Nosh Out – NYCFWF

For the past five years, in the middle of October, I hop on a bus and head to New York City for the annual Food Network Food and Wine Festival. A fundraiser to support No Child Hungry, local chefs, restaurants, wine distributors, along with Food Network Stars donate their time, skills, and food for the enormous four day affair. There are dozens of events from sit down dinners, seminars and instructional classes to walk around tastings and late night parties. My weekend started Friday night at the Blue Moon Burger Bash.

This event is iconic, hosted by Rachel Ray. Burgers of all grinds, meats, and toppings were paired with seasonal beers and wines. To be honest, after a while, the fat-ladden, rich ground meat became difficult to distinguish. What set burgers apart from one another was the toppings and pairings. My personal favorite was a dry aged burger with maple bacon and bone marrow béarnaise from Saxon + Parole. “I wanted something that was unctuous on the tongue, but wasn’t cheese.” said the Chef. The marrow was pureed in a food processor before adding the egg yolks, giving it a smooth texture. The maple bacon added a crunch (it was cooked crispy like it should) and a salty sweet component. The burger itself was actually playing second fiddle, providing a smoky and filling portion to the mouthful. Delicious.

Saturday was the biggest event by far, The Grand Tasting. The gastronomic extravaganza takes up all of Pier 92, with so many food, wine, and spirit samples, it would be almost impossible to try them all. Grocery stores, food purveyors, restaurants, and alcohol distributors all man tables from 11-6 on both Saturday and Sunday. With business cards, menus, coupons, and samples splayed out before them, it was a foodie’s dream come true. While the variety of things to try is unparralled, there are some unique bites that stand out, namely the “chicken oyster” from Earth at Hidden Pond. Chef Justin Walker took chicken breast and cooked it with black squid ink, creating a jet black bite swimming in a sauce made with buttermilk and isot chile. The inky morsel sat atop sliced green tomatoes and was topped with sesame seeds, the green, black, and white creating a perfect Halloween mouthful.

Food Network wasn’t the only channel represented. From the same network, Travel Channel brought their star power to bear at Top Dog, a hot dog competition at The Highline on little West 12^th. Andrew Zimmern and Adam Richman were present to chew through the variations on the New York icon. Celebrating 200 episodes of Bizarre Foods, Andrew made an impassioned speech about food bringing people together, creating a common thread. His words truly resonated with me as cuisine is often the way I bond with not only friends and family, but other people and other cultures as well. The dog that had its day was my personal favorite, a brat, cooked to the point of the casing just snapping open, topped with a spicy giardiniera relish, whole grain mustard, and served with a briny, quick cured pickle, it combined smoky, spicy, crunchy and sour with a slight Italian flare uncommon to a usual Sabarette hot dog stands.

Later that night was Pork and Pints, hosted by Robert Irvine, but check my YouTube Channel to see some of the best bites from that event.