You can easily say I attended the Governor's Ball in New York City because of the food that would be there. Alright, I'll admit the artist lineup was pretty good too. But a music festival is incomplete without good eats. Here's what I had the privilege of consuming:
1. John's Juice
To sip on something sweet, my friends and I pooled our money to buy a juice-filled pineapple from John's Juice. The best part about these refreshments was that they were huge (four of us split one) and they were customizable (customers could choose from a variety of mix-ins, such as agave). It was refreshing, plentiful and well worth the money. We also reused the pineapple when we finished the drink by filling it up with water at the free water station instead of buying our own $4 water bottles. Side note: it was amazing to see the gigantic stacks of pineapples and tiny watermelons behind the John's Juice stand.
Side note: it was amazing to see the gigantic stacks of pineapples and tiny watermelons behind the John's Juice stand
2. Dough Doughnuts
GovBall did a great job at thinning out the wallets of festival-goers. But I happened to find a sweet deal (literally) for lunch, even if it meant consuming an excessive amount of carbohydrates instead of normal lunchtime food. That deal happened to be a hibiscus doughnut for Dough Doughnuts. For only $5, I received this fluffy handful of dough and frosting that satisfied me until my next snack. Was this love at first bite? I think so. It had a inexplicably citrus-y taste that was unlike anything I've ever tasted in a donut. I'm glad that I got to spend National Donut Day with this beauty.
3. Dō
Dō had, by far, the largest crowd out of all of the food stands. And it's easy to see why. They served up pure edible cookie dough in colorful cones and cups. Customers also had the choice of getting a cookie dough sandwich, which consisted of cookie dough hugged by two cookies. So many people demanded this delicious treat that by the time I got in line, they ran out of cookie dough. Don't worry DŌ, I'm coming back for you soon.
4. Arancini Bros.
Here's a little Italian language lesson: "arancini" means little oranges, which is what these rice balls resemble after they are deep-fried. For dinner, my friends and I consumed three different types of fried rice balls from Arancini Bros. The one pictured above is their mac n' cheese ball; a deep-fried, cheesy, gooey masterpiece. We also shared their pizza balls which consisted of tomato sauce, cheese and of course, risotto. Lastly, we tried their ragù balls, which were made of meat ragù mixed with risotto. Simply breaking these babies open was half the fun.
5. Wowfulls
If you've ever had Eggloo's ice cream from Chinatown in NYC, you'd love Wowfulls. This colorful concoction is essentially ice cream wrapped in a warm and soft waffle blanket. Wowfulls doesn't go light on the toppings either! In the picture above, this treat is topped with chocolate sauce, rainbow sprinkles, and brownie bits. This dessert has so much variety and so many different textures that your tastebuds are guaranteed to be ecstatic upon contact.
6. King of Pops
For a lighter, more summer-y sweet, King of Pops had just the right thing: fruity, chocolate-y, and even creamy popsicles. Some of the "flaves" that King of Pops serves up are raspberry lime, strawberry lemonade, orange cream, chocolate sea salt, banana pudding, and blackberry ginger lemonade. King of Pops made it easy to satisfy the sweet tooth with fewer calories.
7. Takumi Taco
What's a concert without jammin' out to music on top of a stranger's shoulders while eating spicy tuna nachos? That's exactly what the owner of this Japanese-meets-Mexican creation was doing when I asked to take a picture of his meal. These nachos, with sashimi-grade big eye tuna, avocado crema, spicy mayo, radish, and sesame seeds, taste as good as they look. If you ever yearn for Japanese-inspired Mexican dishes (tacos, nachos, burritos, etc.), Takumi Taco is your place to go.
8. Momofuku Milk Bar
Contrary to popular belief, Momofuku Milk Bar doesn't just serve ice cream. I had the pleasure of discovering their unique cookie line. Pictured above is their cornflake-chocolate-chip-marshmellow cookie and their confetti sugar cookie. I also may or may not have picked up an abandoned compost cookie (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, graham cracker, butterscotch and chocolate chips) off of the ground -- but it was still in the wrapper, and the wrapper described its deliciousness, making it even more irresistible. Sorry not sorry.
Okay, I'll admit I may have gone to GovBall for the music, too. But if I go again next year, you can count on me checking out what foods are going to be there before I even know what performers are lined up.