Chelsea: Dickson’s Farmstand Meats begins a grab-and-go weekend brunch on Saturday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., offering $8 items like biscuits with sausage gravy, and chorizo and egg burritos. [Grub Street]
East Village: Serious Eats calls newcomer Zabb Elee the best Isan Thai food in Manhattan. Thai authority Harold Dieterle of Kin Shop agrees, “This stuff is legit Thai spicy.” [Serious Eats NY]
Learn to drink like Draper at the Astor Center’s Mad Men happy hour on May 27 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For $75, you’ll learn to mix an Old Fashioned like Don, a Gibson like Roger, and a Tom Collins like well-trained Sally Draper. [Grub Street]
Financial District:El Coto de Rioja’s Paella Parade competition is May 23 at Water Taxi Beach at South Street Seaport from 6 to 9 p.m. For $35, sip Rioja wines while tasting paella from ten chefs competing for Best Use of Ingredients, Most Creative, Prettiest, and the top prize, Paella Parade Pleaser. [Grub Street]
Greenpoint: Attention, bikers: Monthly cinema supper club Forking Tasty Suppers is hosting their first Bike-in-Theater event on May 14. The location, time, and film are undisclosed, but you can sign up to find out here. [Grub Street]
Hell’s Kitchen Think a May version of Oktoberfest: World Yacht’s Maifest on the Hudson will transform Pier 81, at West 41st Street and West Side Highway, into a German biergarten on May 21 for a day of authentic German revelry, including voting on and crowning Miss German America. Admission is $15 ($20 for a cruise ticket). [Grub Street]
Midtown West Morimoto’s Chefs Cook for Japan event to support the Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund is on May 18 at the Harvard Club, at 27 West 44th Street, from 6:30 9:30 p.m. A $150 ticket ($300 for VIP) buys a dine-around tasting from a long list of superstar chefs, including Anita Lo, Jonathan Waxman, Daniel Boulud, and Marcus Samuelsson. [Grub Street]
Murray Hill: The secrets behind the constantly changing pop-up What Happens When will finally be revealed by chef Jon Fraser and designer Elle Kunnos deVoss at Restaurant Design: Stretching Boundaries, a panel discussion at the Gabarron Foundation, 149 East 38th Street, on May 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 for general admission; $35 for members. [Grub Street]
Nolita: Torrisi offshoot Parm was approved for its liquor license. Even better: They’ll be accepting some reservations in the fall. [Eater NY]
Soho: Restaurant critic Jonathan Gold will be reading at Housing Works Bookstore Café tomorrow night on a panel for L.A. literary journal Slake. [Fork in the Road/VV]
While some compete at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic on May 16, others will compete in the Mixfits Royal Rumble at 1534, a “twisted bartending charity of sorts” for the MS Society. With $20 entry, watch the bartenders battle it out from midnight to 4 a.m. [Grub Street]
Upper East Side: Support the Philippine Independence Day Council at “An Evening in Manila” on May 14 at 15 East 66th Street, from 7 to 10 p.m. The $80 evening includes hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from Filipino pop-up Maharlika, D.J.’s, and a silent auction. [Grub Street]
Upper West Side: Island Burger & Shakes is opening a second location at 422 Amsterdam Avenue. [Zagat Buzz]
