Business

Vegetarian fare adds new taste to 5th UWS event

Whole Foods Market New Taste of the Upper West Side is back for a fifth year — with a longer run and new twists, including a vegetarian tasting dinner, Side Dish has learned.

Events will run from May 16 to 19, including Vegetables at Dovetail: a five-course vegetarian tasting dinner by an all-star group of chefs including Dovetail’s John Fraser, A Voce’s Missy Robbins, Ed Brown, of Ed’s Chowder House and Christina Tosi, of Momofuku Milk Bar.

The event comes as new restaurants continue to burst on the UWS dining scene, including the anticipated new opening, the Smith, which we can confirm, has just signed a lease to open in the old Josephina space across from Lincoln Center at 1900 Broadway.

In addition, Candle Cafe West, an offshoot of the Upper East Side’s beloved vegetarian/vegan Candle Cafe and Candle79, will be taking over the old Trattoria di Vino space at 1900 Broadway. Organic Avenue and Jacob’s Pickles are also new to the West Side and Serafina will open soon.

Daniel Boulud’s Boulud Sud and Epicerie Boulud have also become destination spots.

Money raised from the New Taste of the Upper West Side event will help the Columbus Avenue BID’s streetscape beautification projects as well as the Greenhouse Classroom project at I.S. 44 School and Citymeals-on-Wheels, said Don Evans, event chairman and BID board member.

The Best of the West Comfort Classics will also honor food writer extraordinaire and Citymeals founder Gael Greene. It will be hosted by the Travel Channel’s Adam Richman and Andrew Zimmern.

The Saturday night finale will feature chefs including Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, along with “the modern mixologist,” Tony Abou-Ganim.

The event has more than 30 corporate sponsors , including The Post — up from about 20 last year.

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Sightings: Goldie Hawn, casually clad in jeans, dining at A Voce with a friend, ordering the Agnello — grilled lamb chops, lamb sausage, sweet garlic and rapini.