Apologies for this post being a bit late, as Caryn (thoughts in italics) and I were traveling in London and then had to deal with quitting and starting jobs (ok, maybe that was just me; you’re not too far from the truth there). Anywho, despite how busy the past month has been, one event that we’ve fondly looked back on is the Village Voice Choice Eats. We gave a preview of the event a few months back, but the quick 20 second pitch is that the Choice Eats is basically Costco samples on steroids - dozens of tables to try samples from, and instead of eating little wiener dogs (I’m so immature that I smiled at this), you are dining on everything from tres leches cake to beef tongue.
Like in years past, the event sold-out and was crowded, but worth the wait as we sampled food from restaurants across the boroughs. Common themes though at this year’s event were spice and pork (dare I say it…too much pork? I didn’t think it was possible, but it was). It felt like everyone tried to put pork into some dish in one way or another, and everyone tried to “kick it up a notch” with the spice - to the point where we were fleeing tables in search of water. But you can bet that we will be back again next year considering we like Choice Eats almost as much as Christmas. All in all, we left feeling full (although unlike last year, didn’t feel like we were going to burst. The strategy is to not finish an entire sample. One bite per sample and then discard. If you don’t want to be wasteful, then share each sample with a friend or two) and with a list of new favorite restaurants:
- Mama’s Food Shop: I love mac and cheese, particularly when mixed with pork products.
Friends Rich, Joey and Dory at Choice Eats
This year’s mac and cheese was mixed with a bit of pork shoulder, which not only was delicious, but gave an added bit of flavor. This place consistently delivers year after year. In fact, my friend Dory remembered as soon as we took a bite how fabulous their mac and cheese was last year. Plus, Mama’s Food Shop offers a little deal alert- show a valid student ID from 5-8 pm and get 10% off the menu (yes, I’m dusting my Marist ID off as we speak). And here’s a tiny present from us - the recipe.
- Nando Fragolino: Choice Eats offers samples of different beers and wines, and my friends and I fell in love with Nando Fragolino, an Italian sparkling wine that tastes like strawberries. We were given samples of peach and strawberry, and strawberry was far superior. It was very refreshing and the general sentiment from everyone was, “Laura you have to write about this! I want to buy it by the case!” If you don’t like sweet stuff, I’d suggest thought you skip it (I hate sweet wines and almost spit it out, but it was a crowd pleaser among others).
- Patacon Pisao: I wasn’t a fan at all of this street cart’s entrees (frankly because I had no idea what I
was eating, and it wasn’t that good to me) but then I tried the tres leches cake. This sealed the deal and made me fall in love with Patacon Pisao. The cake was so moist (I know, you all hate that word) and perfectly sweet. I didn’t take too many pictures at the event because I was balancing plates, but this was something I needed to snap a photo of. This, hands down, was my favorite place at Choice Eats. Every item I tried (and no I wasn’t exactly sure what I was eating but I clearly didn’t care) continued to get better and better. It was an amazing blend of spicy, sweet, savory delicousness. My only regret is that they don’t have a location closer to me. If they’re at Choice Eats next year I fear I may just park myself in front of their booth and just eat their dishes all night. I simply cannot rave enough about this place! And that tres leches cake…moist heaven! - Fort Defiance: I don’t like deviled eggs. Or at least I thought I didn’t. And then I had these at Fort Defiance. Perfectly seasoned, these eggs made me want to travel to Brooklyn ASAP. I love eggs so much and have 3-5 hard boiled eggs a week (as all my cubemates know, sorry), so this was right up my alley, and delicious!
- Cafe Glechik: I am not someone who really likes sweets, but I loved Cafe Glechik. This Ukrainian restaurant had the most amazing dessert - a napoleon pastry with cherry dumplings. I’m more of a savory person, but this dessert had me going for seconds and asking anyone who I shared a plate with if they were going to finish this dessert. This also may be why my pants didn’t button the next day. Yes this was amazing as well! I also tried their potato pirogies and liked them a lot too. But that napoleon dessert….delish!
I hope after reading this very limited run-down of our favorite spots (there are rows and rows of booths to try) that you’ll sign up for Choice Eats next year. One quick word to the wise - pre-select the spots that you simply MUST try and hit them up first, even if you backtrack. A lot of restaurants were out of food in 1.5ish hours this year. The same thing happened last year. So don’t try to “pace yourself” because you will lose in the long run.
Patacon pisao has a second location in elmhurst queens called Patacon Pisao#2 and word has it they will be opening another one in manhattan (sit down) somewhere. keep an eye open! I LOVE THIS PLACE!!
[...] love food festivals. Last week, we wrote about our experience at Choice Eats, but if you are looking to hit up a food festival that’s manageable (read: less than 75 [...]