Holiday Cheers!

The Village Voice and their events team is at it again. If you're someone who takes holiday drinking a bit classier than a peppermint patty shot (although you have to admit those are darn delicious), be sure to check out the Holiday Spirits Tasting Event happening tomorrow night at Studio Square in Long Island City.

Of course I love that the venue is a hop, skip and a jump from my digs in Astoria, but if you've never visited the "new beer garden," you're in for a treat. In addition to their large patio, Studio Square has a fairly large 2-story indoor space which will feature drinks from more than 25 local wineries, breweries, distilleries, and specialty liquor makers. There will also be hors d'oeuvres and music all night.

General admission tickets are $50 (update: use coupon code THANKS for $25 tickets) and will be available at the door. VIP tickets are $70 and will let you in an hour earlier than everyone else and you will take home a commemorative wine tote with event goodies. Everyone will be able to take home their tasting glass as well, and ticket fees will partially support the ASPCA.

Details:

Studio Square

35-44 37th Street

Long Island City, Queens 11106

Thursday Dec. 5

General Admission: 7:30-10:30

VIP Entry at 6:30

Purchase tickets here.

Food Trucks Take Flight

I think I'm still full from Choice Eats. Seriously. But New York is a city that revolves around it's wide array of cuisine and various means of distributing food, so inevitably the blog must go on. The Village Voice recently held their outdoor food truck event, Choice Streets, at the Intrepid and I was invited to go check it out. This event is arranged differently than Choice Eats in that there aren't as many food vendors and the lines are super long, but we still made a night of it, and ate some delicious tidbits from NYC's best mobile vendors.

With our tasting glasses in tow, we started the night at Shock Top where I tried their Honeycrisp Ale, a super refreshing summer beer. If you wanted Lemon Shandy, they were serving it directly from a tap in the trunk of a car!

Because of the staggering lines building at most of the trucks when I arrived, I opted for dessert first, and started at my beloved Cool Haus ice cream sandwiches where I only found about 5 people in line. I tried the snickerdoodle cookie with sea salt caramel ice cream. Yum! And I was very appreciative that they weren't serving full-sized ice cream sandwiches for that would have been a mess.

Snickerdoodle cookie and sea salt caramel ice cream (Cool Haus)

Next Up was Mexico Blvd, one of my favorites of the night with their Adobo Taco--pork loin marinated in adobo served with cilantro, onion and salsa. Next door was Mausam Curry 'n Bites, which served a fairly typical chicken tikka, not bad, but fairly generic in my opinion.

Adobo Taco (Mexico Blvd)

Chicken Tikke (Mausam Curry 'n Bites)

I tried two different mini empanadas from Nuchas and some "Authentic Indian Street Food" from Desi Food Truck (not quite sure what was in it, but there was definitely rice, potatoes and curry involved).

Mini Empanadas (Nuchas)

"Authentic Indian Street Food" (Desi Food Truck)

Tacos (or taco-like foods) were definitely a theme of the night. Big D's Grub served up some spicy pork tacos that definitely had a kick, whereas Mike n' Willies served up their take on a flauta, stuffing falafel into a fried corn tortilla and covering it in tahini. I really enjoyed the latter.

Spicy Pork Taco (Big D's Grub)

Falafel Flauta (Mike n' Willies)

Souvlaki GR was a hit among my friends, but to be honest it didn't do it for me. The charcoal grilled chicken had a funny taste, but maybe I just had a bad batch. The Greek fries were pretty awesome though.

Charcoal Grilled Chicken and Greek Fries (Souvlaki GR)

Wafels & Dinges was one truck I was highly anticipating and it did not disappoint. They were serving up full sized wafels with candied bacon, caramel and whipped cream. Deeee-lish!

Wafels & Dinges

Wafel with candied bacon, caramel and whipped cream (Wafels & Dinges)

At this point unfortunately my camera started to go wonky, and the following pictures are either blurry and/or borrowed (thanks Laura!). Regardless, the burger at Rhong Tiam was amazing and I felt equally excited about the pupusas at Solber pupusas (glad I finally know what that is!) and the arepas at Palenque Homemade Colombian Food.

Burger (Rhong Tiam)

Meat Pupusa (Solber Pupusas)

Corn Arepa with Chicken and Portobello Mushrooms (Palenque Homemade Colombian Food)

We topped everything off with an Arnold Palmer Kelvin Slush and called it a night. Unfortunately Mac Truck sported lines 50-people deep all night and ran out before I gave them a try. I was equally disappointed that Gorilla Cheese NYC didn't even show up. Next idea for an event...an all mac 'n' cheese/grilled cheese food extravaganza!! Who'd be up for that?

Get Ready for a Virtual Food Coma

There's one day a year that I purposefully hold back food all day in order to prepare myself for a bit of a binge. That day in 2013 was yesterday for Choice Eats!

As I lined up with fellow gluttons outside of the the 69th Regiment Armory, I could feel my insides churning and my mouth salivating over what promised to be the biggest and baddest food event NYC would see all year. We were let into the VIP room downstairs, and despite being ridiculously warm, it was nice because we got a sneak preview of many of the food samples without the crowds. Here, my friend Laura and I tried the chicken chorizo sandwich from Brooklyn Cured, bite-sized chicken pot pies from City Grit, truly awesome kale chips (and unfortunately I didn't catch the restaurant that made them, anyone know?), BBQ pork ribs from Pig and Khao, a jam goat grilled cheese from Mrs. Dorsey's Kitchen, 2 different pretzels with 2 different dipping mustards at Sigmund's Pretzels, cheese from Beecher's, and, for the most unusual bite of the night, a red wine marinated egg from Thirty Acres.

Chicken Chorizo Sandwich (Brooklyn Cured)

Bite-Sized Chicken Pot Pies (City Grit)

Kale Chips

BBQ Pork Ribs (Pig and Khao)

Salted and Truffle Cheddar Pretzels with Wholegrain and Beet Horseradish Mustards (Sigmund's Pretzels)

Jam Goat Grilled Cheese (Mrs. Dorsey's Kitchen)

Beecher's Cheese

Red Wine Marinated Egg (Thirty Acres)

Then Laura and I entered the main tent armed with a set of rules (split mostly everything, no drinking until we're done eating, eat as little bread as possible, etc.) which made our Choice Eats experience flow seamlessly.

First stops were set aside for seafood. None of the lobster roll places were actually serving lobster rolls, which sucked, but was as expected. We did a shrimp roll taste test between Luke's Lobster and Red Hook Lobster Pound and Luke's won by a landslide. Everything they do is simple and delicious, showcasing the fresh seafood, while Red Hook seemed to hide their shrimp in lettuce and mayonnaise.

Shrimp Roll (Luke's Lobster)

Shrimp Roll (Red Hook Lobster Pound)

We then made our way around the event guessing which tables would run out or garner the biggest crowds. First stop, The Meatball Shop for their buffalo chicken balls, and good thing we did, because the lines for these guys were CRAZY later on. In the same row we visited Txikito for their Patatas Riojanas (braised lamb with chorizo and potato Alava style) and Rosamunde Sausage Grill for their beer sausage

Buffalo Meatball (The Meatball Shop)

Patatas Riojanas (Txikito)

Beer Sausage (Rosamunde Sausage Grill)

There was lots more meat to be had on the south side of the armory (is this paleo thing really starting to catch on?). First there was country pate with spicy tomato jam and pigs ears at Resto, pastrami sliders with coleslaw from John Brown Smokehouse, and (one of my favorites) Greek coffee rubbed skirt steak and sesame crusted fried feta from Ovelia Psistaria Bar.

Country Pate with spicy tomato jam and pigs ears (Resto)

Pastrami Sliders with Coleslaw (John Brown Smokehouse)

Ovelia Psistaria Bar

Although I didn't sample anything from Pulino's, they has an awesome display of antipasti and tiramisu. Allswell was also serving up some mighty fine meat pies. We got the chorizo pie (I sensed a big chorizo trend last night), and I loved the buttery, flaky crust.

Antipasti and Tiramisu (Pulino's)

Chorizo Pie (Allswell)

Then we, of course, stopped for a dessert break; boozy cupcakes from Butter & Scotch, Almond Joy Bastoncini and Farro-Walnut Burgers (I know, not dessert) from Del Posto (who always has an amazing table at Choice Eats), and cannoli from Carlo's Bakery.

Boozy Cupcakes (Butter & Scotch)

Farro-Walnut Burger (Del Posto)

Almond Joy Bastoncini (Del Posto)

Dessert Display (Carlo's Bakery)

We started to slow down, but quickly got a second wind as we made our way down the center aisle. Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue was serving up delicious chopped barbecued pork sliders (although the pickles were a bit too intense and briney for me), while Joe Dough replaced their giant sandwich display from last year with a buttermilk biscuit with breakfast sausage and wildflower honey butter (this girl loooooooooves her biscuits, so that made me happy).

Chopped Barbecued Pork Sliders (Fletcher's Brooklyn Barbecue)

Buttermilk Biscuit with Breakfast Sausage and Wildflower Honey Butter (Joe Dough)

The chets at Porchetta were dishing out super moist porchetta crostini and the currywurst at Landbrot Bakery & Bar really had a lot of great flavor and spice.

Porchetta

Currywurst (Landbrot Bakery & Bar

The next and almost last 5 bites were perhaps my favorites of the night. Dirt Candy always surprises me with their ingenuity and last night was no exception; I loved their cherry tomato tart with smoked feta. El Amacen also hit it out of the park with their hand cut steak empanadas, ceviche de bife, and costilla de res (Malbec braised shortrib). Anyone that knows me knows that truffle is the way to my heart, and Max found my heart with their porcini ravioli with truffled cream sauce. Those were all great, but I've been telling everyone about the double decker broccoli taco from No. 7 as well as the pork bun with caramelized onions from Nom Wah Tea Parlor.

Cherry Tomato Tart with Smoked Feta (Dirt Candy)

Hand Cut Steak Empanadas, Ceviche de Bife, and Costilla de Res (Malbec Braised Shortrib)

Porcini Ravioli with Truffled Cream Sauce

Double Decker Broccoli Taco with Peanuts, Feta, and Black Beans (No. 7)

Mini Steamed Pork Bun with Caramelized Onions (Nom Wah Tea Parlor)

Mexico Lindo impressed me again this year with their tamales with mole and butternut squash, and after hearing someone describe the fried chicken from Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter as "bangin,'" we had to try it ourselves. It was pretty yummy indeed.

Tamales with Mole and Butternut Squash (Mexico Lindo)

A Mini Fried Chicken Picnic (Bobwhite Lunch & Supper Counter)

Before we gave up completely, we headed back to the Choice Sweets section for some Bonfire Minis -- cocoa waffle cookie, dark chocolate ganache, salted caramel sauce, roasted meringue -- from The Good Batch and Asian sweets from Fay Da Bakery, not to mention some bubble tea!

Bonfire Minis (The Good Batch)

Asian Sweets (Fay Da Bakery)

Laura and I rocking Smartwater, beer, and bubble tea from Fay Da

All in all, it was a successful night. I was definitely full, but not to the "past-full" level I had gotten to in years passed. We got to most of what we wanted before the crowds loomed, which was key, and I left with a goodie bag from whole foods (woot woot!). With all that said...who's ready for Choice Streets?