Last month, the Village Voice hosted their 8th annual Choice Eats celebration, and if you'e ever had the luxury of going, then you know it's one of the more overwhelming—in a good way—food events that takes place in New York City. The event happens at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea, and when we arrived, there was one of the longest lines we've ever seen, snaking around the building. And this was for the hour-long VIP preview. When we left, the line seemed twice as long.
Basically, the Choice Eats festival is a massive room filled with tables, where some of New York City's most notable purveyors of food and drink have tables set up with tasting-sized portions of their goodies. So for instance, The Meatball Shop was offering up single meatballs, and Fort Defiance was offering up deviled eggs. On their own, these amount to small snacks. But when taken with all the other vendors, it adds up to one of the stunning and satisfying experiences a foodie can ask for. The variety is staggering.
Some of our favorite dishes included the Winter Vegetable Fricasse from Commerce, the Downeast Bisque from Red Hook Lobster Pound, the Osso Buco Tortelloni from Rubirosa, the Broccoli Tacos from No. 7, the Sea Urchin Panna Cotta from The Nomad, and the Sour Braised Beef Short Rib with Caramelized Onion Puree from Delaware and Hudson. Bonus prize goes to Ample Hills, for serving up one of the best bowls of ice cream we've ever had with their 'Snap Mallow Pop,' described to us as a 'deconstructed Rice Krispie Square in ice cream form.' That's exactly what it tasted like.
And if you're not to full from all the food—which also includes a separate room for dessert on the second floor—Choice Eats is also packed with alcohol vendors, from some of the best craft breweries in the region (shout out to Goose Island), to some of the country's best craft distilleries (we're talking about you, Tito's). Basically, if you attend Choice Eats, it's pretty much impossible to leave disappointed. Check out a small gallery from the event below.
