(We were given media passes to attend the Grand Tasting. As always, all opinions are our own.)
New York City’s Wine and Food Festival, presented by ShopRite is celebrating its 12th year! Last year, my husband and I attended the Grand Tasting for the first time and believe me, if you are a wine and/or food lover, you will enjoy this event.
The event is held at Pier 94 and features over 130,000 square feet of food and beverages. The Grand Tasting is the culminating two day event of the four day wine and food festival. Funds from this four day food festival support Food Bank for New York City and No Kid Hungry.
There is so much to eat, so come hungry! Since we don’t get into the city very often, it was a great way to try new-to-us NYC restaurants. While the food samples are unlimited, I don’t think we sampled all of what was available! Some restaurants even had more than one food sample. Some of the tasty bites we had included Housemade Ricotta from Fausto, Elotes from Island Oyster, Haitian Chipotle Pork on a Black Bean Huarache garnished with red and green cabbage from Bridgewater Club and a Kao Yuk Soy-Braised Pork Belly Slider from Bricolage.
Each eatery has a signs with the name of the restaurant and the dish/dishes they are serving. While I’m sure the restaurants that participate in the NYCWFF vary each year, some of the dishes and restaurants we got to try at last year’s event include {Khe-Yo}’s Red Curry Beef Soup, Mamo Restaurant’s Raviolini al Tartufo (yes, that’s shaved truffle!), Print’s Porchetta with Butternut Squash, Chili, Pickled Shallots and Mustard Greens and Ropa Vieja Taco Bites from Los Viajeros.
There was a huge pan of Paella Mixta from La Fonda del Sol.
ShopRite, one of the major sponsors of this event, had a huge setup, featuring samples of dishes made with some of the brands they sell. They also had packaged food samples (granola bars and seasonings) that they were giving out. Coca-Cola, the Food Network & Cooking Channel and Blue Moon also had some of the larger displays.
Although most of the food samples were savory, we did manage to find some sweet treats as well! Mahalo New York Bakery had the prettiest cupcakes and Spoonfuls Inc. had a variety of dessert jars. I might have had more than one sample of 2 Dough Boyz cookie dough, both the original and the chocolate salted caramel pretzel! And I couldn’t pass up a praline from Bernard’s Pralines of New Orleans.
Since this is a wine and food festival, have no worries, there are PLENTY of wine samples. Every wine table has more than one sample to try. We are not big wine drinkers, so unfortunately I don’t have a lot of wine pictures to share with you. If I am going to drink wine, I enjoy a moscato or sweet wine, so I did have to sample the sweet shiraz from Jam Jar.
Don’t be fooled, there are tons of spirits to taste as well. Spirit makers concoct special cocktails for the festival, like Tito’s Zilker Green Lemonade, Four Roses Lawrenceburg Cooler, Maker’s Mark Cucumber Julep and Spring44 Distilling’s Feast for Queens.
For those that don’t drink, there are non-alcoholic drinks available as well. Last year, there beverages from Bai, Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ and La Croix.
When you need a break from all of the eating and drinking, make sure to stop by The Ikea Kitchen to watch some culinary demonstrations. Each day’s lineup features different chefs cooking up a dish in 30 minutes. You don’t get to sample the dishes that are made, but they are fun sessions to get to see some of your favorite chefs in action. We were doing so much eating and drinking that, sadly, the only demonstrating chef we got to see was Robert Irvine. But I was able to get a pic of him and my husband, so I think that’s a win! This year’s chef demo lineup includes Andrew Zimmern, Rick Bayless, Masaharu Morimoto, Rocco DiSpirito, Stephanie Izard, Jeff Mauro, Rachel Ray and many more! Many of these chefs will also be signing cookbooks, for sale in the Flavour Gallery, where you can also purchase other festival merchandise.
As you can see, the NYCWFF Grand Tasting is a delicious event! It’s a great day date or outing with foodie friends!
The Details:
NYCWFF Grand Tasting presented by Shoprite
Pier 94
New York, NY
Date: Saturday & Sunday, October 12 and October 13
Hours: 12 PM – 6 PM
Tickets: General Admission $185, discounted tickets with a Capital One credit card
Tips:
*Arrive early! This event gets more crowded as the day goes on.
*Make sure you adhere to the bag policy.
*The Tasting ends at 5 PM, however the culinary demonstrations take place until 6 PM.
*You must be 21 to enjoy the Grand Tasting. However, children are able to attend the culinary demonstrations. There are a couple of food and non-alcoholic beverage tastings available in this area.
*Dress comfortably – you will be doing a lot of walking. It’s a huge space!
