Wining and Dining in the Meatpacking

For the past two years, I have seen the signs come up for the New York City Wine and Food Festival and then I've seen them come back down, without ever partaking in a glorious event. My friends at Citysearch changed all that this year after I won two tickets to the Meatpacking Uncorked event from a Twitter contest. Even though my mom and I already had our fair share of wine and food for an entire weekend, we were bound and determined to make the most out of this night.

We arrived at the Welcome Center under the Highline and picked up our event passport, along with some tasty Toblerone samples. Making our way to W. 14th Street, we stopped in stores like La Perla and Kimberly Taylor for wine and shopping (sort of like an encore of Fashion's Night Out). The weather was absolutely gorgeous and people were out in the thousands.

Our first food bite was at The Diner - a goat cheese quesadilla. It definitely tasted good, but that may have been because I was super hungry after an afternoon full of wine. The wait for this sample was a little ridiculous, though.

Next, we made it over to The Cooking Channel truck, which was sampling innovative ice cream flavors like Strawberry Balsamic and Chocolate Challah. Again, the lines were crazy (I would have been mad had I actually paid money for the event tickets), but the ice cream was delicious.

We stopped at the Delta/Coke display, where we got to take Polaroid-like shots with our free mini-bottles of coke. Last, we only got down to Ganesvoort Street before the event ended at 9, but we tried sliders from The Collective.

Overall, the event was a lot of fun, but the weather had a lot to do with how much I enjoyed the night. The food wasn't anything amazing, but it was fun to walk around and eat in the streets. The lines for everything were pretty long and the vendors did not always look at people's wristbands, so pretty much anyone could wait in line for some free grub. 

Next year, my goal will definitely be to try another NYC Wine and Food Festival event. I think I might pass on Meatpacking Uncorked, but maybe the Grand Tasting...One can dream.

AWESOME DISCOVERY: The Postelles

I enjoy music. Honestly, I'm not picky (with the exception of country and hardcore rap). But sometimes you come across a new band that you just can't get out of your head. My latest aural discovery is an NYC-based punk band called The Postelles. 

Citysearch recently had a facebook contest - one of those "leave a comment and someone will randomly receive x, y and z" - and I was offered two tickets to see The Postelles Wednesday at Bowery Ballroom. Since had had no plans that night, I like music and Bowery Ballroom is a pretty cool place, I figured, hey why not?

My cousin Nola and I arrived too late to see the opening group, but we did (perhaps unfortunately) arrive to hear the second opener, The Beets. With a homemade sign on a sheet, The Beets announced that they were there to "sell soul to a souless people who've sold their souls" and they were "latins going platinum." Ok. 

The Beets with their sheet sign

The Beets were pretty one note, with some curious and repetitive lyrics. After the second song, we became pretty anxious for the real show to start. However it did give my cousin to randomly reconnect with two old high school friends she hadn't seen in years. This is why I love New York.

Me and Nola at Bowery Ballroom

When The Postelles began to play their first song, suddenly the half empty ballroom was filled with people. I really don't know where they all came from, but people were excited. The music was a great mix of familiar English-inspired punk with an awesome NYC twist. The band was having fun and some dedicated fans were singing along to every word. Some of my favorite songs were "White Night" and "Can't Stand Still." 

The Postelles

Unfortunately their album doesn't come out until October, but I'm definitely buying. Until then, you can check them out on YouTube and Myspace, and they have a free download of "White Night" on their website.

During the encore, the band brought up some fans on the stage and everyone had a great time. Thanks Citysearch!