prospect park Archives

Was Googa Mooga a bust? Was Extra Mooga worth it? Was this whole thing overhyped and did it under-deliver? Well, the internets tell us conflicting stories, and I guess its up to the individual to decide. Here’s a blow by blow of my experiences, and especially of the Extra Mooga.

GM was massive – bigger than I thought it was going to be and probably bigger than even the organizers or vendors expected considering the first day hurdles that the organizers seemed to try to quickly remedy. The first day was very difficult because there wasn’t much clear about where to go and what to do and I had missed the press event that probably clarified a lot of those questions for me. But eventually I figured out how to get around and avoid the crowds and was able to get to shooting. I had EM tickets for Sunday, thanks to the awesome folks at Rubenstein, so I had to get the majority of the vendor shooting done on Saturday. My goal was to shoot every vendor, but seeing as it was only 3pm and vendors were running out of food, I had to pick and choose. I particularly frown upon the vendors that run out of food, most of them should know how these things go at this point and be well prepared, nah, over prepared. But yeah, whatever, there were so many vendors that there were still an incredible selection available. My biggest point of contention was that there was a serious lack of vegetarian options – everyone was doing meat, meat, meat, but there was no representation for the herbivores and omnivores among us – it would have been less of a deal if I wasn’t keeping the company of a vegetarian. Still though, it must be said, these vendors did such an amazing job keeping up. Here’s a look behind the scenes at what these guys did to keep the food coming.

cocktail preparation at the boathouse

not sure what they were, perhaps gin, lemonade, sea salt – amazing, whatever they were.

cooks preparing cranking out the Pat LaFrieda Burgers

You can’t eat just one

Pat LaFrieda – perhaps the most important butcher in NYC. His meat is amazing (let the jokes begin).

I dare you to not love Pat LaFrieda’s burgers!

LaFrieda slow cooked a cow overnight

LaFrieda slow cooked a cow overnight, here he’s cutting up the cow for Extra Mooga guests

Chef James Tracey working the grill cooking pork belly for Colicchio and Son’s.

Pork Belly at Colicchio and Son’s

The lines at El Olomega

This lady has been making pupusa’s for 20 years. El Olomega, you can find them out at Red Hook Ball Fields on the weekends and the lines aren’t nearly as long.

M. Wells – While a few might be put off by the fact that these guys are serving horse meat, they cannot be accused of offering mediocre cuisine. M. Wells has always been very inspiring with their menu. Can’t wait till they get a new spot!

Making a massive batch of Paella.

Paella

Extra Mooga Events and Entertainment
The big sell on the Extra Mooga is perhaps the events. I found that with the amazing lineup, it would be well worth the cost. I wasn’t there for the Saturday debacle, but it seemed like most of the problems were resolved come Sunday. My only complaint is that there was obviously time to stagger these events so I could attend more. I found it hard to get from one to the other in enough time. I really wanted to cover the John Dorey Oyster Shucking but by the time I got there, they were out of oysters. The final event, The Big Gay Ice Cream Disco was absolutely amazing. Patton Oswald, Tom Colicchio, and Eddie Huang were hilarious, and I always love seeing Bourdain!

The Extra Mooga Experience (with some extras)- The Great Googa Mooga - Brooklyn, NYC

John Dory Oyster Bar at The Boathouse

Entertainment during Kristen Shaal’s Hot Tub

John Oliver does standup

Liquid Brunch talk in the Spiegel Tent where we learned how to make brunch time cocktails from Julie Reiner of Clover Club and Allen Katz of The NY Distilling Company