All the World’s a Fare
New York City’s largest and most diverse food festival coming to Queens
By Joe DiStefano
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 would
move to Queens and wholeheartedly
embrace its diverse
cuisines and culture and come
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 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 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
Caribbean L 50 ife, April 5–11, 2019 BQ
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 Detroit-born
Greene is best known as the
Insatiable Critic and co-founder
of Citymeals-on-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
lengthy love affair with traditional
Spanish cooking at
Meigas, an ambitious 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 her latest, 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.
In the coming
19
weeks I’ll be profiling some
of my favorite vendors. Check
back next week to learn how
the Sainted Arepa Lady got
her start.
This is the first edition of a
weekly column written by Joe
DiStefano, a Queens-based
food writer, culinary tour
guide, and author of the bestselling
guidebook “111 Places
in Queens That You Must Not
Miss.”
CULINARY CELEBRATION: (Above) The World’s Fare — two days of food and performances representing
100 cultures — is coming back to Citi Field on May 18 and May 19. Columnist Joe
DiStefano (below) will be counting down the weeks to the festival. The “Insatiable Critic”
Gael Greene (at right), will serve on the culinary committee.
Buy Tickets At theworldfare.nyc
100+ Global CuIsines
International
Beer Garden
Music, Dance,
Art & More
CITI FIELD
MAY 18 & 19, 2019