Agenda: Cooking With Nitrogen, Haute BBQ, and a Chocolatey Happy Hour

FEATURED EVENT

Cooking with Liquid Nitrogen
Astor Center (399 Lafayette Avenue) presents, "Chilling Out with Liquid Nitrogen," hosted by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot of the culinary blog Ideas in Food. Liquid nitrogen has gained much popularity for its innovative use in making instant ice creams, creating innovative twists on cocktails, and cryo-blanching. Discover these techniques and more while tasting some samples of chem-lab cuisine. The class will take place on Tuesday, August 26th, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $125/person.

EVENTS THIS WEEK (August 20 through 26)

A Chocolatey Happy Hour
Now through September 15th, enjoy a unique happy hour event (i.e., skip the booze this time around) at Chocolate Bar East Village (127 East 7th Street). Every day from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. enjoy $5 mini brownies, classic egg creams, mini iced chocolates, and a truffle of your choice. (212.366.1541)   

Queso y Vino
Pamplona (37 East 28th Street) and Despana Foods is hosting an evening of Spanish cheese and wine. The guided five course menu will featured dishes with cheeses from La Mancha, Basque Country, and Asturias paired with regional wines. Queso y Vino will take place on Wednesday, August 20th, at 8:00 p.m. Reservations: 212.213.2328.  $65/dinner, $95/dinner with wine pairings.

Coffee and Cake Tasting
Amai Tea & Bake House (171 3rd Avenue) will be hosting a coffee and cake tasting. Featured is Hacienda Esmeralda Special Microlot, a rare, celebrated Geisha coffee varietal from Ethiopia that has been freshly roasted by Counter Culture Coffee. To complement the coffee, Amai will be serving samples of our new their sesame coffee cake, a moist cake made with black sesame and topped with a toasted white sesame crumble. The free event will take place on Thursday, August 21st from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. RSVP: 212.863.9630.

Highbrow BBQ
New York magazine is presenting its first ever Backyard BBQ. Enjoy tasty eats from former "Top Chef" contestant Chris "CJ" Jacobson, live music, fireside comedy, and FREE beer (with the purchase of a ticket). You can also register to be part of a cook-off challenge and have your best BBQ dish be judged by CJ and celebrity guest judges. The event will take place on Saturday, August 23rd at Solar One (2420 FDR Drive, Service Road East) from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tickets: $25/person.

Harvest Kick-off Party
Make Wine With Us (930 Newark Avenue, Newark, New Jersey) will be hosting a kick-off wine party. The main event will include the first tasting of wines bottled by their wine makers over the summer, accompanied by a buffet dinner and door prizes. Attendees will also have the opportunity to place an order for the 2008 wine season beginning in September. The event will take place on Saturday, August 23rd from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RSVP: 201.876.9463. Tickets: $15/at the door.

Image: flickr user Viola Zuppa.