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Movie Stars Get Upstaged by Duck Liver at Taste of Williamsburg

Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 9, 2008 at 11:00 AM

Two surprises welcomed hipster attendees of the McCarren Park Pool's free showing of Wet Hot American Summer last night: actors Paul Rudd and Michael Showalter showing up to introduce their 2001 flick, and across the way, the Taste of Williamsburg, a hardly publicized event going on at the same time.

Local eateries offered nibbles, good ones yes, but for one-dollar food tickets, serving sizes were limited to mini paper plates and Dixie cups. No wonder the longest line was for San Loco Taco, a local chain that's not particularly mind-blowing, but "the closest thing to real dinner food," justified people in line. "Smells like Taco Bell," a few girls said as they walked by. (We agreed.)

The better bet was the "tapas"-style route, or "non-dinner food" from other booths. Highlights from each include: oysters and watermelon-feta salad (with roasted pumpkin seeds, mint, and olives) from Sweetwater. Dill-flecked pickles sitting in buttermilk from The Queen's Hideaway. Onion flower, a white dandelion-reminiscent plant, which Greenmarket Farmers Market volunteers urged people to try as they sauteed it into a zucchini, squash, and garlic scapes stir fry. "Elote a La Mexicana," or grilled corn kernels stirred with "Mexican mayo" and queso cotija from VeraCruz Mexican Restaurant.

By far the biggest steal of the night: Duck liver pâté-slathered toasts from Marlow & Sons. Three for a buck, and in some cases "how many you think you can eat?" The guys behind the table, which Un-Fancy Food Show founder and Marlow & Sons butcher Tom Mylan, were very generous with their spreadable ducky fat. It easily upstaged Paul Rudd.

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Tags: Brooklyn, Marlow and Sons, San Loco Taco, Sweetwater, Taste of Williamsburg, The Queen's Hideaway, VeraCruz Mexican Restaurant, Williamsburg