Great GoogaMooga Returns to Brooklyn

The food scene at Great GoogaMooga; courtesy of C. Taylor Crothers

Great GoogaMooga, the epic food and music festival that took over Brooklyn's Prospect Park for a weekend last spring, is back for 2013 and kicking off on Friday, May 17. Last year's show was criticized for logistical snafus, but Jonathan Mayers of organizer Superfly Presents assures F&W that in addition to extending the duration of the event from two to three days, additional points of sale will speed up vendor transactions and cut back lines.

Tickets for Friday's concert featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips and The Darkness start at $49.50, but like last year, Saturday and Sunday's shows will be free for registered guests. (The ticket raffle will run between April 1 and 3 at googamooga.com.) Acts like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and De La Soul will provide entertainment for the Saturday and Sunday shows, but food will likely be the starring act, with offerings from 85 NYC restaurants, as well as 75 beers and 100 wines. The roster reads like a Who's Who of the five borough's restaurants, with returning favorites like Roberta’s Pizza, Baohaus, M. Wells and Num Pang Sandwich Shop making room for newcomers like Gwynnett St., Miss Lily’s, Jeepney and Fatty 'Cue.

The Big Gay Ice Cream truck guys will reprise their superpopular disco dance party, and Boston chef Ken Oringer will serve his stellar Spanish tapas. Peter Eastlake, one of Food & Wine’s 2013 Sommeliers of the Year, will be back to curate the beer and wine, and a newly expanded VIP Experience (tickets are $79.50 per day) will feature an amped-up slate of mixology seminars, tastings and cocktails from the teams behind Booker & Dax, Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog, Death & Co., Pouring Ribbons and more. Also new to the festival this year is Café GoogaMooga, a coffee-focused area featuring Third Rail Coffee and an old-school purpose—celebrity-chef authors and other writers will host readings there from food-focused works.

For details, tickets and the full lineup of this year’s restaurants, visit googamooga.com.

Related: The Hungry Crowd: Superfly
Sommeliers of the Year 2013