A Perfect Balance at the NYC Food and Wine Festival
By Guest Contributor 
October 17, 2011 
3 Comments
Guest contribution by Ariel Fliman for Grand Tasting Day 2
They say you should never have too much of a good thing. But a plentiful amount of two good things is an ideal balance, right? With this principle in mind, I marveled at the balance of great things offered at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, which took place from September 29th to October 2nd. The event helped our city and our world by donating 100% of its net proceeds to the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength®. Both organizations admirably strive to eradicate hunger; the Food Bank focuses locally on New York’s five boroughs, while Share Our Strength also reaches out to children across America. While the results of this year’s Wine and Food Festival are not yet known, the event strove to exceed the $1.2 million it raised for these charities in 2010. So why am I talking about a balance of two great things? While the Festival satisfied attendees’ desire to help the world by providing nutrition to our neighbors in need, it also satisfied their more visceral desire to stuff their faces with awesome food and booze.
“restaurant actively focuses on locally-sourced ingredients and sustainability”
My conversations with some of the vendors revealed that the Festival also fits perfectly into the charitable nature of the vendors’ business missions. For example, while sampling an extremely creative and uber-fresh root vegetable stack from The Fat Radish, I learned that the restaurant actively focuses on locally-sourced ingredients and sustainability, and that it recently participated in the Let Us Eat Local event in support of that cause.
Up-and-coming food manufacturers discussed their altruistic interests too. SlantShack Jerky, which generously allowed me repeated helpings of its excellent products, explained that its business model takes into account the benefits of offering hormone-free and high-quality beef. Because reviewing everything offered at the Festival would require a 10-volume treatise (not to mention dialysis and an angioplasty), here are some highlights of the bits that I sampled.
Walking into the event, I was stunned by the aroma of cappuccino-braised short rib served with pumpkin sage gnocchi. This little number, whipped up by Bradley Anderson of DUO Restaurant & Lounge, was rich and gooey but still nicely textured due to some pecan praline and roasted onions. The beef melted instantly once bitten and left a lingering smokiness on the palate. Well played, sir.
To wash it down, I next checked out the lobster pumpkin bisque with tarragon foam from Alan Ashkinaze of Millesime. I’ve had plenty of bisque in my day, but this was definitely unique and surprisingly light. Served cool, it had the refreshing qualities of a good gazpacho while staying true to the rich, buttery, seafoody flavor of lobster. And while foams sometimes seem overly fancy or complicated without adding much to a dish, presenting the tarragon in a light, airy way injected flavor into the bisque without compromising its intended texture. Without a doubt the best bisque I’ve ever had.
“if you don’t like truffles, you should go to jail”
If you’re normal, you think ravioli is delicious. And if you don’t like truffles, you should go to jail. There, I said it. If you haven’t been locked up, then feast your eyes on this: quail egg ravioli with sheep’s ricotta and black truffle. Yes, you read this dish from Roberto Deiaco of Armani/Ristorante 5th Avenue correctly. I admit to being a sucker for anything containing truffle, but this intensely savory, buttery masterpiece was a smart vehicle for delivering the grainy starch of pasta with the rich creaminess of egg and cheese. Marvelous.
After ten doses of meat and starch, I convinced myself to check out a dish constructed around something green. Thankfully, Dale Talde (of Talde) unleashed a Perilla Salad: a one bite salad with bacon tamarind caramel, toasted peanut, candied chili, and dried shrimp. I sort of assumed that a “one bite†serving size was just a cost-efficient and practical way to serve the masses attending the Festival. But the mouthful of salad was a truly inventive method of delivering an intense flavor burst, with the caramel, peanut, chili, and shrimp providing sweet, crunchy, spicy, and salty touches that make the salad complete.
PHOTO
If this Website were not so G-rated, I would use a filthy stream of obscenities to describe the deliciousness of Marble Lane’s Guiness-braised Kobe short rib sliders. We’ve all had sliders, and we’ve all seen menus offering “Kobe beef†of dubious quality. But these sliders were the real thing. The reduced beer created a slightly sticky sauce, but the tiny yet shockingly crusty bun evened the dish’s texture into something that went down easy while leaving behind the earthy mineral flavors of quality beef. Sincere congratulations are due.
And just in time for Yom Kippur, Carsten Johannsen of Commerce whipped up some amazing Korean braised pork belly with Vidalia onion marmalade and pork rinds. There’s certainly no lack of pork belly dishes in New York’s popular restaurants these days, but many of them seem to emphasize the falling-off-the-bone qualities of the meat without trying to provide any textural depth. In refreshing contrast, Commerce’s dish involved some acidity and sweetness in the marmalade to cut through the rich, fatty meat. In addition, serving the meat on top of ultra-crunchy pork rinds made the dish uniquely crunchy. Mazal tov!
Check out some more pictures below. I hope they covey the variety and quality of the offerings at the Festival this year. While I didn’t talk about any of the wine or liquor offerings, rest assured that a vast array of distributors and manufacturers were at the Festival slinging quality hooch and vintage pours. Overall, the New York City Wine and Food Festival provided the exact balance that I mentioned above – attendees left with their stomachs full, but also with a more profound satisfaction that hungry Americans will get some help securing the nutrition they need.
Photos by Carmel Mushin for Appetite for Good.
100% of the proceeds benefit the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength®
About the Food Bank For New York City
Food Bank For New York City recognizes 28 years as the city’s major hunger-relief organization working to end food poverty throughout the five boroughs. As the city’s hub for integrated food poverty assistance, the Food Bank tackles the hunger issue on three fronts — food distribution, income support and nutrition education — all strategically guided by its research. Through its network of approximately 1,000 community-based member programs citywide, the Food Bank helps provide 400,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers in need. The Food Bank’s hands-on nutrition education program in the public schools reaches thousands of children, teens and adults. Income support services including food stamps, free tax assistance for the working poor and the Earned Income Tax Credit put millions of dollars back in the pockets of low-income New Yorkers, helping them to achieve greater dignity and independence. 94% of donations go directly toward food distribution, acquisition and programs in all five boroughs of New York City. Learn how you can help at foodbanknyc.org.
About Share Our Strength®
Share Our Strength® , a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. Through its No Kid Hungry® Campaign—a national effort to end childhood hunger in America by 2015—Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs; invests in community organizations fighting hunger; teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals; and builds public-private partnerships to end childhood hunger, at the state and city level. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause marketing campaigns that support No Kid Hungry. Visit Strength.org to get involved.
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Great post.
The presentation of every plate is beautiful. The food itself looks absolutely delicious. What a wonderful recap. I’ll have to watch for this event next year.
WOW! This is one event I’d LOVE to attend. Thanks for sharing~