Now in its 17th year, the Food Network’s New York City Wine & Food Festival (www.nycwff.org) took place last week from October 17-19. Thousands of food, wine and spirits enthusiasts gathered at over 80 events scattered across the city with the main hub finding a new home at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
Although more linear and narrower than the Pier 76 location in Manhattan, the entire outdoor festival was tented as this is a rain or shine event. The Brooklyn Army Terminal is located on the water in Sunset Park and served as a supply warehouse for the US Army during World War 1, a military prison and storage for drugs and alcohol during Prohibition. Listed on the US National Registry of Historic Places since 1983, it now operates as a light manufacturing and commercial warehouse complex. Visitors can book an interesting tour through Turnstile Tours (www.turnstiletours.com) a Brooklyn-based company to learn more about this historic building.
My husband Matty and I attended the Grand Tasting again this year. It is a very fun way to spend an afternoon noshing on sweet and savory samplings of assorted foods interspersed with wine, beer and more than anything else, spirits. If you are someone who enjoys all kinds of booze, this event has it all. It appeared to us that the wide variety of spirits offerings were far more ubiquitous over the food and wine. Maybe the lines were just longer for food and that we prefer wine over bourbon, vodka and tequila.
The best part of the day is the back-to-back celebrity chef culinary demonstrations. This year we watched Geoffrey Zakarian and Alex Guarnaschelli prepared dishes while they entertained the crowd with amusing anecdotes and humor all while taking questions and interacting with the audience. It’s a great way to see favorite Food Network stars up close and experience their personalities in a live setting. Alex Guarnaschelli is extremely funny! Her comedic timing coupled with her culinary talents were quite entertaining. Adjacent to the kitchen stage is a tent full of cookbooks and scheduled celebrity book signings for fans.
My most memorable bite was a Korean barbecue beef dumpling from the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop (www.brooklyndumplingshop.com). With locations in NY, NJ, PA, TX and in Canada, these flavorful little pouches pack a lot of flavor. Along with traditional Asian varieties there’s also mac n’ cheese, buffalo chicken and dessert dumplings on the menu.
We were not familiar with Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers (www.raisingcanes.com) until we experienced their food truck at the festival. A generous-sized juicy chicken finger sat in a paper cup lined with a delicious honey mustard sauce and was very much welcomed by us. Apparently Raising Cane only serves their hand batter chicken in the form of fingers. They are another great example of doing one thing and doing it right.
My favorite bite last year remains my favorite from this year—-Bliss Bomb mini donuts (www.bliss-bomb.com). Baked over fried in Manhattan, these are my favorite sweets. I cannot say enough about them as they are visually stunning and incredibly fresh and flavorful. My friend Mary surprised me with a box for my birthday last year. Mouthwatering flavors such as pink champagne, pistachio rose, and chocolate salted caramel are my personal favorites. Bliss Bomb ships nationally and they offer a delivery/pick up service in NYC. The fabulous pastry chef can create unique colors and flavors to tie into a themed event. And they freeze beautifully taking only 20 minutes to come to room temperature.
The gratifying part about this high energy and enjoyable event is that all of the proceeds go to support God’s Love We Deliver (www.glwd.org) an organization that cooks and delivers medically tailored meals to those unable to do it for themselves. Last year thousands of volunteers delivered over 4 million nutritious meals to individuals living with serious illnesses. There is nothing cheap about the Grand Tasting or the other smaller festival events, but people can feel good about supporting such a nourishing charity.
Getting to the Brooklyn Army Terminal was easier than we expected. From New Jersey, we drove to The Wall Street Hotel (www.thewallstreethotel.com) and parked in a nearby garage. I had to pick up my press tickets at the hotel so it made sense since there is no onsite parking for this event. Matty and I were thrilled to discover this stylish and lively hotel in the financial district. The bar is worth checking out and perhaps a weekend stay is in our future. A short walk from The Wall Street Hotel brought us to a designated NYCWFF ferry provided by festival sponsor Invesco QQQ (www.invesco.com) and we enjoyed a beautiful 20 minute ride to the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
There are many more events to discover over the four-day food festival other than the Grand Tasting. We did taste foods other than a chicken finger, dumpling and a donut. There were cheeses, empanadas, mini-ice cream cones, chocolates etc.
In my ever so humble opinion, there is more booze than food. The Blue Moon Burger Bash is what we are setting our sights on for next year.
Sounds like a delicious sojourn. Glad you had such a satisfying experience. Good reporting on what's what during your adventure.