New York Cider Week Comes to Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

Last Friday saw the kickoff of the third annual New York Cider Week. As the leaves have finally started changing, restaurants all over New York City and the Hudson River Valley will host tastings and events showcasing local growers and purveyors of apple cider. But before you get the kids excited, a word of warning: The drink they are celebrating is “real cider” – the alcoholic kind.

New York Cider Week goes until Oct. 27 and seeks to celebrate traditional hard cider and promote local makers. They have partnered with restaurants from across the city, including ICI and Lulu & Po from the nabe, to sponsor events throughout the week, ranging from cider tastings to full-blown multicourse meals featuring ciders from across the east coast.

Tomorrow evening ICI will host a four-course Farm Feast featuring food pairings with local hard ciders. The evening’s locally-sourced menu will be served family-style in the Parlor Floor, a private room at the restaurant. While the evening’s menu is still to be announced, expert cider makers will be on hand throughout the night. Louisa Spencer from Farnum Hill and Eleanor Leger from Eden Ice Ciders will join the evening for food, conversation and fine ciders. If you have ever been curious about how cider is made, or just what makes ice cider different form the ordinary stuff, this is the night for you. Tickets are $48 and can be purchased online here. The dinner is at 7 p.m. at ICI at 246 DeKalb Avenue.

Lulu & Po will also be featuring Bad Seed small-batch ciders by the Hudson Valley-based Wilklow Orchards. Stop by throughout the week for a fine meal and top it off with a locally-sourced cider at 154 Carlton Avenue.