This past weekend the Pinky Finger Up crew had the chance to attend the 3 day Taste Talk conference in our backyard in Brooklyn. Taste Talks explores the culinary cutting-edge for a food obsessed generation’ through discussions and panels. Some panels included “Online/Offline: The Future of Food Magazines” with the chic moderator Kerry Diamond and “Do Restaurant Reviews Matter?” to name a few.

The weekend’s highlighted event was the All-Star BBQ at the East River Park. At $40 a pop for a ticket, this was definitely a bang for your buck. We had all the elements for a perfect barbecue: sunshine, brewskis and hungry guests.

Some of the world’s top chefs gathered for this grill down and created some marvelous bites. At times we were treated to mashups like Marea’s & Ai Fiori’s Chef Michael White and bushy bearded wordsmith Action Bronson who blessed us with a thai spiced “Porchetta Kra Prow.” White is well known for hi Italian cuisine but this collaboration showed he had more than few Italian tricks up his sleeve. Pok Pok’s Andy Ricker spiced up some “Boar Collar Meat” with a garlic, coriander root and black pepper soy sugar glaze, straight goodness! Ramen wizard Ivan Ramen showed me some love and won my heart over with his “Grilled Duck Heart” served with a summer corn XO sauce. This was my very first taste of ANY heart and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but it was straight pimpin’. Right down a literal line, we were treated to some good eats. Check out some the photos from the BBQ:

– Pinky Finger Up

Action Bronson & Michael White PORCHETTA “KRA PROW” TIGELLE Thai spiced “Porchetta Kra Prow”, crispy watercress, tigelle

Danny Bowien & Jamie Bissonette LAMB TARTAR

Ssam Bar GRILLED BLUE WHALE OYSTER : shaoxing, brown butter, ramps

Russ & Daughters and Russ & Daughters Cafe GRILLED CINNAMON BABKA with Granny Smith ‎apple cream cheese icing and crushed honey-roasted pecans

Rob Newton BARBECUE DUCK with sorghum, ginger and five-spice flat bread

Pok Pok BOAR COLLAR MEAT rubbed with garlic, coriander root and black pepper, glazed with soy and sugar, grilled over charcoal and served with chilled mustard greens and a spicy chili/lime/garlic sauce

Danny Bowien & Inaki Aizpitarte MISSION CANTINA SPECIAL

Mile End GRILLED CHICKEN KEBAB with Szechuan pepper zhug on flatbread

Delaney BBQ – BrisketTown TEXAS HOT GUT SAUSAGE

Ducks Eatery SMOKED CHAR SUI LONG ISLAND EEL fermented corn, sassafras root & crab roe creme

Fung Tu PIG HEAD SALAD with green mango,cabbage, cilantro, mint, maLa vinaigrette and fish powder

Black Axe Mangal CHARRED LAMB TONGUE & Deep-fried Anchovy

Ivan Ramen GRILLED DUCK HEARTS with a summer corn XO sauce