First Annual Googa Mooga Food Festival Invades Brooklyn’s Prospect Park

The first annual Googa Mooga made its debut this past weekend in Brooklyn’s own Prospect Park. The food, drink, and music festival played host to over 35,000 attendees each day, boasting 73 food vendors, 150 wines, 37 beers from 27 breweries, and 17 shows. 12oz checked into the Baohaus camp just after 1pm on Saturday, Brooklyn Zoo status.

The line for Eddie Huang’s “General Loko’s Fried Chicken Bao” was rapidly growing, and the staff was scrambling to keep up with demand. Always the hustler, Eddie was also flipping his just released collab t-shirts with Stussy, and Baohaus’ “The Infamous” snapbacks available through JackThreads. Maybe an hour later, Baohaus had sold out of baos. Eddie closed up shop and called HQ to make another batch. Over the course of the weekend, he had pushed over 3,800 baos.

Elsewhere in the festival, 90s rapper Coolio was selling his “Soul Rolls” while rocking his antler braids. El Olomega whipped up some bangin’ homestyle pupusas and arepas, and Blue Ribbon slanged their signature fried chicken with a refreshing cucumber salad. Eddie later led us to mecca in the VIP, where Pat LaFrieda was roasting an 867-lb., prime Black Angus steer. As quoted by one of his staff, “We just converted a vegetarian, and he said it was well worth it!” Agreed, it was fucking amazing.

For those who purchased the $250 Extra Mooga pass, celeb chef Anthony Bourdain entertained fans at the Pagoda Stage, bashing Guy Fieri, giving proper instruction on cooking unicorns, and admitting to his willingness to eat humans if stranded on an island.

Capping off the night was The Roots, who performed on the main stage to Brooklynites, hipsters, and foodies alike. While Saturday was hectic, Sunday witnessed a much calmer, more organized festival. Props to Superfly Productions, the organizers of Googa Mooga, for putting this together!

Text & Photo: Steven Lau