Agenda: 6/8 to 6/14

COMING UP NEXT WEEK

For the Main Course, A Blog, see food bloggers in the flesh at this panel discussion with Adam Kuban (Slice and A Hamburger Today), Alaina Browne (A Full Belly) and Josh Friedland (The Food Section [that's me]), moderated by food writer Andrea Strong, Thursday, June 16, 7:30 p.m., at Makor, Steinhardt Building, 35 West 67th Street. $12/person in advance, $15/person at the door (212.415.5500).

EVENTS THIS WEEK

1. Herring Festival, annual festival featuring fresh North Sea herring shipped daily to New York City from Scheveningen, The Netherlands, continues though Saturday, June 18, at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant in Grand Central Terminal (212.490.6650).

2. The History and Pre-History of Pigs, cookbook author, naturalist, and "hamthropologist" Peter Kaminsky will discuss hog history, with tastings of artisanal ham, presented by the Culinary Historians of New York, Thursday, June 9, 6:30 p.m., at the French Culinary Institute Theater, 462 Broadway, 2nd floor. $30/person (212.334.4175).

3. Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, third annual barbecue bonanza, including tastings, music, and seminars, will take place Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m., in Madison Square Park and on Madison Avenue between 23rd and 26th Streets. This year’s event includes a series of improvements (more space, more pitmasters, and a premium "Bubba Fast Pass") designed to speed service. Will these changes prevent the disaster of long lines that plagued the event last year? The proof will be in the pig snoots. Free admission (food, beverages purchased separately).

4. Taste of Times Square, outdoor food festival featuring tastings from midtown restaurants, Monday, June 13, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., West 46th Street between Broadway and Ninth Avenue. Free admission (food purchased separately) (212.768.1560).

5. Sake Tasting Dinner, five course dinner paired with five sakes, Monday, June 13, 7:00 p.m., at Komegashi Re-Construction Cuisine, 928 Broadway. $75/person (212.475.3000).

6. Wine and Music Lab: Mysterious Resonances, wine tasting paired with tapas exploring the relationship between music and wine ("You know that red goes with meat, but what goes with rock & roll or Debussy?"),Tuesday, June 14, 7:00 p.m., at Nolita House, 47 E. Houston Street. $50/person (212.625.1712).

7. Cocktails in New York, Anthony Giglio, author of Cocktails in New York, and Audrey Saunders, consultant at Bemelman's Bar at The Carlyle Hotel, will discuss the fine art of mixology, presented by the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), Tuesday, June 14, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Tinker Auditorium, 55 East 59th Street. FIAF members/$40, non-members/$55, advance reservation required (646.388.6669).

ONGOING EVENTS

1. Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America, an exhibit exploring the Chinese restaurant’s origin and growth in America and its cultural significance, at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor). The exhibit continues through June 2005. Suggested admission is $3 (212.619.4785).

2. Cookin': A Sizzling Entertainment, "a fast-paced kitchen percussion show combining comedy, rhythm, and non-verbal performance," at the Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane (212.420.8000).