Calling all foodies. Beginning this weekend, celebrate the bounty of summer with six drinking and eating (hello, garlic lovers!) day trips near NYC—from a Grand Tasting in Greenport to a culinary walking tour in New Haven—that are sure to entice even the most refined palate.
1. Nassau, Uniondale |Fine wine & Food Fest
When: October 15
What: The Fine Food and Wine Fest celebrates the best that New York and New Jersey has to offer, gathering together both state’s best food, wine, beer and other spirits into one star-studded extravaganza. Famous food vendors throughout all of Long Island will be on call, so be sure to arrive with an empty stomach for this food-tasting tour of our local delicacies. over 150 different types of wine will be provided for as well as New York’s top cideries and distilleries. If that’s not enough to entice you then we encourage you to check out the vendor’s row, where home decor, jewelry and various other shopping opportunities proffer their temptations. Held in Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, this Garden City hotspot buzzes with the energy that is often reserved for sports games or music concerts. At $49 a ticket, this festival is a must-do.
How to get there: Take the Metro-North from Penn Station to Huntington. From there walk to the Mineola bus terminal, which you’ll take to Freeport. From there it is a few minute Uber to the Nassau Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum
2. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY | The Edible Garden
When: Daily until mid-October
What: There’s a lot more than violets and roses in this bucolic corner of the Bronx. This summer, the garden is celebrating the growing and preparing of food. Environmental, nutritional, and economic concerns converge to explore themes related to healthy eating in today’s hectic world. Daily cooking demonstrations by Chefs such as Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and Bill Telepan will promote the use of fresh, locally grown ingredients. Summer weekends will find Garden-to-Table demonstrations, featuring a fresh, seasonal ingredient, like raspberries and summer squash when they are at their peak of freshness and bounty. All cooking demos are included in the admission fee. Wednesday’s demonstrations include produce purchased from the on-site, weekly Farmers Market.
How to get there: Take the Metro-North Harlem local line to Botanical Garden Station. Walk across Kazimiroff Boulevard to the Garden’s Mosholu Gate entrance. It takes 20 minutes from Grand Central Station. By subway, take the B, D, or 4 train to Bedford Park Blvd Station. From the station exit, take the Bx 26 bus east to the Garden’s Mosholu Gate entrance. Or walk eight blocks down the hill on Bedford Park Blvd to the end (approximately 20 minutes). Turn left onto Kazimiroff Blvd and walk one block to the Mosholu Gate entrance.
3. Saugerties, NY | Murray’s Cheese Shop Whey-cation
When: Ongoing
What: Murray’s, Manhattan’s venerable demi-god of the frommage-loving set, is offering a yummy and informative daytrip to the Hudson Valley. It will be worth getting up early, as the day includes a brunch of locally-sourced delectables at New World Home Cooking restaurant, followed by a visit to Nettle Meadow Goat Farm, just outside of Warrensburg. You will get up close and personal with the cheese-making process, to better appreciate and understand what you will be sampling. Make nice with the resident goats, sheep and cows, whose milk constitutes the main ingredient for the prized farmhouse cheeses that are produced here.
How to get there: Take the A train near Penn Station to West fourth street. 254 Bleeker street from here is just a seven minute walk from the station
4. New Haven, CT | Connecticut Culinary Walking Tour
When: July 10, August 14, and various Saturdays throughout the year
What: If you think that the New Haven food scene stops and starts with the pizza rivalry between the two great pizzerias in town, Sally’s and Frank Pepe, get ready to be proven wrong. Yes, generations of Yale Grads do make regularly pilgrimages back to town to scratch their New-Haven style pizza itch. Yes, the animosity between the two pizza giants is fierce (think Mets and Yankees). But New Haven is home to a melting pot of gourmet delights that you will discover on this culinary walking adventure. Join Stephen Fries, New Haven Register food columnist and Professor of Hospitality Management, as he leads hungry foodies around New Haven. He will introduce you to the most famous, the newest and the off-the-beaten-path dining establishments and food shops.
How to get there: The tour departs form the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale at 10:45 a.m. The tour costs $59 per person.
5. Hamilton Township, New Jersey | South Jersey Wine and Food Festival
When: September 19-20
What: If you’re looking for a taste of the best New Jersey can offer, look no further than Hamilton Township. Presented by the Mays Landing Merchants Association, this annual celebration is rounding its tenth lap around the sun, set once again along the serene Lakeside of Lake Lenape. Whether you’re looking for a great deal on New Jersey’s best vintages or a sample of gourmet meals while additionally rubbing shoulders with their top culinary personalities. Order tickets online to save 50% on the $30 general admissions ticket!
How to get there: Take Megabus.
Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributes travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She is fluent in Italian and Spanish and laughably adequate in French. Her background as an Early Childhood Educator gives her an added understanding of what it takes to travel with kids in tow. She firmly believes that the most important part of education takes place outside of the classroom, on the road, around the world. She never misses a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. Follow Allison at @gourmetrav.
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