Boston Food and Drink Happenings to Check Out This Weekend

Welcome to Eater’s periodic roundup of weekend food and drink events worth checking out around town. Want to let us know about an upcoming Boston-area event? Get in touch at boston@eater.com.

Friday, September 22

BOSTON — Seaport tapas joint Boqueria is now open for lunch of pork croquettes, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with almonds and blue cheese, and more delights. Lunch fare includes new salads and bowls of rice served with beef and pork meatballs in tomato sauce. The tapas lunch, at $24 per person, features the restaurant’s rapid-fire favorites — lamb skewers, brussels sprouts and chorizo, roasted eggplant — for a quick bite before you head back to work. But not before savoring some churros first.

ALLSTON, BOSTON, AND EVERETT — Night Shift’s free three-day, four-location Oktoberfest celebration kicks off this weekend. The revelry begins at the Esplanade and Allston beer gardens at 4 p.m. Friday, with events shifting to the Everett Taproom from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and from noon to 8 p.m. at Lovejoy Wharf in Boston on Sunday. All weekend long, wash down giant pretzels and pork schnitzel sandwiches with the flagship “Owltoberfest” German-style Helles beer and more special brews. Each location features music and activities, too.

Saturday, September 23

BOSTON — Flirty French restaurant, Coquette — which opened in the Omni Boston Hotel in fall 2021 — is now open for weekend brunch service. In the pastel-swathed dining room, dig into flat French breakfast bread served with Lebanese mulberry-honey jam plus other pasties, and entrees of lobster benedict, mulberry French toast, and more. Meanwhile, cocktails traipse from Europe to farther shores, like the Carajillo, which mixes espresso, with reposado tequila, Licor 43, and a dash of sea salt.

BOSTON — Say prost! to a Saturday spent at the Boston Public Market’s Oktoberfest, where you can lift your beer stein while listening to German music and savoring German food. The free event, which lasts from noon to 4 p.m., features raffles and plenty of activities like a sausage eating contest. The kids can get in on the fun, too, with a pasta-making class and activity workshop.

SOUTH BOSTON — W-I-N big at the free pep-rally-themed second anniversary bash for Castle Island Brewing Co.’s Southie location. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., try your luck at pep rally games as you enjoy beer and pizza from Bardo’s South Shore bar-style pizza — all while DJ Begbick spins beats.

Sunday, September 24

SOMERVILLE — Head to Union Square to take part in the 18th annual Fluff Festival, which commemorates the invention of Marshmellow Fluff in Somerville. Participating food vendors with Fluff-themed menus include Honeycomb Creamery, Neighborhood Restaurant, Himalayan Kitchen, and more.

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Trek up north for the free New England BIPOC Fest, a celebration of culture and community with plenty of food. Featuring Comfort Kitchen, Mei Mei, Haitian food from Milford, NH-based Ansamn, and tons more, the event takes place from noon to 5 p.m. at Vida Cantina. A number of community organizations and artists will be under the tents, too.

Friday, September 15

BOSTON — Seeing as how it’s (still) officially summer, cooling down with oysters is on the menu. The bivalve curious can head to Back Bay bistro Rochambeau Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. for dollar oysters within its sprawling dining room. Order up some rosé and have yourself an “I refuse to believe fall is around the corner” moment.

SOMERVILLE — Caffeine fiends, perk up: Counter Culture Coffee hosts a tasting every Friday morning at 10 a.m. in their training center. Drop by to meet with the team, taste classic blends and micro-roasts, and percolate about the shop’s sustainably sourced menu.

Saturday, September 16

CAMBRIDGE — See what’s brewing from your favorite local suds-slingers at the Hyperlocal Pemberfest 2023 Craft Beer Festival from 2 to 5 p.m. at Pemberton Farms Marketplace. On tap: Elixirs from Mighty Squirrel, Cambridge Brewing Company, Jack’s Abby, Lamplighter, Aeronaut, Redemption Rock, and many more. Tickets for the 21+ event are $20, with that value returned to visitors as a coupon to spend at the fest.

ROXBURY — Feel the good vibes (and the rum punch will certainly help) when the Caribbean Rum and Food Festival hits the parking lot of Roxbury Community College from noon to 8 p.m. Hosted by the Authentic Caribbean Foundation, the 21+ event is a spirited celebration of Caribbean food and drinks, with live entertainment from Jamaican singer Nadine Sutherland, plus Kashu, and Sean Orlando, along with art and other treasures for sale to round out the party. Tickets range from $30 to $60.

Sunday, September 17

BOSTON — The 13th-annual Boston Local Food Festival brings its bounty to the Rose Kennedy Greenway by the New England Aquarium from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get your fill of bites from food vendors, with demonstrations from area chefs, fresh produce, family activities, and more on the menu.

CAMBRIDGE — Snack your way through a tour of southern Spain when Formaggio Kitchen hosts a Spanish cheese, wine, and small bites event at its Cambridge shop. Learn about how tapas trace their roots to Andalusia as you snack your way through a variety of cheeses, including goat, sheep, and blue cheeses. Other bites to graze over the two-hour event, which starts at 5:30 p.m., include chorizo, luxe jamón ibérico and tinned fish. Tickets are $75 each.

Friday, September 8

ROXBURY — Pasta Tana’s debuted recently in Roxbury, and this weekend is the perfect chance to carbo-load. Chef Yuri Gama dishes out fresh pasta like penne arrabiata with a zippy sauce, mushrooms and truffle fettuccine, and gnocchi with pesto. Other delights not often found at Italian spots include barbecued pork ribs and an acai bowl. Finish off with Italian chocolate cake, too.

SOMERVILLE — The Somerville Greek Food Festival starts at noon and runs through Sunday, September 10 at 9 p.m. The free event at the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church is your chance to enjoy a host of Greek food, with dancing under a large tent to live Greek music.

Saturday, September 9

BROOKLINE — Pop over to Curds & Co. for a day of cork-popping and sipping wines curated for the fall by the team at the shop and events space during the second annual Pour-A-Thon. Tickets are $15 ($20 at the door) and the event starts at noon. Come hungry, as a “grazing table” will be on site, plus the cheese shop’s grill will be fired up for you to purchase grilled cheeses to pair with glasses of wine.

CAMBRIDGE — Sharpen your culinary claws with a hands-on training class called “Lobstah!: Cooking and Preparing Seafood Humanely,” held at the Foundry from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Learn the basics of how to cook lobster and other seafood in a more humane way at this event, which includes a shared lunch of smoked lobster salad, roasted eggplant, and ground cherry sorbet, plus a clove oil blend for you to take home. Bring containers for leftovers. Tickets are $30.

Sunday, September 10

BOSTON — Swim over to the Boston Fish Pier from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the Boston Seafood Festival. Get your fill of lobster rolls, oysters, and other classic seafood dishes, while local chefs make a splash with seafood dish cooking demos, all surrounded by views of the Boston Harbor. There’s plenty of activities like face painting for the guppies, too. General admission for adults is $25, plus a few packages include a lobster bake.

BOSTON — The raucous (and delicious) Sunday Service drag brunch is back at Tenderoni’s (and long live drag brunch in Boston and beyond) after a few months off. The 21+ event lasts from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and tickets are $20. Along with performances — bring dollar bills to tip the performers — savor brunch specials in addition to chef Tiffani Faison’s creative riffs on Italian American pizza joint fare.

BOSTON — Yellow Door Taqueria and Bar Mezzana team up for the Ink Block Party from 2 to 6 p.m. at the courtyard between the two restaurants in the South End. Come enjoy oysters from Island Creek Oysters along with grilled pizza, corn, and burgers from the folks of Bar Mezzana, plus tacos and Campari sorbet floats from Yellow Door. Activities on the outdoor courtyard include giant lawn games, a photo booth, and dancing to beats by DJ BREK.ONE. Also on offer will be frozen margaritas, cold beers, natural wines, and Italian aperitivo to sip in the summer air. Tickets are $95 a pop and include food and two drinks.

Friday, September 1

ALLSTON — Celebrate Allston Christmas with a Christmas in September bash at Silhouette Lounge from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Scarf down all-beef hot dogs ($1 for the first hot dog between 4 to 6 p.m., $3.50 each from 6 p.m. to closing) called “Sil Dogs,” and enjoy drink specials like the Grinch — a shot of peppermint RumChata with crème de menthe — as you rock around the Christmas tree in the festively decked-out lounge.

SOUTH BOSTON — City Tap House in Fort Point blasts back in time with a weekend-long Y2K-themed spectacular. Starting Friday at 8 p.m. through Sunday at 3 p.m., head to the brewpub for live DJs, drink specials (the ingeniously named Total Request LIME is a cherry-lime spritz), and more. Weekend brunch specials include odes to nostalgic snacks like Gushers and Dunkaroos.

Saturday, September 2

BROOKLINE — Buzzy Bar Vlaha—celebrating the rustic cuisine of nomads within northern and central Greece, which is “a little off the beaten track,” according to culinary director Brendan Pelley—launches weekend brunch starting at 10 a.m. Highlights on the new menu include boukies, or small shareable plates based on parcels of food nomads ate for breakfast on their journeys. These dishes include pork and fennel sausage wrapped in phyllo and served with honey mustard yogurt, plus Greek yogurt with honey, walnut, and kiwi. More usual brunch suspects include scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms, tomato, and black truffle, and shakshouka served with grilled sourdough.

PROVINCETOWN — Chef Jake Hernatski (an alum of No. 9 Park and Cambridge’s now-shuttered Shepherd) kicks off a series of pop-up dinners every Saturday through November at Gifford House, which is currently enjoying a renaissance under new ownership. Tickets for the four-course prixe-fixe event are $90, with a seating at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The menu features fried mussels with Pernod sabayon, pan-roasted skate with zucchini and anchovy butter, and blueberry pie with sweet corn ice cream, along with other delights. Stay tuned for more events in the series.

SOUTH BOSTON — Cannonball Cafe, which opened on Dorchester Avenue in late fall 2021, hosts a farmers market from 9 a.m. to noon. Head to the petite cafe’s lively outdoor space for fresh produce and more, with Charlotte’s Crafts as the day’s featured vendor. The cafe is open until 1 p.m., and you can fuel up with coffee, smoothies, and breakfast sandwiches, too.

Sunday, September 3

BOSTON — Bring your best glam-rock gear and show off your style (or more accurately, Styles) for a Harry Styles-themed brunch or dinner at Sunset Cantina. Hosted by Hidden, the menu is hush-hush — though assume plenty of food puns on his smash hits like “Watermelon Sugar High.” Tickets are $55 a pop and include a meal and a glass of booze or a soft drink. Try your luck at trivia and games, too.