BY HELAINA N. HOVITZ | Last Sunday’s Taste of the Seaport was even more successful than last year’s, selling over 550 tickets to raise money for the Spruce Street School Parent Teacher Association. It was twice the amount of tickets sold last year.
Some participating restaurants were sold out of their signature dishes early, like the Beef Bourguignon from Les Halles on John Street. Made Fresh Daily was busy serving mini cupcakes and other sweets, and Table Tales served up one of the biggest hits again this year, its “Macaroni with Sunday Gravy.”
Especially popular with the little ones was Seaport newcomer Johnny Rockets’ vanilla milkshakes.
“I didn’t expect so many children to come out. It looks like the entire school showed up,” said Johnny Rockets manager Eric Liang. “We’re hoping parents will bring their kids by now that they know we’re here.”
After some fun at the new Imagination Playground on South Street, Jason and Kristin Makowski, and their sons Luca, 2, and Spruce Street kindergartner Noah, sat down to sample some of the local restaurants’ food. The Tribeca couple has always attended the Taste of Tribeca, even before they had kids. Now, they are happy to see that there is a fundraiser for their son’s east side school, and that they’ve discovered some new local spots to grab a bite. Kristin especially liked SuiteSushi’s calamari salad, and was surprised by the overall number of booths.
“As a New Yorker, you think of the Seaport as touristy,” said Kristin. “There are so many more local restaurants here than we thought.”
This year’s event saw some new additions, like the Beer Garden sponsored by Radenberger Beer, strategically located across from the bandstand. The Wisconsin Dells provided crowd-pleasing musical fun, keeping everyone around and fundraising through the event’s 4 p.m. end time.
After being chased around by her friends all afternoon, Carson Lava, 4, who just started pre-k at the Spruce Street School, stopped to chow down on a candy apple from Bridgewaters.
“I’m having so much fun, I’ve been dancing all day and I love the music,” Carson said. “I got a butterfly tattoo with extra sparkles, and I also made this button,” as she showed off her artwork.
Carson was joined by her mother, parent volunteer and Taste of the Seaport Committee member Maggie Lava.
“Everyone’s having such a good time,” said Maggie. “That’s the goal, to be part of something without feeling it’s a chore. Today has been a wonderful expression of everyone coming together to show love for our community.”
The Beekman Beer Garden, formerly Water Taxi Beach, will be trying something new this year — staying open through December, as opposed to shutting down by October. After seeing many repeat customers on Sunday, they seem to have cause to stick around. In fact, Pam Sheppard of Pearl Street came back for second and third helpings of Bratwurst.
“This has been absolutely fantastic,” said Sheppard. “The fundraising aspect is so important. That’s a big drive for us coming out.”
In addition to the food, the Spruce Street School booth offered Nerf Target Practice, while Manhattan Youth provided Trick-Or-Treat bags for decorating. The Church Street School of Music and Art, The Quad Manhattan, and NY Kids Club also manned activity booths.
The event took place mainly on Seaport property because, due to the construction on Peck Slip, the city did not grant a permit for Historic Front Street between Peck Slip and Beekman Place.
