Stick a Fork in it: Grand Tasting
This past weekend Westchester Magazine’s Wine and Food Weekend took place at the Ritz Carlton and other venues around White Plains. I was very lucky to have won two tickets to the Grand Tasting on Sunday. I brought my daughter Danielle to celebrate the week of her 21st birthday, and to help her continue to develop her palate. Neither of us brought a large enough appetite!
Upon entering, we were given a signature wine glass to use for tastings, a large “swag” bag, and a box of appetizer plates with a wine theme from Wine Enthusiast. In the next room, area businesses were giving out information, samples, and raffles to win products and services. Then came the ballroom- a Utopia of food and wine offerings as far as the eye could see. With too many restaurants and wine vendors to count, we decided to just dive right in and begin sampling.
Every type of cuisine was represented, from Italian restaurants serving eggplant parm and meatballs, pasta and bruschetta, Indian places serving saag (or palek) paneer, Americans with meat and potatoes, duck and braised beef cheek, and Mexican restaurants serving fresh guacamole, chili, quesadillas and more. Seafood was well represented in dishes ranging from ceviche to a smoked trout and melon bite. Truffles and wild mushrooms were a featured flavor in several dishes such as stuffed pasta in truffle cream sauce, and a mushroom bruschetta drizzled with truffle oil. Personally, I feel that truffle oil needs to be a retired food fad as Chefs tend to go overboard with it, but here it was used with proper restraint to a good end result.
Beverages were flowing everywhere. In the spirits lounge Absolut and Malibu each had a bar, and Blue Moon was serving “boutique” beer garnished with an orange segment. Of course wine was the drink of the day. I tasted my way around the world on the road of red wine. Cab, Malbec, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Tempranillo oh my! Dani tasted some white and rose as she prefers the lighter wines. Big reds are my thing, and I was in my element chatting with all the wine merchants/experts.
Naturally you can’t have the complete culinary experience without dessert. From fine chocolates to whoopie pies, cakes to cookies to macaroons and pastries of every size, shape and flavor, nobody’s sweet tooth went unsatisfied.
Also featured were cooking demos by area Chefs. Eric Gabrynowicz is Executive Chef and co-owner of Restaurant North, and Chef
Andy Nusser is partner at Tarry Lodge. There was a Top Chef cook-off between Ty Boring and Ashley Merriman as the final event. All in all, there are very few better ways I can think of to spend a Sunday afternoon. Can’t wait till next year!
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
