Meat lovers rejoice! Remember this article? Scratch it (for now). Forget the restaurants for the weekend, and hit up some genuine, outdoor expert grilling. On June 13-14, award-winning pitmasters across the nation unite (including NYC's own Blue Smoke & Dinosaur Bar-B-Que) as Madison Square Park is transformed into an all out feast at the Snapple Big Apple Barbeque Block Party.
Ok, so this two-day event won't feature fireworks and stick ball. But it will feature food, drink, cooking demonstrations, live music...for very limited $$. While the event itself, musical performances, cooking demonstrations, and seminars are free, you'll have to shell out a little cash for food, drink, and souvenirs.

General Food Breakdown
Plate o'BBQ (including, but not limited to ribs, brisket, pulled pork, sausage, beans, and slaw): $8
Desserts (not sure what this entails, but you can bet I'm going to find out): $4
Beverages (Snapple, Coke, beer & wine): $2-6

In my opinion, the only way to do summer is to include grilled meat, and what better opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy summer food? In Manhattan, this is about as good as it gets. Bonus: Proceeds go to support the Madison Square Park Conservancy, the organization dedicated to preserving the park. I'll be there on Sunday, June 14th, so check back for photos, videos and reviews! And if you want to join me, post in comments!
For complete event info, hit up the official site.
You can also visit their Facebook page and Become a Fan (like me!).

*Madison Square Park is located in the Flatiron District, between Fifth and Madison Avenues and 23rd and 26th Streets