village voice choice eats 2010

Village Voice Choice Eats 2010

This post is long overdue. I keep putting it off because there are so many pictures and it’s really about the photos more than the review… so I’ve focused on getting up the reviews where I need to recall more details. For this event, I’d heard it was like Thanksgiving for foodies. I was prepared to come home without any need to eat in the foreseeable future. What I didn’t expect was to be so full that it put Thanksgiving well to shame. Oh my oh my. My face in this photo? Yeah. Pretty much says it all.

The Crowd - Choice Eats 2010

Tickets to this year’s event were $45, a bargain for all of the restaurants we had the opportunity to try. Everything out for the event was free with your admission, from main courses to appetizers to desserts to cocktails to beers to wines. Help yourself. Love it? Go back for more, but know you’re sacrificing valuable space you might want to use for the neighboring vendor… or their neighboring vendor…

The event was held on March 22nd at the Lexington Avenue Armory and as their website proclaimed, it featured over 50 restaurants and food from over 35 nations. Restaurants were there from all over NYC, from Manhattan to Brooklyn to the depths of Flushing. No better way to get a taste for all the area has to offer.

Tiffin Wallah - Choice Eats

I was impressed by the offering by Tiffin Wallah, located in Gramercy. I usually overlook Indian restaurants that are vegetarian, mainly because I love chicken in Indian restaurants and I don’t like the idea that from the get-go that’s not going to be an option. However, I was pleasantly surprised here. Whereas most restaurants were offering one simple item to try, Tiffin Wallah had their own mini buffet going on – all the way down to their gulab jamen! I definitely plan on checking them out in person. Their potatoes were very spicy. Love me some spicy food!

My Full Plate - Tiffin Wallah

Soft Cheesecake - Spot Dessert Bar

My favorite dessert of the evening was from Spot Dessert Bar located in the East Village on Saint Marks. Ironic I’ve never been in there or noticed the spot seeing as I love that area for dining. Their dessert was a soft cheesecake paired with walnuts, orange, and berries. It was somewhere between the consistency of cheesecake and frozen yogurt. It wasn’t quite as sweet as a traditional cheesecake, but was definitely less tart than say frozen yogurt. And you could taste the fabulous cream cheese. It was very light and the fruit was just perfect to accompany. I can’t stop raving about this dessert.

A close second for dessert favorite was Mandiba's Jenny's Malva Pudding - a sweet spongy caramelized pudding made with apricot jam.

Finally trying Fette Sau's pork. I will definitely be paying them a visit!

Bunny Chow - Choice Eats

Coffee-Marinated Sausages - Ovelia Psistaria Bar

Dirt Candy - Choice Eats

Serrano Ham Topped Gazpacho - Despana

Porchetta - Choice Eats

Purple Yam - Choice Eats

 

It wasn’t all perfection. I finally was able to try Mama’s Food Shop’s mac ‘n cheese, which I actually found bland and very forgettable. Similarly, I found the goulash and spätzle from Café Steinhof to be lacking in flavor (it left me in my very full state somehow craving some good goulash).

There were several places who ran out of food before we could make it to them. I was really looking forward to finally tasting the fresh pretzels at the East Village’s Sigmund Pretzelshop. I definitely had hoped to hit up some of the big names, like Motorino, but some of them just ran out of food so quickly. Some (looking at you, Fatty Crab!) went with dishes I just couldn’t bring myself to try on such a full stomach (egg = blech), so I’ll have to I guess bring myself to going in person finally … someday.

If you’ve never been before, I’d definitely say it’s worth checking out this year. More than worth the money to get an idea of which places are worth a full meal in the city.