Riding the train to this years GoogaMooga festival, I had feelings of foodie PTSD from last years long lined, food shortage mess of a train wreck. I’m happy to report that where they got so much wrong last year, GoogaMooga got SO much right with this years amusement park of food, drink, and music.
It was an overcast day Saturday in Prospect Park but everyone’s spirits were high even with the spotty patches of drizzling rain. Everything about this years festival seemed more spread out and streamlined. Gone were the long food lines spanning to the middle of the main stage viewing area and in their place were three line at each booth offering only one delectable best seller from the 85+ vendors set up throughout the park. I was pleased that within 10 minutes of entering the festival I already had a tasty La Mamasita arepa, one of my favorite dishes in NYC, from Caracas in my grasp. Overall the food choices were great and not terribly expensive- spanning from $12 tasting flights of bacon to $5 crostini with Salvatore Brooklyn ricotta and honey on a Pizza Bianca from
Brooklyn’s Saxelby Cheesemongers.
Besides my arepa from Caracas, I tried to stick to the unusual food suspects from restaurants that I wouldn’t nesisarily have access to on a normal afternoon. There were Duck Corndogs from James and my favorite dish of the day: The Carbomb Parfait. Robicelli’s created this mind blowing dessert containing a Guiness brownie, Bailey’s cannoli cream, and Jamison whiskey ganache. It was smooth, crunchy, and perfectly balanced making it my favorite treat of the day.
This year GoogaMooga also god rid of the doomed VIP all you can drink/eat area and added a system of VIP drink tickets. Within the bar areas there were multiple bars with some of NYC’s best mixologists from the Flatiron Lounge, The Nomad, and Maison Premiere creating artisan cocktail infusions featuring George Dickel Tennessee Whisky, Bulleit Bourbon, and Don Julio Tequila. I had some amazing cocktails and might have found a taste for whisky by the end of the day with the help of a very informative seminar titled A Brief History of American Whiskey and The Cocktails that Made Whiskey Illegal. During this session participants were treated to several tastings and were taught how to make tasty and perfect classics like the Old Fashioned and Manhattan. Another lovely addition to this years festival was the Housing Works sponsored literary stage which hosted a variety of talkbacks with foodies, chefs, and writers.
Some would say this festival must be cursed because Sunday’s festival was canceled by prospect park due to a downpour of a thunderstorm, but I say give them one more year to iron out all of the kinks. If they make even the same amount of progress that they did between last year and this year, NYC is in for a treat if GoogaMooga returns in 2014.
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Of all of the artesian cocktails I got to sample on saturday, one really stood out above the others as a uniquely blended taste. I reached out and was able to acquire the recipe for all of you at Thrifty Foodies. Here’s a cocktail recipe from the killer mixologists at the Flatiron Lounge featured at this years VIP Cocktail Experience. If you get a chance to swing by their bar for a classy cocktail, their mixologists assured me that even though it isnt on the menu they would happily make you a “Devil Went Down To Georgia” from GoogaMooga!
Devil Went Down to Georgia
Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin.
Strain contents into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with 1 lemon slice
Thrifty Foodies 
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