Bacon & The Blues Hosted By Todd English

By Guest Contributor October 18, 2010 5 Comments

This article is written by guest contributor, Karen Ko.

[Editor's note: This is another article in a series on the New York City Wine and Food Festival events, which is a proud sponsor of Share our Strength and the Food Bank for NYC in the fight to end childhood hunger.]

New York City Wine and Food Festival: Bacon and the Blues, hosted by Todd English

Thrillistâ€™s 2nd annual Bacon & The Blues was an event that called out to all bacon lovers. It was a night filled with crisp, juicy, delicious pork meat dressed up in savory and sweet ways and washed down with a glass of Coors light. As one chef pointed out to me, light beer and bacon go very well together.

The event was held at the dramatic and modern 2nd floor of the new Andaz 5th Hotel. There were seven restaurants featuring their best bacon recipe, two cooking demonstrations (kicked off by celebrity chef, Todd English), and an open bar featuring six deliciously fresh cocktails made with Michael Collins whiskey.

I have to say my favorite dish of the night was Todd Englishâ€™s Crispy Pork Rillette Sliders from his newest restaurant, Ã‡a Va Brasserie. The long line of guests waiting for their second and possibly third serving of those juicy pork sliders was a testament as to how delicious those sliders were.

A closer runner up would be the newly opened Mableâ€™s Pulled Pork Bacon Basket featuring Mableâ€™s secret barbeque sauce. Their secret sauce completely made the dish. Mableâ€™s provided free samples of their secret sauce and I was lucky to grab one before they ran out.

The event would not have been complete without the live blues performance by the Lazy Stars. However, the highlight of the night was the surprise guest performance by Todd English himself!

The Shop @ Andaz 5th Avenue
Chef: Roberto Alicea
Latin Spiced Pork Belly with Lime & Coriander

â€œBeautifully crisped outside and moist inside. The lime compliments the spiced pork belly with a zesty tang. Great plating presentation, resembling little boats.â€

Ã‡a Va Brasserie
Chef: Todd English
Crispy Pork Rillette Sliders

â€œDelicious and juicy sliders with a thick slice of light crisped pork. The chorizo dusted potato chips was a wonderful side, I could easily order a full plate of it. The sliders were a huge hit with a long line of people waiting for the sliders.â€