NYC Tastes

The Fancy Food Show returned to New York City this past weekend taking over the entire Jacob Javits Center.   This annual event is the largest food show in North America, showcasing over 80,000 specialty food and beverages. Since a full day of sampling requires some serious energy I always begin my day in the coffee section.  This year spirit infused coffee shared the spotlight with the usual vanilla and caramel blends.  Jack Daniels used their classic Tennessee Whiskey while Don Pablo soaked their beans in Kentucky Bourbon. The cheese section was also one of my first stops at the show.  It takes up about 35% of the entire event, so one could basically just eat cheese for three straight days if so inclined. I was incredibly excited to see Four Fat Foul from Hudson Valley with their flagship St. Stephen on display.  This triple cream cheese is one of my go-to party gifts for it's rich, buttery texture and nutty delicious flavor....

Each June the Specialty Food Association kicks off their annual Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Center; three days filled with a staggering amount of the latest and greatest in the food and beverage industry.  This year was the biggest event yet with over 47,000 industry professionals in attendance and 2,670 exhibitors.  Obviously I wasn't able to taste everything.  There were so many different coconut chips, specialty chili chocolates and coffee infused items I could have spent a day just on those three food sectors alone.  But here are a few products that really stood out to me over the course of three crazy food coma days. "Healthy" beverages were a HUGE theme running across the show.  I sampled so many coconut waters, kombucha's, micro-brewed teas and chia seed energy drinks that I was practically floating. One of my favorites was Detox Water created by Kenneth Park right here in Brooklyn, NY. After Kenneth's Mom experienced severe d...