(Photo: Mayanoki Sushi Supper Club, Flickr)

March marks the beginning of spring, ie fresh food!  Colors and fragrances absent from the farmers' markets the past few months will start to re-appear, and a new season of food should definitely be celebrated.  In addition to a variety of fun dining events, March also brings Brooklyn Park's annual food drive.  Be sure to find your local donation area here and contribute in the fight against hunger.  

Thursday, March 6

Cooking Made Easy: The Walk-In Cookbook Way 
Food Coop, 782 Union Street, Park Slope // 7:30pm, $4
Ever wanted to prepare dinner in less than 20 minutes? Chef Megan Moore , a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and chef in residence at the Walk-In Cookbook, will show you how to prepare three delicious main course recipes quickly.  The menu includes Sweet Potato Chile, Orecchiete with Butternut Squash, and Korean Steak with Kimchi. 

Whole Foods Tasting 
Whole Foods Market, 214 3rd Street, Gowanus // 5pm, Free
Ever tried to make a meal out of samples?  Every Thursday this month the grocery store will break out demo carts of fresh food in each department. You might be tempted to buy something delicious, but you can easily make a dinner out of toothpick-speared seasonal foods here.  Cheap date, anyone?  

NYC Restaurant Week 
Various Brooklyn Locations // Three course lunch $25; Three course dinner $38
Only three Brooklyn restaurants participated in NYC's official restaurant week, and March 7 marks the last day of the special menus.  Check out Benchmark Restaurant in Park Slope, The Greenhouse Cafe in Bay Ridge, and Saul in Prospect Heights.

BBQ for Betty
Mable's Smokehouse, 44 Berry Street, Williamsburg // 11am -11pm
Eat meat and feel good about it as all proceeds from today's BBQ sales will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The event celebrates and honors Mable's owner, Jeff Lutonsky's mother, who passed away after a twenty-year battle with cancer in May 2007.  Grab your mom, your friends, or just a ton of napkins, and eat all day until your heart's content.

Friday, March 7

Comedy Diaspora // Joloff Restaurant, 1168 Bedford Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant // 7pm

Not much goes better with good food than good laughs Charles McBee & Ndidi Oriji brings some of the world's funniest comics to Brooklyn.  The evening has a two item minimum, including non-alcoholic drinks, and ordering food gets you BYOB status. 

Cena di Carnevale 
Location with RSVP // 7pm // $35
Celebrate Italy's culture, traditions and food at New York Italians' first annual dinner.  Chef Mattio will prepare a typical pugliese dinner for Carnevale including Focaccia Pugliese, Orecchiette e cime di rapa, Insalata di polpo, and Granita di limone. 

Saturday, March 8

33rd Annual Making Brooklyn Bloom 
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 150 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights // 10am-4pm, Free
This yearly event bring out Brooklynite's green thumbs: celebrating the beginning of gardening season!  Be inspired to grow your own veggies while browsing exhibits and wrapping up the day with a keynote address by Karen Washington, an urban farmer and food justice activist.

Sunday, March 9

Gluten Free Eat Up 
Freddy's, 627 Fifth Avenue, Prospect Heights // 2-6pm, Free
Those who have forgone gluten don't have to miss out on good tastes.  The second monthly edition of this event will feature a marketplace 10+ vendors with samples of gluten free goodies to stock up on as well as plenty of gluten free eaters to meet.  

Tuesday, March 11

“Bar Food Blowout” Dinner with Chefs Dale Talde and Justin Bazdarich of Speedy Romeo
Pork Slope // 247 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope // 7:30-10:30pm, $20
Next up in this series of food adventures, Chef Talde teams up with his buddy (anyone making pies like Justin is our buddy too!) to bring you a bar food menu including Pork Sausage Sliders,       “Mozzarella Stix” and Molten Mushroom Fondue Log on top of Speedy Romeo Celery Giardiniera.  Are you drooling yet? Good. Wash this down with a “Slippery Slope” beer-and-shot combo of  Brooklyn Brewery beer and Powers Whiskey.  An evening this good must be accompanied by music, so jam to tunes by DJ Sinkane.

Wednesday, March 12

Mayanoki Sushi Supper Club 
Brooklyn Oenology, 209 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg // 7:30pm,  $65
Since 2013, Mayanoki has been bringing acclaimed sushi chef Albert Tse to BOE to create innovative and delicious pop-upsushi dinners, paired with local wine, of course. Due to the club's popularity, this month will feature multiple dinners on the 13th, 19th, and 20th.  Book quickly!

Saturday, March 15

Cookbook Tasting Series: First Prize Pies by Allison Kave  
PowerHouse on 8th, 1111 8th Avenue, Park Slope // 4-5pm, Free
Melissa Vaughan, author of The New Brooklyn Cookbook) will prepare dishes using recipes from First Prize Pies, the cookbook inspired by Allison Kave’s Brooklyn bakery of the same name. Kave will also sign books available for purchase at the event.

Monday, March 17

The Basics of Wine: Wine Cocktails 
Brooklyn Winery, 213 North 8th Street, Williamsburg // 7pm, $35 
Mixology may be daunting for many, but Brooklyn Winery aims to make techniques like "tarnishing" easy! In this class, you'll explore wine cocktails from around the world and even do a little mixing yourself!

Thursday, March 20 to Wednesday, March 26

Barrier Tap Takeover
Miles, 101 Wilson Avenue, Bushwick
Classy cocktail bar Miles is getting back to Brooklyn's beer roots by hosting a tap takeover. The bar will serve a selection of Barrier Brewing Co.’s latest beers, each paired with seven different grilled-cheese sandwiches.  

Friday, March 21

Dual Pop-up Dinner
Nimba, 619 St. Johns Place, Crown Heights // 6:30pm & 9pm, $70 
Two Brooklyn caterers- Carey Nava of Galore Catering and Lisa Sicilia of Festive Flavors- are doubling up for a pop up dinner, creating a menu focused on creative food pairings! Menu highlights for the five-course Dual Dinner include savory roasted chickpeas with charred kale; cauliflower and feta fritter with cardamom yogurt and pomegranates; ricotta, black olive and mint bruschetta with meyer lemon marmalade; and polenta with chorizo beer ragu and wild mushroom marsala.  Wine pairings will accompany each course. Check out the menu.

Sunday, March 23

Brooklyn Mac and Cheese Takedown 
The Bell House, Gowanus // 2pm, $15
Mac and cheese lovers are in luck: the annual Mac and Cheese takedown features up to 30 different kinds of homemade mac and cheese for guests to taste and vote on their favorites.  Past editions have included, duck, lobster, bacon, rare cheeses, and many other surprises in between the hot and cheesy noodles.  Beer will also be available for sale to make the perfect afternoon.  

Trois Pommes Bake Sale 
Trois Pommes Patisserie, 260 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope // 5pm, $10
An enormous rent hike is forcing the beloved bakery to move out of its spot, but in honor to celebrate the store and its former greatness, the owner is hosting a baker's blowout at the end of the lease. Enjoy baked goods and booze and perhaps get some insider's baking secrets.  

Tuesday, March 25

Tracking Brooklyn's Independent Food & Drink Revolution
BRIC house, 647 Fulton Street, Downtown Brooklyn // 7pm // Free

Major players from Brooklyn's small batch food and drink scene-- including Eric Demby of Smorgasburg and Brooklyn Flea, Shamus Jones of Brooklyn Brine, and --Gabrielle Longholtz from Edible Brooklyn -- will discuss Brooklyn's indie food and drink revolution: where it all started, where
it's at, and where the movement is headed. Co-presented with Small Batch America, the event will feature a panel discussion followed by indie music, indie food, and indie drink.

Saturday, March 29

Chili Fest
Floyd Bennet Field, 3159 Flatbush Avenue, Mill Basin // 1-6pm, $0-$25
Aviator Sports and Events Center is hosting their first ever mouth-blazing Chili Fest. Expect to sample 10-15 "bring the waterhose" varieties including Ostrich. Can you handle it?