On Sunday, I checked out the recently opened Foodparc and its attached beer garden Beerparc, located on 6th Ave. between 29th and 30th St. The 20,000(!) square foot indoor/outdoor space hosts multiple eateries featuring everything from pasta served on flatbreads at Fornetti (which looked amazing) and burgers and other grilled fare at 3B’s to French press coffee at the appropriately named The Press and fresh salads at Quality Greens. Foodparc’s unique factor is their ordering system, which features touchscreen self-serve terminals that even have the option of receiving a text message notification when your order is ready. I personally thought the system was awesome since I could take my own sweet time ordering, but I could see some issues if you had to pick up food from multiple counters.
Beerparc itself has its own stands, such as a raw bar from the man behind Ed’s Chowder House (which featured an intriguing Lobster Avocado BLT roll which I really want to go back and try). They also have a stand from Top Chef 1 winner Harold Dieterle of Perilla and Kin Shop, as well as Fatty Snack, an offshoot of Fatty ‘Cue and Fatty Crab. Of course, what’s a beer garden without beer. Strangely, the beer at Foodparc’s outdoor space is actually served inside, and only features 5 beers on tap, though it’s a pretty respectable selection. Unlike the rest of Foodparc, however, Beerparc uses an ordering system based off food and drink tickets, which you purchase at one register then present to each stand in exchange for your fare, with a beer adding up to two $3 tickets ($6 for those lacking in mental math skills) and most food items ranging from 1-3 tickets. While this works well conceptually, since servers at the outdoor food stands don’t have to deal with money, I feel it could be messy business for customers purchasing items at both the indoor Foodparc eateries and outdoor Beerparc stands and for people who aren’t good at holding onto tickets.
BUT OK, ordering systems aside – onto what I actually ate. As you can see from my photo at the top of this post, I chose to order from RedFarm Stand after checking out some tips on Foursquare. The dumpling and dim sum stand was created by the guys behind one of my favorite dim sum places, Chinatown Brasserie, so naturally, I had to check this place out. Ironically, I wasn’t actually in a dumpling mood, so I went with one of my favorite foods ever – a duck bun. At $6 a pop, I had high expectations, and they were pretty much met. The duck meat was juicy and perfectly complemented by the typical accompaniments like hoisin sauce and cucumber in a yummy bun. I honestly still don’t know what the surrounding fried vegetable chips were, but they were good (isn’t everything fried good?). I just wish there was a teeny bit more duck meat considering it was probably the size of a McDonald’s cheeseburger, but then again, 2 tiny, mostly-pork-fat Smiley Buns at Je’Bon are $5, so the pricing is justifiable to me.
One thing that stood out to me on a non-food level was Foodparc’s social media savvy. Not only did I get an @mention from the establishment’s Twitter account, but my Foursquare check-in was displayed on a flatscreen for everyone to see, which I’ve personally never seen before. Speaking of Foursquare, Foodparc also has a special for first-time visitors, where you can get a complimentary beverage from their eateries by showing that you’ve checked in. It’s always good to know that there are real benefits to checking in other than virtual badges.
Overall, it’s a pretty nice space both inside and out, complete with a giant outdoor LCD screen on which they apparently show games and movies. While the ordering system has its pluses and minuses, I still think it’s intriguing enough to give a shot, especially when you add Food/Beerparc’s array of promising food. I’ll personally be going back for that Lobster Avocado BLT Roll with a side of pasta on flatbread and beer (but maybe after Warrior Dash).
