This week's food events offer a fresh take on some beloved (yet underestimated) classics: hot sauce and grilled cheese. Hands-on classes will teach you how to make the spiciest homemade sauces and gooiest sandwiches—it's a lot harder than it sounds. If you'd rather be eating than cooking, California-inspired dinner (and wine), vegan desserts (and wine), and cheese tastings (with wine) are all on the menu as well.
On Monday, a handful of contenders from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Japan will be serving up piping-hot bowls of ramen at the Japan Fes Midtown Bazaar—for just $5 each. Be sure to prioritize the two entries from Japan: 175 Deno from the Hokkaido Prefecture will be offering their signature tantanmen, while Menya Jiro from Kagoshima Prefecture is serving tonkotsu ramen.
If you want to transcend the realm of Sriracha, Tabasco, and Tapatío, head to the Flatiron Kitchen's hot sauce-making class led by food blogger Andrea Wien on Tuesday. After giving a brief history of hot sauce, Wien will lead a hands-on lesson on how to make hot sauce without, her words, "burning your retinas out." You'll leave the class with a jar of your own freshly-made sauce and pre-written instructions, so you can focus on making the sauce without worrying about having to remember the steps later. Purchase tickets ($60) here.
Also on Tuesday, Covina is hosting a California-inspired, family-style dinner paired with wines from the Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa Valley. The dinner menu is still a secret (check out Covina's usual dinner fare here), but the wine options aren't: they'll be pouring up four wines, Chardonnay from 2014 and 2001, and Cabernet Sauvignon from 2009 and 1998. Purchase tickets ($130, drinks and service included) here.
Since 2010, Pipernilli has been making sweet vegan treats and working to dispel the notion that dairy-free desserts aren't as good as their non-vegan counterparts. On Thursday, they're having a tasting of some of their signature desserts—including sweet potato cookies, banana chiffon, and '14-karat' carrot cake—paired with various wines. Purchase tickets ($20) here.
Making the perfect grilled cheese is an art (and requires more effort than slapping a few slices of American between two pieces of bread). On Friday the cheese experts at Murray's will teach you how to make the optimal grilled cheese, using five cheeses from their extensive selection. As is usually the case, they'll be pouring up unlimited wine to complement your cheesy creations. Purchase tickets ($100) here.
