The fall season is synonymous with food. There is so much good stuff growing on the farms and on our fire escapes that you just can’t help but want to scoot into the kitchen and cook something. Starting in September, your home will be brimming with the smells of simmering butter and fresh basil leaves, your fingertips carrying the scent of root vegetables.
If you’re looking for a little inspiration after several lazy summer months, over Columbus Day weekend the folks at the Food Network and Food Bank of New York have you covered, from peach and honey panna cotta to Blue Moon burgers to how to tend to your rooftop herb garden. But if you couldn’t get tickets to “Flavors of the Farm” with the Stone Barns Center or the Rachel Ray-hosted burger bash under the Brooklyn Bridge, fret not dear foodies.
Here’s a quick list of the yet-to-be-sold-out eco-minded events you don’t want to miss at the Food Network’s 2nd annual NYC Wine & Food Festival:
What: 100-Mile Brunch: Farmer Bob Cooks Brunch
When: October 11, 11:30 AM—2:30 PM
Where: NYC Fire Museum—278 Spring St.
Why: If you ever wanted to get up close to a real live strapping farmer, fresh off his John Deere, this is your opportunity. Farmer Bob will prepare a feast using ingredients from his Katchkie Farm in Columbia County, NY, in addition to farms in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Long Island. You’ll hear how he toils the land—which produces things you’ll be eating like Eggs Benedict with Flying Pigs Bacon and lasagna with homemade pasta from local grains—while feeling enlightened about supporting sustainable agriculture. Plus, the Bloody Mary and Blue Marble ice cream sundae with local honey comb isn’t a terrible way to start your Sunday.
Cost: $125, visit the site for more event details/ticket info
What: Buzzin’ With The Bee Man!
When: October 10, 2:00p.m. and 4:00p.m.
Where: Chelsea Market Event Space—75 Ninth Ave.
Why: You and your tater tot will learn all about bees and what they’re doing on the rooftops of New York City. There will be a jam and honey tasting, and you can buy the sweet sticky stuff for $3 from host David Graves—who has hives in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and produces 50 pounds of honey every year.
Cost: $10, visit the site for more event details/ticket info
What: Grand Tasting
When: October 11, 11:00a.m.-2:00p.m. and 3:00p.m.-6:00p.m. (Wine/Spirit sampling begins at 12p.m.)
Where: Pier 54 in Hudson River Park, Entrance at 10th Ave. and 15th St.
Why: This is the penultimate culinary experience, so walk and eat slowly through the venue that will be choc-full with food from some of New York City’s finest restaurants and chefs, including out of town favorites The River Cafe and Rosa Mexicano in D.C. (and NY). Make sure to stop by Resto, whose seasonally-rotating menu and “large format feast” create a unique farm-to-table adventure.
Cost: $150
What: Churn, Baby, Churn!
When: October 10, 2:00p.m.-3:00p.m.
Where: Chelsea Market Event Space—75 Ninth Ave.
Why: The other parents at the playground will be jealous that your kiddie knows how to throw down when it comes to milk and making their own butter. John Patrick Lango from Buffalo-based White Cow Dairy, a totally sustainable family farm foods project, will show everyone what to do with whole milk straight from the farm and guests can even take home what they’ve made. Baking will be so much more fun from now on.
Cost: $12, visit the site for more event details/ticket info.
How to get there: All food and wine festival venues are accessible by subway and bike. Use the Hopstop link below for specific directions.
The co-founder and editor-at-large at offMetro, Lauren is a sustainable travel specialist and freelance journalist with frequent bylines in National Geographic, Bicycling Magazine and Shape. Follow Lauren’s adventures at @laurenmati.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram