So last night I went to the NYXL Overwatch Season 2 Opener Watch Party at The 40/40 Club in the Lower West Side last night. I’ll spare you all the nerdy details of my outing but I just wanted to make a comment of how food does work in a social setting. So the bar was occasionally setting out plates of food for everyone around the space to eat. It was honestly easier than ordering food for yourself since the 3 bartenders could not handle the volume of 21 year olds asking for food and drinks. There were chicken fingers, crab cakes I think – I tried them out, not a fan of this particular dish – and the wings you could see above. What was interesting was how the food, as well as the already established friendly environment between all of the fans present, created a small moment of community beyond the one we were in. What I mean is we all walked into the club that night as a bunch of strangers, rooting for the same team, but with this plate of chicken wings I opened myself up to having small, but friendly and more intimate moments with the people surrounding me. Me and my friends freely offered to share the excess food with them, try and flag down bartenders for them and just shared a very present feeling of community. It’s honestly one of the reasons why I love leaving my house to go to a bar (I don’t drink FYI) and watch some esports with people. #NYXL #everupward #queensfoodways