April 5–11, 2019 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 AWP 5
All the World’s a Fare
City’s most diverse food festival is coming
By Joe DiStefano
Brooklyn Paper
As a kid, I was always fascinated
by the World’s Fair.
It all started when I first
saw the glittering stainless
steel Unisphere out the car
window on the ride back to
Long Island from my grandmother’s
house in Glendale.
When I asked my mother
about it, she’d fondly recall
taking my brothers to the
1964–65 World’s Fair.
Many years later, I moved
to Queens and wholeheartedly
embraced its diverse cuisines
and culture and came to love
the Unisphere — a sculpture
originally commissioned as a
tribute to the Space Age — as
a symbol of the diversity of
the World’s Borough.
So when Joshua Schneps,
CEO and co-publisher at Schneps
Media and founder of
LIC Flea & Food, approached
me a few years ago to tell
me of his plans to pay tribute
to the largest event ever
to take place in the history
of New York City with a culinary
and cultural festival
with 100 vendors representing
100 cultures, I jumped on
board immediately.
The second annual World’s
Fare, which will be held on
May 18 and 19 at Citi Field,
features many of my personal
favorites from all over
the world, including the Arepa
Lady, the crown jewel of Colombian
street food in New
Hospital exec shares secrets
Brooklyn Paper
The weekly podcast
“Power Women” features
strong ladies such as Judge
Judith Sheinlin of “Judge
Judy,” Pat DiMango of “Hot
Bench,” New York City Census
Director Julie Menin, and
many others.
This week’s podcast guest
is Susan Browning, the Executive
Director of Northwell
Long Island Jewish Hospital
in Forest Hills. She also sits
Joe DiStefano.
York City; Indonesian desserts
from Moon Man; as
well as Italian arrosticini,
succulent lamb skewers from
D’Abruzzo, which won first
place in the savory division
at last year’s Fare.
Newcomers this year include
Chef Troy’s Table representing
Jamaica with their
nutritious and delicious I-tal
Rastafarian vegetarian cuisine,
Balkan Bites flying the
flag of Kosovo with flaky savory
burek and sweet baklava,
Cafe Escencia representing
Spain with scrumptious sourdough
churros wheel, and a
thoroughly modern take on
on the board of the Queens
Museum.
Browning talks to host Victoria
ancient Eastern Mediterranean
frozen confection from
the Republic of Booza.
There will also be a dessert
classic that many attendees of
the iconic 1964 World’s Fair
may remember: Belgian waffles
as prepared by street food
sensation Wafels & Dinges.
In addition to Schneps, this
year’s culinary committee features
a trio of female culinary
powerhouses: Gael Greene,
Chef Alex Raij, and Chef
Anita-Lo.
These days, the Detroitborn
Greene is best known
as the Insatiable Critic and
co-founder of Citymealson
Schneps about growing
up in Woodside and taking
inspiration from her grandmother,
who received a Master’s
Degree from Columbia
University in the 1930s after
emigrating to America
from Russia.
She also discusses the
keys to her work in hospital
administration. She talks
about her responsibilities
toward others after having
been helped by others as she
Wheels, but as restaurant
critic of New York Magazine
from 1968 to 2002, she
changed the way Americans
think about food. One could
trace the evolution of New
York restaurants on a timeline
that would reflect her passions
and taste over 30 years from
Le Pavillon, which has its
roots in the 1964–65 World’s
Fair, to nouvelle cuisine to
couturier pizzas, pastas and
hot fudge sundaes, to more
healthful eating.
Chef Anita Lo, author of
“SOLO: A Modern Cookbook
for a Party of One,”
has appeared on “Top Chef
Masters,” “Iron Chef America,”
and “Chopped.” In 2015,
she became the first female
guest chef to cook at the
White House.
Chef Alex Raij began her
love affair with traditional
Spanish cooking at Meigas, a
Spanish restaurant in Tribeca,
after completing her formal
culinary education at the Culinary
Institute of America. She
now owns and operates four
restaurants: Txikito, Chelsea’s
acclaimed Basque restaurant;
El Quinto Pino, named the
Absolute Best Tapas by New
York Magazine; La Vara, exploring
Jewish and Moorish
influence in southern Spain;
and Saint Julivert, a petit fisherie
inspired by ports of call
near and far.
I am truly amazed that the
World’s Fare has managed to
assemble a lineup of cuisines
that almost rivals the diversity
of the World’s Borough.
Joe DiStefano is a
Queens-based food writer
and author of the guidebook
“111 Places in Queens
That You Must Not Miss.”
made her way.
“Stay aligned with the
needs of your organization,”
Browning said. “Be flexible
and help others along
the way.”
Browning talks about the
secrets to her success. Tune
in to the 15-minute podcast
at SchnepsBroadcasting.
com and wherever podcasts
are heard. “Power Women”
shares successful women’s
secrets to success.
LET’S GO
FOR A
WALK
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