Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel NYC

Hester Nights street-food party at the Eventi Hotel in Chelsea, Manhattan.

Here's something different to add to your summertime, outdoor-drinks-and-dinner list: Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel in Chelsea, a weekly street-food (and booze) party thrown by the folks behind the Lower East Side's excellent Hester Street Fair. Held every Thursday evening in the Eventi Hotel NYC Open Air Plaza, a pretty, tree and table-filled space that flows nicely from the Eventi Hotel's casual indoor eateries, Go Burger and Fish Shack, Hester Nights makes for a solid after-work plan, a change-of-pace family meal, or a good, low-risk date idea. 

Getting pretzel-bread sandwiches at Schnitz at Hester Nights in Chelsea.

The First Hester Nights at Eventi Hotel NYC

Last Thursday we went to the first Hester Nights of the season, and had a great time eating our way through several of our outdoor food-market favorites. There are plenty of choices here at Hotel Eventi's Hester Nights, both sweet and savory, though it's not overwhelming like some of these fairs can be, and the lines were totally manageable. There's music playing, lots of places to sit, good people-watching… just a pleasant setting in which to relax and chat and eat and enjoy a summer's evening. 

Little Muenster grilled sandwich with cheese, corn puree, jalapenos and tomatillos.

Anyway, the food at Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel New York. We had a superb grilled sandwich from the Little Muenster booth, opting for the "fancy" special of the night, a chewy, salty, spicy, sweet blend of Oaxaca and Cotija cheeses, corn puree, a few jalepenos and lots of roasted tomatillos. Delicious. And the accompanying cabbage slaw? Also delicious. We also wolfed a crunchy, lively, incredibly juicy Pulled Pork Empanada from La Sonrisa, which was so good we'll definitely return to try a few of their other varieties. 

Pretzels and Beer mini cupcakes by Prohibition Bakery at Hester Nights.

Desserts were plentiful, too, at the Hester Nights Eventi fair. The friendly young women from Prohibition Bakery were there with their boozy baked goodies, and we had a round of our usual, a Pretzels and Beer mini cupcake. Great stuff. And dulce de leche delights at Jessy's Pastries finished off the food fun for us, with a pair of classic, buttery-sweet alfajores. There were lots of other tempting eats at Hester Nights as well–the stuffed pastries at MiMi and CoCo's; the marshmallow treats at Kitty Lee Thomas Sweets; the pretzel-bread sandwiches at Schnitz; the nine varieties at Gourmet Mac-n-Cheese; the frozen pops at La Newyorkina–but it's a long summer (yay!), and we'll back.

Placing and order at Little Muenster booth at Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel NYC.

Hester Nights at the Eventi Hotel Details 

Hester Nights happens every Thursday from 4:00 until 9:00 p.m., from now until October 25. The Eventi Hotel is located on Sixth Avenue and 30th Street; you can get to the Eventi Open Air Plaza via 30th Street, 29th Street, or through the jauntily-striped main entrance on Sixth Avenue. For more information, please see the Hester Street Fair website, here.  

Crowds relaxing under the trees at Eventi Hotel NYC Open Air Plaza.

Posted in Downtown, Midtown West, NYC Dining | Tagged