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NYC Tasting Event March 25 – @VillageVoice @ChoiceEats
Foodies (and lushes), it’s that time again… The Village Voice Choice Eats tasting event is taking place March 25, 2014!
I’ve been a fan of Choice Eats for years now and each year it keeps getting better! Imagine this: 80+ restaurants under one roof, plus complimentary beer garden and wine and liquor pairings, all for one price. I’ve always loved Village Voice’s tasting events for a few reasons: amazing food, great venue, music and a great crowd. Even in the years I’ve gone solo, there are always awesome people (all in jovial spirits, of course) to chop it up with, literally!
This year I’ll be back to cover it and I wanted to make sure to get the word out about this not to be missed event. VIP tickets are sold out, but you can still purchase general admission tickets for $60 online or $70 at the door. This event is always sold out, so I would strongly suggest pre-purchasing unless you want to risk missing out.
A plus is that while you’re stuffing your face, you’ll be supporting a great cause: Slow Food NYC, the New York City chapter of Slow Food, a non-profit, member-supported organization founded in 1989 to counteract the culture of fast food.
The Village Voice’s Seventh Annual Choice Eats
Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 – 10:00pm
Basketball City @ Pier 36 (299 South Street, New York, NY) -
@VillageVoice’s #ChoiceStreets Recap
The weather took a break from being completely crappy for just a bit to welcome The Village Voice’s Choice Streets last Tuesday. Thank goodness, because the event was slated to happen, rain or shine!
We New Yorkers love our food trucks, and this was definitely a celebration of the food truck, with 20 trucks offering sample-sized items from their menus.
It was held at the Intrepid Air & Sea Museum, which has a scenic location on a pier on the Hudson River. The museum is actually a retired aircraft carrier with fighter jets and other aircraft (and now the space shuttle Enterprise) perched on top and around it.
Unique venues like this are one of the things I like most about Village Voice’s events. Previous events were held at an armory and an historic bank tower.
DJ Finger on the Pulse provided the soundtrack for the night. For $30 general admission and $50 VIP, this sold out event was a great deal.
Here are some of the highlights of Choice Streets.
A line had already formed 10 minutes before the doors opened!
From left: Bongo Brothers Cuban Food, Mexico Blvd, Solber Pupusas
From left: Valducci’s Original Pizza, Red Hook Lobster Pound, The King Falafel & Shawarma
Spicy Diablo hot dog from NYC Healthy Bites
VVeev, the world’s first acai spirit. They donate 1% of their sales to rain orest preservation.
Taim Mobile
From the top: Frites ‘N’ Meats, Morris Grilled Cheese Truck
Svedka
Choice Eats under the NY skyline
These tacos by Mexicue were especially tasty!
Jägermeister
Apparently I’m not the only one who love this place! (Wafels & Dinges)
Yum, Pisco cocktails!
Funky tights!
This blew my mind! Bacon maple cupcake from Cupcake Crew. It was as good as it looks.
Ewwy, gooey steak & cheese sandwich from Phil’s Steaks
Shock Top Beer
A beautiful night, but don’t let it fool you–it was cold and windy! -
@VillageVoice’s @ChoiceEats = Delicious
On Tuesday night I attended Village Voice’s sixth annual “Choice Eats” event.
Just picture this…you walk into the 69th Armory, a huge, historic armory built in the early 1900s, filled with 83 restaurants from the five boroughs, serving tastings of their most delicious dishes. Let’s not forget the craft beer, spirits and wine companies, serving up cocktails and pours to accompany the eats. If you’re even the slightest bit of a foodie, you’d think you died and went to heaven–so imagine how it was for me (definitely, absolutely a foodie)!
Each of the restaurants was hand-picked by Robert Sietsema, food critic for Village Voice.
If you missed this year’s event, there’s always next year. But be sure you buy your tickets early because it sold out completely this year, and I’m sure it will be the same for next year. Also, keep an eye on Village Voice’s calendar of events. They have various festivals throughout the year, like the Brooklyn Pour Craft Beer Festival I attended in October, and the upcoming Choice Streets food truck tasting event in April.
And the winner is…
Allswell: Gentleman’s Relish with roasted garlic and anchovy spread on housemade sourdough and topped with soft boiled eggThis was my absolute favorite dish in the entire event.
My tasting glass
The event was sold out!
Juliette: Cured Arctic Char & Maine Diver Scallop Shooters
From top left: Red Hook Lobster Pound~Shrimp Rolls, O Lavrador~Carne de Porco a Alentejana (pork tenderloin with clam and potatoes), Pataniscas de Bacalhau com Molho Verde (codfish fritters with Portuguese vinaigrette sauce), Smorgas Chef~72 hour house cured aquavit gravlaks with creamy dill cucumbers and mustard sauce.The lox from Smorgas Chef were unbelievable!
Red Hook Lobster Pound’s mascot!
From left: Fay Da Baker~pork bun and honey bubble teaBest pork bun ever!
Whole Foods had bags for everyone!
Dirt Candy: Tomato chipotle cotton candy
Mama’s Food Shop~Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Roasted VegetablesSuch a simple description, but this had to one of the juiciest, most flavorful roasted pork dishes I have ever tasted!
Vandaag~Gravlax Smorrebrod
Surprised to see the neighborhood spot! I can’t even count how much Peppa’s Jerk Chicken I’ve had since moving to Brooklyn!
Enjoying!
Smuttynose~Let’s say I had the random and bizarre impulse to jump over the table to grab a beer or something–I would definitely NOT do it with this guy standing there!!
Yummy cocktails by Bulldog Gin
Goat Town: Goat Face Sangwich
Gazela: makes delicious sangria
Northern Spy Food Co~Savory Buttermilk Pannacotta with roasted carrots, almonds and licorice
Sottocasa: Tiramisu
Doughnut Plant: P&J doughnutsOne of my local favorites! Even though I was sooooo full, I managed to make room for this and it couldn’t have been better!
This guy is so smart. While everyone else juggled their plate, glass, and event brochure, he was super smooth with his items laid out on a lavish platter, er, green tray!
Blue Point: Craft beer
Svedka, anyone?
Ditch Plains: hot dogs covered with mac ‘n cheeseDelicious…don’t judge me!
Until next time!!
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I’m Going to @VillageVoice’s @ChoiceEats Tasting Event!
I love Fridays and I love weekends, but I really wouldn’t mind if it all just flew by and I was plopped down right in the middle of Tuesday. Why, you ask? Because Tuesday, March 13 is the Village Voice’s sixth annual “Choice Eats” event, which I am attending!
If you haven’t heard of “Choice Eats,” it’s a foodie’s ultimate paradise: a tasting event featuring 83 handpicked restaurants from all five boroughs, along with complimentary craft beer pairings, wine and liquor beverages.
In addition to tastings, guests will enjoy DJ sets by Andy Rourke of The Smiths, the legendary alt-rock band that materialized from the British indie music scene in the 1980s, and guest chef-celebrity, Ty-lor Boring, of Bravo’s hit show, Top Chef Texas. Ty-lor will host a demo for all VIP ticket-holders during the VIP hour from 5:30 – 6:30 PM.
VIP tickets have sold out, but a limited number of General Admission tickets are still available at choiceeats.villagevoice.com for $50 each. A complete list of participating restaurants and sponsors is also available on the event website.
Here are the deets on the event:
WHEN: Tuesday, March 13 from 6:30pm-9:30pm with a VIP-only preview from 5:30pm-6:30pm
WHERE: 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue @ 26th Street, NYCTweet me if you come to the event…@OAAinNYC!
