6 Best Food Festivals For Fall 2014
Dieting is for January. Herewith, our six favorite food festivals this fall. Some feature chefs, some feature drinks, all should be great fun. By Jessica Allen.
Now in its fifth year, Indentità New York celebrates both American and Italian cooking. Highlights include discussions, demonstrations, and dinners prepared and held by such luminaries of the culinary world as April Bloomfield, Carlo Cracco, Daniel Humm, Rosanna Marziale, Mario Batali, and Lidia Bastianich. There will be 20 chefs in all, along with hundreds of sips, thousands of nibbles, and countless calories. Thursday, October 9, through Sunday, October 12, see schedule for details, prices vary, tickets required for some events.
Probably the preeminent event in the season's food- and wine-related calendar, the Food Network's New York City Food & Wine Festival, presented by Food & Wine magazine, features such good times as a hot dog happy hour, Burger Bash (the annual burger competition), intimate dinners, tastings, talks, panels, and demos. Such luminaries as Martha Stewart, Dan Barber, Michelle Bernstein, and Ted Allen are scheduled to appear. Thursday, October 16, through Sunday, October 19, see schedule for details, prices vary, tickets required.
Begun by James Beard Award-winning writer Josh Ozersky in 2004, Meatopia honors the carnivore. To celebrate its tenth birthday, the festival has teamed up with the New York Food & Wine Festival to produce the Carnivore's Ball, with Bryan Voltaggio and Paul Qui, among many others, slated to appear. Be sure to stop by the "Whole Animal Court," with whole goats, hogs, and lambs. Pat LaFrieda will be on hand to cook every bit of a 1,000-lb steer. Sunday, October 19, 4 to 7 pm, $150, tickets required.
This year's International Chefs Congress, the ninth, focuses on "Cooking Honest: The Power of Authenticity in the Kitchen." (It's run by Star Chefs, a magazine for "culinary insiders.") Among the star chefs who'll be speaking, cooking, leading workshops, moderating panels, and/or just hanging about are Grant Achatz, Alex Guarnaschelli, George Mendes, Will Goldfarb, and Paul Liebrandt. Saturday, October 26, through Tuesday, October 28, see schedule for details, prices vary, tickets required.
At the Food Film Fest, you get to eat what you watch. Indeed, this festival bills itself as "a cinematic scratch n' sniff where guests taste the food they see on the screen." You don't even have to leave your seat. Case in point: Lemon Muffins With a Sweet Surprise, described as "[f]ood porn of the making of very special lemon-coconut muffin." All told, 30 films will be shown. Wednesday, October 29, through Saturday, November 1, see schedule for details, prices vary, tickets required.
Each and every person who gets a ticket to the New York City Craft Beer Festival will get a special glass that enables him or her to try as many 2-ounce tastings of 150 beers on offer as he or she wishes. (The event is 21 and over, but you probably guessed that already.) The beers come from 75 brewers, who come from all over the world, including Hawaii and California. On Friday night (aka Halloween), you can wear a costume, if you so choose. Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1, $55, tickets required.
