I will certainly be making by haaj again next year :)!

For more information, visit the website: http://www.googamooga.com/about/