Eat and Drink to End Hunger: A Weekend of Culinary Delight at NYCWFF

What is every foodie's favorite event of the year? No, this is not a tricky question, but one with a rather straightforward answer: New York City Wine and Food Festival! Every year in October, TV personalities, celebrity chefs, and foodies from all over the world gather in NYC for this fundraiser festival to indulge in the tastiest of food and drinks, while helping to end hunger. Since its inception in 2007, NYCWFF has raised more than $9 million for Food Bank For New York City and the No Kid Hungry campaign. From educational seminars to intimate dinners to walk-around tastings, NYCWFF events are guaranteed to satiate your palate. Here are some of my favorite events from this year's festival. Grand Tasting Presented by ShopRite At this signature event, I felt more overwhelmed than a kid at a candy store upon entering the venue. I experienced nearly 130,000 square feet of culinary wonderland featuring top food stars in the country, samples from my favorite brands and food products, and bites and drinks from local NYC restaurants. In addition to the grand walk-around tastings, I also watched my favorite culinary stars showing off their delicious new recipe and creative technique that I could use in my own kitchen. Thrillist's BBQ & The Blues Don't be shy about using those fingers to get all the meat off from the delicious ribs at Thrillist's Barbecue & The Blues - I certainly wasn't! The event celebrated two of life's staples - smoked meat and blues music - with custom-crafted BBQ creations from top NYC chefs and live blues playing in the background all night long. The event attendees also got to vote for their favorite dish - in the end, Pig Beach's BBQ baked potatoes with pulled pork, bacon mac & cheese sauce, and scallions was voted as the people's favorite. Personally, I loved Vermillion's blackened tamarind ribs with mango rice and chimichurri sauce. Top Dog - A NY Hot Dog Competition Hosted by Bizarre Food's Andrew Zimmern, Top Dog welcomed NYC's favorite hot dog purveyors to battle for the title of the best hot dog in NYC. While the walk around tasting did not feature the likes of crickets, snakes, or other bizarre foods that Zimmern is used to devouring in his show, the event highlighted different varieties of sausages (all natural beef, bratwurst, bacon-wrapped, etc.) with unique toppings like mini mozzarella balls, porchetta crumbs, and chili, all sandwiched in between potato or pretzel buns. In addition to sampling this classic New York treat from an iconic street cart with contemporary twists, Zimmern also previewed his new accessories line, Delicacies - the first and only line of jewelry for epicureans featuring raw ingredients cast in sterling silver and paired with rich Italian leather.

Carnivore's Heaven at Cook Out NYC

While looking for a fun event to enjoy with my brother this weekend, I came across Cook Out NYC, a second annual outdoor grilling event that features food samples from different restaurants in New York, unlimited beer, live music, and kimchi-eating contest. The 10-minute ferry ride to Governor's Island led us to the event location. Peaking at 103 degrees, it was the hottest day of the summer, but I could care less at the site of all the food under the tents!

The event sponsor tents were along the side of the venue. Normally, these would be crowded as well, but not at Cook Out NYC because people were more interested in getting cooked food rather than packaged KIND bars, Pop Chips, etc.

They opened the venue right at 11:30am. People swarmed in to try out all the food! Here, a grill master from Zio is cooking pork belly! I felt bad for him...he must be sweltering right next to the fire!

The event also included a food competition in which the visitors as well as judges critiqued the food items and chose their favorites.

Pork Belly and Fig. I don't eat pork, but my brother said the meat was really fatty and didn't enjoy it very much.

So many sausages!!! I wish they were bite-size instead.

Cajun Ken & the Penthouse Boys served BBQ Chicken and Sausage with "XXX" & Slap My Cajun Ass Creole Hot Sauces.

The chicken and the sausage was slightly dry without the BBQ sauce.

The burnt part from the grill was so delish!

...well, maybe not that burnt. Oops!

This is John Brown Smokehouse aka "Brisket King of NYC" Grilled Lamb Sausage with Spicy Slaw. The lamb sausage had denser texture than regular sausages.

Skirt Steak with Vinegary Slaw and Jalapeno Relish

Yum! I loved the slaw and the juicy, tender brisket.

Mama O’s Spicy Kimchi and Bar Bruno’s Taco served Spicy Kimchi Tacos.: Marinated hanger steak,grilled and served in a warm corn tortilla topped with kimchi,pico de gallo and grated radish. They really should have put a warning sign because even without the extra habanero or chipotle sauce, the taco was extremely spicy!

My mouth was absolutely burning for a long time...The tacos lost all of their flavors because the kimchi was extremely spicy. Good thing they were selling bottles of water ($2 each) right next to the booth! This taco won “The Food High Award” presented by two food writers.

Sliders from STK OUT, a burger establishment in Midtown West, were exiquisite! It took a while for the burgers to be served, but these treats were well worth the wait.

Medium-rare beef topped with cheese, a pickle, and a tomato are in between black sesame-topped buns. The patty was great quality, and the buns were toasted on a grill as well.

Another great burger! This is Alobar's Ground Wild Boar Burger with Green Salsa, which took home people's choice award for Best Slider. The burgers were full-size so my brother and I decided to share one, but it was so tasty that we both went for seconds.

I have never had a wild boar burger before. It tasted similar to turkey burger, but much more flavor and juicier. The green salsa definitely made the burger 100 times better.

Just really dry hamburger patty on a boring bun...not impressed at all.

Simultaneously happening with Cook Out NYC was a hot dog competition with six stations featuring Sabrett’s Hot &Spicy Hot Dogs with toppings from Sir Kensington Ketchup, My Friend’s Mustard, Sabrett’s Classic Onion Sauce, Chili from Lucky 777 Chili, a kimchi dog, and a special entry by Chef Josetth Gordon. The winners were decided by popular vote at the end of the event. This dog is from My Friend's Mustard: Sabrett’s Hot and Spicy Frankfurter topped with Tomatillo-Radish Slaw & Agave-Sixpoint IPA Mustard. It won 3rd place in the contest.

The Judge's choice award went to Rich Pinto Catering for its Vietnamese-inspired hot dog.

Not sure what this is...doesn't look too appetizing.

Chef Josetth's Piquant Celery Slaw with Currants won Best Sabrett’s Hot Dog topping on Saturday. People must have liked the cool, crisp texture of celery on such a hot day.

BBQ drumstick in some sort of sweet sauce. I try to eat chicken breast because it's healthier, but I have to admit that drumstick and thigh are the best parts of chicken :)

Pulled Pork Tacos with Cilantro, Tomatillo in soft corn tortilla. The meat was a little dry.

Jimmy’s No. 43's Sirloin steak with chimichurri sauce was the WINNER of "Best in Show." Hmm I can't agree with the decision at all because I thought the sirloin was flavorless and dry, while the green chimichurri sauce was plain oily.

Grilled Cheese...such a comfort food! Unlike other grilled cheese I've had, this one was not too greasy. Inside the toasty bread is a mixture of gruyere and other cheese with caramelized onions.

The heat from all the grilling probably raised the nearby temperature by 5 degrees...regardless, I really enjoyed the afternoon in the sun while dining out on lots and lots of grilled food!