Now that the dust has settled from all of the New York Wine and Food Festival hoop-la I’ve had a chance to reflect and do a blog post. Each year that I participate I come away from the festival with a unique experience and renewed love for food discovery and elastic waistline pants.
Saturday night was spent celebrating ‘Brooklyn’s Bounty’ with the loveable Adam Richman from ‘Man vs. Food.’ You heard it here ladies and gentleman he is my new celebrity crush. A good-ole Brooklyn boy who loves to eat, loves to laugh and likes to be challenged by his food. What more could a girl and ask for. Not to mention my mother would love shoveling food in his mouth!
The event was sponsored by Edible Brooklyn who I feel is just starting to get their feet wet in the big event planning scene. Edible magazine has shot through roof with their recent James Beard win for their ‘Publication of the Year’ Award while only a few years ago sat collecting dust in the corner of neighborhood coffee shops.
A rumored 350 people attended this cocktail-party-style jammed into this beautiful historical Green Building with jaw dropping chandeleers in the middle of Carroll Gardens. The good thing was there were no lines for food and by the end of three hours you were quite satisfied with selections. The trick is to drink moderately to make more room for the food. We did do one Jameson pickle back shot which was strategically located next to McClures Pickles.
Nestled in the back corner of the room was D. Coluccio & Sons, a fixture in my exsistence as an Italian-American. The name Coluccio has been thrown around my house for as long as I can remember. No holiday or family gathering would be complete without an antipasto spread from Coluccio’s. There were countless Christmas mornings, fresh from opening gifts from Santa that I’d then move on to unwrapping and opening containers of olives, marniated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and stuffed peppers to arrange on the antipasto platter. Followed by rolling slices of provolone and cutting up my other love in this life, Parmigano Reggiano cheese.
I have to give credit to vendors who sign up for these banquet style events. You really have to think about your execution and your audience. As much as you want to impress your guests and make them remember you, head cheese and sardines aren’t a big seller. Our biggest dissapointment was Bark Hot Dogs didn’t give us a hot dog! Some lobster roll thing…c’mon guys. Some of the best food came from the food trucks that were parked outside. Food Freaks (only open 3 weeks!) had this insane grilled cheese and tomato soup with some crispy brussel sprouts. And Papa Perrone’s rice balls were right on point.
An overall great event, but I’d tell Edible to set up more high-top tables – the drink in one hand and food in the other is still a challenge for most humans.
Sunday was Carts in the Parc! I remembered my camera for this one! This was a truly great event possibly the best I’ve ever been to in my three year run. The best of the best NYC food trucks parked along the curb of FoodParc at Eventi Hotel in Chelsea. FoodParc is a modern-day food court and in the back is a really nice garden area with a huge big screen TV. This event was hosted by Andrew Zimmern, another cool dude but I was happy stalking Adam Richman who showed up again as well as some other big name foodies like Chef Michael White from Marea, and Angelo Sosa from Top Chef. I didn’t have one off-putting thing from this food marathon. Our endurance was definitely up from the night before. The NY Dosa Cart won my heart. This is authentic street food and an original to whole food truck craze. I did a little photo time lapse of the lentil pancake with the spicy potatoes and vegetable chutney. The Biryani Cart another orignal authentic was also delcious and won fan favorite for the day. The pictures say it all so enjoy!
Spaghetti Betty 