This Weekend’s Five Best Food and Drink Events in NYC – 5/1/2015

Big races. Big fights. Add those together and you have a big reason to go out this weekend — or perhaps find a low key spot to hide if you’re not into these sports. Here are this weekend’s top five food and drink events.

Burger Week, Multiple Locations, Saturday and Sunday

Burger Week runs hrough May 7, and provides ample opportunity for tasting. Hit the NY Burger Feast tonight, and you’ll eat ramen burgers as well as patties from Genuine Roadside and Black Iron Burger. Some events include beer and cocktail tastings as well as blind burger tastings. A full lineup of events and tickets are available on the event website.

Wine on Wheels, City Winery, 155 Varick Street, Saturday, 1 p.m.

Enjoy 150 wines and conversation with 50 of New York’s top sommeliers, like the University Club’s Yannick Benjamin. In addition to tastings, this event features a series of seminars focused on individual wine regions, spirits, and how to master a blind tasting. Tickets are available through the event website.

Bourbon & Bowties, Southern Hospitality, 645 Ninth Avenue, Saturday, 3 p.m.

Break out the seersucker suit and sip on mint juleps during the Kentucky Derby at Southern Hospitality. In addition to the race and plenty of Memphis style barbecue, festivities include a costume contest with prizes awarded for best hat and best bowtie. Prizes include tickets to the Belmont Stakes and next year’s derby, and guests can enter with the purchase of a souvenir glass on the day of the event.

New Brunch, Javelina, 119 East 18th Street, Sunday, 11:30 a.m.

Breakfast tacos, biscuits, and jalapeno sausage gravy are all featured items at Javelina’s new brunch, which makes its debut this weekend. Additional options include migas (scrambled eggs with cheese, serrano peppers, fried tortillas, and pico de gallo) and chilaquiles. Wash down your meal with spicy micheladas and bloody marys.

BYOB Italian Sunday Supper, Leopard des Artistes, 1 West 67th Street, Sunday, 5 p.m.

This restaurant serves a Sunday feast meant to be shared — and you can pair it with whatever you’d like, because there’s no corkage fee on Sunday, which means you can BYOB. The menu focuses on traditional Italian cuisine; an a la carte menu — which includes a wide selection of pastas and veal chop, among other entrees — will be available, too.