Taste of Tribeca 2011 will be on the afternoon of Saturday, May 21. Although it benefits P.S. 150 and P.S. 234, it’s not only for parents of students. I have a healthy skepticism of “Taste of” events—(no) thanks to a few long, hot hours in Chicago many years ago—but last year’s Taste of Tribeca was a wonderful time. You can really feel the community (and beyond) coming together, and the food is genuinely good.

Tickets are on sale now at tasteoftribeca.com/content/tickets, starting at $35, which gets you a “tasting card” good for six tastes—the only hard part is deciding which booths to hit. Six that I’m keeping my eye on so far include Sarabeth’s Tribeca (mini crab cakes with Sara’s cream of tomato soup); Mehtaphor (spice kabobs with chipotle mayo); Marc Forgione (spring lamb with peas and carrots); Blaue Gans (elderflower sabayon with strawberry and pieplant); Duane Park Patisserie (molten chocolate cake); and Landmarc (s’mores). You could even just have six desserts.

To get you even more excited—and to show how the event is about neighborhood camaraderie—I asked folks from participating restaurants about a recent great meal they had in Tribeca (besides at their own place).

Landmarc's Marc Murphy

“Whenever I feel like an amazing Italian meal, I go to Max,” said Marc Murphy, the chef/owner of Landmarc. “The lasagna is one of the best in the city.”

From Scott B. Young, general manager of The Palm Tribeca: “The last great meal I had in Tribeca was at Marc Forgione. We were a party of four and every course was better than the last one. We had the Hiramasa tartare with avocado, Sechuan buttons, toasted pine nuts, and Saratoga chips, which is served with a flower bud from Madagascar…. You eat the bud and it makes your taste buds come alive! Totally amazing experience. I had a Kobe skirt steak served with bone marrow fries. It was to die for. The bottle of Gigondas didn’t hurt the flavors of that meal either. Other highlights on our table were the dry-aged Porterhouse for two with three sides (crispy polenta, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms) and the wild pompano with celery root, blood orange, jalapeño, and grapefruit jam. For dessert we had to have Lady Ashton’s chocolate cake and the banana betty soufflé. It was all to die for.”

Jehangir Mehta, the chef at Mehtaphor, recalled a dinner at Pepolino: “I am a fish person and so I had a special that day. It was salmon, cooked to perfection. My sister had the wild boar with olives, and she loved it, too. We had a nice round table on the second floor and the service and the food made for a very pleasant evening. It was made even more delightful as it was spent with close friends and family.”

“A particular family favorite of ours is The Harrison,” said Rachel Thebault, Tribeca Treats‘ owner and head confectioner. “My husband and two daughters and I love to go there for dinners on Sunday, especially in the summer when we can sit outside on Greenwich. The people watching is fantastic, we always see friends, and the view down Harrison of the sunset across the Hudson makes you feel like you’re on a movie set. I love that the menu there changes frequently, but some of my standby favorites are the peekytoe crab and avocado salad and the roasted chicken, with a glass of rosé or a Michael’s Margarita (a muddled cucumber version of the marg) to go with it. Last summer my five-year-old daughter ordered pan-roasted trout. When the whole fish came out, head on, I worried that she wouldn’t eat it, so to break the ice I asked her if she thought that fish was friends with one she had recently caught with her grandfather. She sighed and said, ‘Well, not anymore!’ Then she dug right in.”

Capsouto Frères

“While I’m partial to our restaurants—Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Centrico, and Corton—I’ve enjoyed many exemplary meals at other Tribeca establishments,” said Tracy Nieporent, director of marketing and a partner at the Myriad Restaurant Group. “A few weeks ago I enjoyed a succulent filet of sole meunière at Capsouto Frères. Coupled with a hearty French onion soup and hazelnut soufflé, it made for a satisfying, savory dinner. Of course, the food is only part of the experience. Jacques and Sammy Capsouto are warm hosts, and the aura of Albear Capsouto’s memory is certainly there as well. Charming hospitality is what Capsouto Frères is all about, and it will never go out of style.”