NYC Tastes

It was a great weekend to be a foodie in NYC as Taste Talks swept into Williamsburg for the 5th year. The 3 day conference kicked off Friday night with The Tastys at the gorgeous Weylin Theater. Over 25 awards were handed out with top honors going to folks like Greg Baxtrom from Olmstead for Best New Chef East, Kenji Lopez for The Food Lab and Alice Waters for Outstanding Chef overall. There was also a great panel with Claus Meyer (co-founder of Noma) regarding his Brownsville Community Culinary Center which is really helping to change the landscape of that area. Jeremy Oertel of Donna Cocktail Club and Natasha David of Nitecap were slinging incredible cocktails at the Awards After Party...  ...along with some of NYC's best food like meatballs from The Meatball Shop, Fried Chicken from Pies & Thighs and delicious Peanut Butter Crunch ice cream from Oddfellows . Saturday was all about food knowledge with a series of seminars held at the William Vale and Whythe Hote...

The approaching Fall season always makes me think of three things-  food festivals, football and beer. And even though we still have a few weeks of summer left, there's some great events coming up this weekend to start the celebration. All Star BBQ 2016 Taste Talks - This three day conference is coming back to Brooklyn for the 5th year in a row with a weekend full of tastings, food panels and awards curated by the great chefs Wylie Dufresne and Andrew Carmellini.   Friday night kicks off with the Tasty Awards at the Weylin Hotel where some of the biggest industry influencers like April Bloomfield (Spotted Pig), Amanda Cohen (Dirt Candy) and Ken Oringer (Toro) will present awards in 30 different culinary categories.   Saturday the symposium takes places with demos and tastings around sushi, wine and cocktails alongside the Future Food Expo which showcases everything new and exciting in food from around the world.  Sunday the fun continues with the ...

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be on the Brooklyn waterfront celebrating the third year of Taste Talks and the All Star BBQ Sunday.  The grills were smoking hot as chefs and celebs alike showcased some fantastic food collaborations.  There were 16 different food/drink stations and I manged to hit them all.  Here are a few of my favorites. My very first stop was at Blue Smoke for Chef Jean Paul's juicy Chicken Wings tossed in Alabama white sauce... ...followed by an incredible Grilled Pizza with pulled pork, creamy ranch slaw and crispy onions from the Brooklyn powerhouse team of Emily Loves Pizza and Hometown BBQ. I was really excited to check out the Chicken Thigh sandwich from MOMO Sushi since it incorporated yuzu kosho; an amazing spicy sweet condiment of yuzu peel and chilies from Japan that I love. Not only was this Chicken Thigh one of the best bites from the afternoon but it was served to me by none other than Chef Jarobi ...

Summer's coming to a close which means shorter days, cooler temps and lots more food festivals! There's of course the New York City Food and Wine Festival in the middle of October followed by the incredible  Star Chef's ICC .  And in just a few weeks caffeine and BBQ lovers have two great weekend events taking over the city Taste Talks and the NYC Coffee Festival. Taste Talks will be held out in Brooklyn again this year with Chef Sean Brock curating the event.  It all kicks off with Mission Chinese Food's Low Country Boil followed by a Chicken & Waffles Brunch, the Future Food Expo, multiple tastings, workshops, panels and of course the All Star BBQ at East River State Park.  I still think about that spicy Boar Collar from Andy Richter of Pok Pok the inaugural year. The fest runs September 9th-11th and  tickets can be purchased here . The New York Coffee Festival   returns taking over the 69th Regiment Armory again September 16th-18th.  Fes...

Williamsburg was the epicenter of food this weekend with Taste Talks taking over the waterfront.  There was the Chicken and Waffles brunch, the Future Food Expo, food panels galore and an incredible All Star BBQ Sunday chock full of glorious meat like this Pig Head Salad with green mango, cabbage, cilantro, mint, mala vinaigrette and fish powder. This was a David Santos/Jonathan Wu collaboration (Louro & Fung Tu) and it was flawless. The rich flavor of the pig was balanced perfectly by the sweet slivers of mango. Lamb Tartare from Danny Bowien was chopped super fine with spicy sriracha and jalapeno and on a crisp, salty tortilla shell. But the best of the bunch had no meat at all!  The veggie burger from Brooks Headly at Del Posto was so amazing it sold out just 30 minutes into the 2nd session.  I really hope she gets a place to grill these up full time.  Here's a look at some of the rest... Barbecue Duck with sorghum, ginger and five spice fla...

September is always chock full of fantastic food events and this weekend has two that are going to be fantastic! Taste of Gramercy  This is the 2nd year for Taste of Gramercy hosted by the GNA and you can expect food tastings from restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Casa Mona, Barbounia and Bedford Cheese.  The event takes place on the gorgeous street of Irving Place and tickets can be purchased directly from their website. Taste Of Gramercy Danny Bowien curates this amazing event in Brooklyn which includes a whole weekend filled with food.  You can start your Saturday with a Chicken and Waffles brunch and then head over to the Future Foods Expo or check one of the fantastic panels going on that day.  My pick would be the Beer Tasting conversation with Other Half's Sam Richardson.  Round out the weekend with an All Star Chef BBQ on East River Park with over 20 chefs grilling up some serious 'cue. Taste Talks