Choice Eats 2010

by Prichinna

 

I have the mentality of a 300-pound woman. Fortunately, for bathing suit sake, I don’t particularly care for the typical American fare. I would prefer to eat Thai, Turkish, Japanese, Afghani, or even Spanish any day. Since my preferred comestibles are not at my immediate disposal, nor do I yet have a personal chef, I do not eat as much as I would or could. While there is some diversity in restaurants around my zip code, they all seem to be watered down variants. So when I learned about Choice Eats, my inner glutton got really excited. 

 

The Village Voice has curated Choice Eats for three years now. It is a tasting event that features over 60 restaurants (64 this year) from the five boroughs of New York, handpicked by the food critics of The Village Voice. The restaurants represent 35 different ethnic cuisines. This is so my thing. Then I found out there would also be an array of beer, wine, and liquor to be sampled. This is SO my thing. As soon as tickets became available, I purchased two.

 

Tickets were $35 each, not bad for an all you can eat expo paired with alcohol samplings. For an additional $30, one could get in an hour early with no wait and access to the VIP area. A bit pricy for a perk but VIP included a few more tasting areas, unlimited Stella, Leffe, and Hoegarden, and mixed drinks from Dinner with The Band host Sam Mason. There was also a goody bag. The rockstar that I am, I went for VIP.

 

I traveled to the 69^th Armory on Lexington with my fellow food lover Lucy. Upon entering the VIP area, we started with dessert, why not? I sampled a mini-cupcake from Kumquat Cupcakery of NYC. The heavenly little chocolate cake was topped with vanilla frosting and a sprinkling of roasted pistachios. It was the perfect size to eat in one tasty bite. We then headed over to the special host Sam Mason who was pouring rhubarb gimlets. I like a gimlet and I like sour, but this concoction did not appeal to my palate. I switched to Leffe Blonde, an amber colored and fresh and fruity Belgian with a hint of caramel. Much yummier than the gimlet. My favorite sampling in VIP was from Tiffin Wallah, a vegetarian Indian restaurant located in Murray Hill. Much to my vegetarian friend’s delight, and to my taste buds, sweet rice with currants was topped with a spicy curry and savory yogurt sauce. I think I could have possibly eaten this all night.

 

But alas, we moved upstairs for the main event. Another advantage to VIP is that we got in earlier than the non-rockstars and were able to visit many tables before the place packed out, as it surely did. By 8:00 it was becoming hard to navigate a full belly through the crowd. I suggest if you attend next year, go VIP or get there early. So here are some of my tops, restaurants I look forward to visiting soon:

 

Patacon Pisao: A Venezuelan restaurant with a location in Inwood and another in Elmhurst. They served the Cachapa Sandwich, which was made of a sweet cornmeal bread wrapped around melted mozzarella and parmesan with a smothering of sour cream on top. Sweet and cheesy goodness.

 

El Almacén: Located in Williamsburg, the Argentinian chef/owner served up a delectable Peruvian sweet potato puree topped with melt in your mouth short ribs. The blend of meat and potato was superb. When I visit this establishment, I will be sure to try the avocado fries and chorizo and eggs for brunch.

 

Am-Thai Kitchen: Also in Brooklyn, this inexpensive and casual restaurant of Kensington served up two tasty Thai treats. The first was so delicious but I cannot remember the name. It consisted of a large soft noodle topped with vegetables and a delicious peanut-chili sauce. It might have possibly been the Dumpling in Peanut Sauce that is on the menu for $5, but I will have to go sample to be sure, woe is me. The second item was a crispy rice crepe filled with coconut, tofu, lime leaves, and cilantro cucumber salad. The crepes were quickly prepared right in front of us and made a wonderfully light finger food.

 

Fatty Crab: Last but not least was Fatty Crab. This Malaysian fusion restaurant has three locations. The Upper West side, the West Village, and a third just opened in Williamsburg which is called Fatty ‘Cue. Fatty Crab first got my attention in VIP where they were serving chocolate Fatty Bars. With two types to choose from, dark chocolate with chilies and roasted almonds was my favorite. On the main level, Fatty Crab was serving up deviled eggs. These were not your typical Sunday luncheon deviled eggs, but with a zingy Malaysian twist. This perfect two-bite treat could make one wonder what else this restaurant has to offer.

 

 

This event was S.W.A.K. worthy.