Tonight: Basque Cider Fest at Flatbush Farm

First came prosecco. Then came cava. Then -- though less popular than those two -- Italian red lambrusco made a slight splash. And now, we're pleased to report, it looks like hard cider is finally getting its day as NYC's It Beverage, Sparkling Class. (Grub Street's getting excited about it, so it must be true.)

Hard cider has zilch to do with the wan, boozeless kind you mull and pass out to carolers. One place to taste the difference is tonight at Brooklyn's Flatbush Farm, as Chef Stephen Browning rocks a Basque-inspired menu for the restaurant's Basque Cider Festival (they'll be pouring a Spanish variety, Sarasola Sagardoa). Here's what to expect from the menu, according to the Farm folks: "salt-cod omelettes, Basque peppers, grilled steak, spiced walnuts, and Idiazábal, a smoked unpasteurized sheeps milk cheese aged eight months." Yes, please.

Meanwhile, expect flourishes in presentation: Cider foams up on pouring, and in Europe's warmer climes it's standard to do so from a few feet (or about a meter and a half) above the glass (or cup).

Basque Cider Festival at Flatbush Farm, 4/2 5-11:30PM,76 St. Marks Avenue at Flatbush Avenue, Park Slope; 718-622-3276