The 4th Annual New York Wine Expo 2011: Now With Cheese and Foie Gras

 The folks behind this growing operation known as the New York Wine Expo have been busy for the last 12 months trying to step their game up. And I think most attendees can agree that they definitely have their work cut out for them. I mean you can't really go wrong when you provide over 760 wines to sample with 190 wineries from around the world. But with a price tag like $90-$100, people expect magic. Last year, the delicious fancy grape drinks were plentiful but there was nothing else going on. This time around the sponsorships made their presence known in more ways than one. And for everyone's benefit.

Along with the Cotes Du Rhone, exotic bottles from Spain, and even ones from China, there were also plenty of food vendors sampling the kinds of cuisine whose flavors were only accentuated with a nice glass of red or white. There were a couple of companies who brought an almost endless supply of foie gras and other sorts of duck meats cooked in a variety of ways. The better one is Hudson Valley Foie Gras with only had one guy behind the counter (I think it may have been the vice president of the company), who single handedly served a neverending line of people. We just couldn't get enough of the grilled duck fat, prosciutto, and duck bacon. There was also a Dutch Cheese vendor who served Rembrandt aged gouda, some guys who brought their version of snow crabs, a stand for a concentrated cacao chocolate bar called Brix, and even an avocado truck that served salad and drinks. But there was simply not enough food to upstage all the hundreds of wines that lined the big hall. There were numerous aisles that covered different parts of the world from Italy to Canada. My absolute favorite was a Portuguese wine called Quinta de Gomariz made from the loureiro grape variety.

Like any wine appreciator in this city who has attended, or plans to attend, the New York Wine Expo, I am very excited to see where this event will go. With every passing year it's just getting larger and more popular. It may not be the Catelina Wine Mixer, but for the organizers behind the bottles, the only way to go from here is up.

Here are the pictures from Saturday February 26, 2011.

It Got a Little Hot in There: The Brooklyn Chili Takedown

Why does the Bell House get all the cool, crazy ass events? I'm sick of talking about the same venue all the time (not really). Not to mention having to travel all the way out in the middle of warehouse-ville and buildings that look semi-abandoned. Aside from this minor complaint, the Brooklyn Chili Takedown was pretty sweet. And savory and spicy. But mostly delicious. 

Just about 30 chili recipes were featured this year this past Sunday, by a bunch of unassuming and friendly cooks and chefs from all over New York. Upon entrance, the curious and hungry attendant was faced with a long line that led to a bunch of metal trays filled with all the meaty, saucy, chunky chilis that they were hoping for. The trays were separated into two groups of 15 so as to control the flow of people coming in. It was difficult for the incoming crowds to see the other line because they were hidden behind clumpy groups of people who just wanted to put food into their mouths. Eventually Matt Timms, the mastermind behind this cook-off and many others, went on stage and improved the situation. Anyway, let's get to the chili. 

The first one I tried was called Turchiche Duck Chili by a man named Stephen Cash, who's recipe was actually chosen by the people to be the best. Second place went to Ilan Kutok's Hell's Knocked Up Chili and third went to Becky McGregor's Pho-bulous Chili. I tasted all of these and I gotta say that I agree with the people on this one. The judges on the other hand picked a man called Johnny Utah (totally fake name) and his New Mexico Via Con Dios Chili. I unfortunately did not have the chance to taste this one but I'm sure it was heaven. All the winners received awesome prizes like fancy pots and pans and all kinds of cooking materials.

For $15 this event was totally worth it. If you're worried that having samples of food isn't enough to satisfy, think again buddy. Chili is pretty heavy to begin with so it got a little difficult after a while to keep shoveling it in my mouth. I showed up hungry and after eating maybe 15 samples, my tummy told my brain that I needed to stop or I would have ended up showing everyone what a mix of 15 recipes of chili would look like on the floor. But that didn't happen so it was a really great time and I highly recommend this and other cookdowns by Matt Timms. The next Takedown is happening on December 19 and it's about cookies. See you there!

Check out all my pics of the Brooklyn Chili Takedown right here!

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Brain: The Inside Story

Set your neurons to hyperactive because this exhibit will stimulate your sensing brain and be sure to create long lasting and highly efficient, neural pathways. Psst, it means you'll like it and you'll have fond memories of the experience. The good folks at the American Museum of Natural History, with the help of Curator Rob DeSalle and 21st century technology, have broken down the brain in to manageable bits that even this author can understand.

The exhibit is broken into 5 categories; Your Sensing Brain, Your Emotional Brain, Your Thinking Brain, Your Changing Brain, and Your 21st Century Brain. The first three categories draw comparisons to our closest animal relatives, describing what each section of the brain specializes in. The Second two sections delve into how the human brain changes over time as well as some cool cybernetic terminator type stuff. Brain: The Inside Story makes excellent use of 21st century technology like FMRI to demonstrate how the brain perceives and responds to external stimuli.

Speaking of external stimuli, just wait till you step foot into the exhibit. Artistic instillations by Spanish artist Daniel Canogar and artist Devorah Sperber confound the senses and help demonstrate how easily our brains can be fooled. Interactive stations have you speaking in Russian, tracing reflected objects, and connecting neurons. There's so much to learn your brain might just explode.

The brain may be somewhat of a mystery still and 21st century technology only takes us so far, but AMNH takes us to the edge of mankind's understanding of the brain and did it in a manner that thoroughly stimulated my neurons.

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Update on Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 12:14AM by Ricky Alvarez

Check out our photos of the exhibit here!

Burlesque + Oktoberfest = Oktoburlesk!

The Bell House was poppin, to say the least, last Thursday night for the super special event known as Oktoburlesk. The best of both worlds (Oktoberfest and Burlesque) came together in a perfect combination of fun, food, drinks, and nudity. The night started off with a little teaser by two of the Wassabasco Burlesque girls. They did some go go dancing while Alex Meixner, a Grammy nominated Polka performer, prepped for his German themed show. Still fully clothed, and by fully clothed I mean only the top half was covered, the girls did a wonderful job at hiding their intentions for the rest of the night.

Alex Meixner was very entertaining with his rock n' roll-esque polka show. He played the accordion with magic fingers, while his Brooklyn based drummer complemented him all the way. He sang and played a lot of German folk songs, appropriately enough, and even though most of us did not know what he was saying, some of us felt compelled enough to get up and dance, with his encouragement of course. He even taught us a little bit of German so we could sing along. He had a pretty long set, maybe about 45 minutes, but with the energy and passion that he emulated throughout his show, he definitely kept everyone's attention.

After Meixner pulled out his Alpine horn and had a few girls from the dance floor take turns blowing into it, the Wassabasco ladies had their turn on the stage. First we had an autumn themed dance where a young lady covered from head to toe with brown leaves, slowly danced her way into nudity. After that we had plenty of varied performances from the other ladies. My favorite was a quirky little dance to the tune of the German version of the Beatles song "She Loves You". It ended in a rather raunchy manner where in addition to the nudity, Ms. Lady (I don't know their names) poured some Nestle chocolate syrup into her mouth and onto her bare chest. Yum! There were other very wonderful performances, all of which I could not give full descriptions. If you are intrigued and would like to see the Wassabasco Burlesque girls perform, they are going to be back at The Bell House on November 6 for the Wassbasco 6th Anniversary Extravaganza!

Not to mention Urban Rustic's menu of sausages: uber delicious lemon chicken sausage, bacon wrapped sausage, and even a veggie sausage. Seriously, if you were not in attendance, you missed out buddy. Keep in mind, gentlemen, this is really the only kind of thing you can go to with your girlfriend where you can both watch naked women dance and she won't persecute you for staring. Also, you can keep your $1 bills in your pocket, because no one will be forcing you to make it rain.

Accordion player Alex Meixner + Wassabasco Girls = the perfect Oktoberfest Burlesque celebration at The Bell House. More photos here!

Bacon-Palooza at SoHo Digital Art Gallery

Bacon-Palooza is an annual autism charity event where everything on the menu includes that greasy, salty, strip of pork that everyone loves. This three day ordeal kicked off on Friday, October 15 at the SoHo Digital Art Gallery. It's a small venue, with two levels. There are white-framed TV screens on the walls where various bacon-themed pictures are showcased. The drink menu included The B.L.T, which is Bakon Vodka mixed with some tomato juice and topped with a small leaf of lettuce. It was very good and tasted like a bloody mary. There's also the Bakon-N-Egg Cream which included Bakon Vodka, milk, chocolate syrup, and Seltzer. I did not like this one as much and considering all the ingerdients it was a little flavorless.

And of course there was the food; the delicious hors d'oeuvres. The first thing I saw was the bacon wrapped Shrimp with Chipotle BBQ. It was a little too salty for me but was good nonetheless. The Balsamic Bacon-wrapped sea scallops were also delicious, as well as the BLT Croustade with Baconnaise. The crowd favorites were definitely the Bacon Tempura and the Chocolate Dipped Bacon. They were a little addictive, actually. This is obviously a very meat heavy event so come with a strong stomach and don't eat too much beforehand.

Unfortunately the event organizers did not expect the turnout to be so high so about an hour and a half into the party, they ran out of food. The Bakon drinks lasted a little longer but that eventually ran out as well. To make up for those who paid to get in but didn't get any grub, the organizers is giving them discounted tickets for their Sunday Brunch.

Bacon-Palooza party is going to continue today, from 2pm to 8:30pm and tomorrow from 12pm to 4pm. You can look forward to a bacon eating contest, gourmet bacon tasting, a bacon musical, and a bacon brunch. Check out the official site for more information and to purchase tickets.

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