Results tagged “nywff”

Saturday night's New York Wine and Food Festival dessert extravaganza, SWEET, wasn't a competition, but Anne Thorton's offering had people raving, and her table was cleaned out long before the night's end. So we're calling her the winner. Thorton's the pastry chef and event manager at Hotel Griffou, which has become both a trendy nightspot and critical punching bag (Pete Wells at the Times says, "I was treated worse each time I showed up.") We've never checked into Hotel Griffou, so we were pleasantly surprised to find Thorton's dessert—Salted Caramel Banana Pudding Pie—outshining chefs from such critical darlings as Locanda Verde and Per Se (not that their creations were anything to sneeze at, either.)

       

Most people dig good wine and food, so the New York Wine and Food Festival seems like a guaranteed winner, with myriad events over the weekend devoted to savoring both things to the max. But the word "festival" is a little more ambiguous, and depending on which event you attend, that last F in NYWFF can sometimes stand for "Fuuuuuckingcrowded!" Last night's kick-off at Chelsea Market was swarming with foodiots and not for the agoraphobic; at times it got so packed that the festive vibe almost turned surly—particularly when a certain someone elbowed that woman's wine glass. (Sorry!)

Savvy subscribers to our indispensable free daily events newsletter, GothamList, have known about the Food Network New York Wine and Food Festival for quite some time now, and already secured tickets to sold-out events like the famous Burger Bash and the SWEET dessert extravaganza. But there are still tickets for sale for some of the celebrity chef cooking demos, wine tastings, and other consumption-related events during the festival, which kicks off tomorrow night and ends Sunday. Below, some of the highlights for which tickets are still on sale; be aware that though some of them are in the $100 range, proceeds benefit the Food Bank For New York City and Share Our Strength, which is dedicated to ending childhood hunger, and you don't want the little ones to go hungry, do you?