Barbara and I have been going to the Fancy Food Show for about 13 years. We've only missed two, once for my father-in-law's heart operation and another time for my birthday. But almost every year, since about 1995, we drive to the City for a trip through the adult version of the Willy Wonka chocolate factory. The Jacobs Javits Center on 37th Street and 11th Avenue usually holds the event around the 4th of July. We went on Sunday as usual and like always the Show did not disappoint.
I'm not big on change and if I find something I love, I like to keep doing it that way. So we always come in the main entrance and start on the top floor to the left working our way from about 34th Street to 39th. And then we walk the entire ground floor again left to right. But this year we went crazy. We went absolutely nuts and started on the ground floor, on the right. It was like we were anti-establishment, Man! But the real reason was because our good friend Paul came with us last year and he was just getting better from having a broken foot and two major surgeries that placed metal in his bones. He could walk, but several hours on his feet got to him and for the first time we didn't finish the show, missing the whole bottom floor. I was really disappointed because there are more American foods on the ground floor, with traditional things like pancakes and waffles.
So this year we started down there and the race was on. Samples, samples, everywhere. My guess is that about 90% of the booths offered samples, a far cry from our first year. Back in '95, the show was a lot of fun but lacked goodies. Only about 1 in 5 booths offered a sample then and they were mostly for new items that were just starting to take off, like salsa and hot sauces. We were introduced to such products as Bone Suckin' Salsa and Ass Kickin' Hot Sauce at that show and now these are practically household names. Sushi was another item that had not hit popular growth yet then. Many booths were devoted to sushi. But they must be popular now, because I did not see one sushi dish and very few traditional salsas. There were more experimental flavors like salsa mixed with peaches and other fruits.
I can't possibly tell you everything we sampled, but we got there around 11:AM and walked the entire two floors until closing at 5:PM. We'd go crazy eating for two or three rows and then take two rows off. Sometimes I was just happy to try a new kind of mint-flavored water or sports drink to cleanse my overwhelmed taste buds. I only saw one soda vendor there and they were displaying all natural sodas with delicious flavors like Creamy Black Cherry. In the past a drink vendor would offer you a serving about the size of a NyQuil cup, but now many of the vendors give you the whole bottle. What a treat. As you walk and drink you can read about the company on the bottle and check out the ingredients, whereas before you'd get your cup and before it was finished you'd forget the name of the brand.
What we did differently this time was not be so gluttonous. Many times Barb and I would pick up one item and share it with each other rather than one for each of us. We'd each get our own half-palm sized dish of pasta, but when it came to heavier items we'd share a morsel, like ravioli. I tried very few breads, but loved the dark chocolate sweets. I've become a big fan of dark chocolate as I get away from sweeter desserts. One Bundt cake was made with orange and mango. Yum. A Hawaiian ice cream booth served bite-sized ice cream in a marshmallow covering, sort of like a bonbon. You'd let the marshmallow melt in your mouth and then have blueberry ice cream coat your tongue after.
I had wine-flavored ice cream and then red-wine-flavored sorbet. Both good and I don't even like wine. So many different types of hors d'oeuvre meats and sausages. We ran into a man who represents a Ridgewood-Queens, NY butcher shop called Karl Ehmer. He recognized us from the neighborhood and treated us to several different delicacies that they were pushing. The chicken hot dog was very good, but the chicken bratwurst was delicious. Then he showed us a new product, called Beer Salami Sticks. They were similar to Lanjaegers, the hard, chewy stick that reminds you of beef jerky and is often served in a German bar. But these Beer Sticks were softer and less harsh. You could enjoy them without feeling you had to wash them down.
So many booths, so much food and drink. We didn't eat before we left the house, so that we wouldn't get too full early. But Paul hadn't had coffee and these coffee booths are some of the finest in the world. I don't drink coffee, but I love to see someone else enjoy their's. Paul downed several small cups of Espresso and other specialty brands. One man from Greenfield, Mass. introduced Paul to a new way of roasting the coffee beans that avoided the burning aftertaste that people associate with most brews. I stayed away from the cheeses because I am not a big cheese fan, but Barb and Paul went nuts for the various Bries and goat concoctions.
One thing we never get at this show and particularly this year is heartburn. You'd think that with all the different flavors taking aim at your stomach that something would repeat or act up. But many of the vendors now promote organic or at least all natural foods. I'd walk along eating a chocolate chip cookie and not getting that burn in my throat that I associate with many store brands. That's because so much of what we call food now is not made with food at all, but chemicals disguised to taste like food. The more naturally people would eat the healthier they'd be. I know this, but I don't follow this advice as well as I should.
The Numbers: 140,000 Foods and Beverages; 2,400 exhibitors; 650 companies displaying natural or organic products; 1,400 US companies; 52 international pavilions with 77 countries represented; 330,000 square feet of exhibit space. Like I said the building basically runs five city blocks wide and one city block deep. We crossed it wide at least 6 times, when you add in bathroom breaks. And we walked through 64 aisles of exhibits, so that comes to about 5 miles of walking during the day. We took several rests and at one point we sat next to a Russian exhibit. The older woman behind the table smiled and said, "You should set a table up in front of you and let them bring the samples to you." LOL. Not a bad idea. "I am the King, show me your wares."
This year had to be the biggest yet for international exhibitors. I believe with the weakened dollar that many European companies feel it's an excellent and affordable time to fly over and get their name in the door. My favorite international food is Italian, but the Italian booths generally left me cold, as they hawked olive oils and prosciutto, two items I am not fond of. Those sections were great for me, because they allowed me to save my appetite for better items like Belgian waffles with fresh strawberry sauce. And the young women at the booths are much nicer when they are from other countries or even other states. "You look like you're hungry for waffle," one woman said in the nicest Belgian accent. The New York hostesses were more hostile. I think if I had a booth I'd hire a girl from St. Louis or Tennessee to assist me. Their friendly nature sells the product better.
One cool thing happened during the event. The next-biggest tournament to the World Cup, soccer's European Cup was having its final game yesterday afternoon at 2:45PM. In the Espana section (Spain), a 70 inch TV screen was set up showing the game in an empty booth. Spain was playing Germany for the prize and you could hear the roar of each missed goal. Missed goals are very big in soccer, since made goals are such a rarity. When Espana went up 1-0, I heard the familiar chants of "Ole Ole Ole Ole!" and ran over to see what was going on. Deutschland was the big favorite going in, so it would be a shocking victory for the Spaniards. (I only know all this from talking to my Russian barber the day before. LOL) The booths in the Spain section were mostly empty, so not a lot of business was going on there. Eventually, Spain won and even some Americans in the group were excited by the outcome. I guess if you work in an international environment you become excited about global concerns.
As for my favorite item of the day. The Serendipity 3 ice cream parlor on East 60th Street in Manhattan offered the biggest treat of all, Frozen Hot Chocolate. It has the light, airy texture of hot chocolate with a sprinkling of chocolate shavings floating above and a dollop of whipped cream to top it off. Suck that through a straw and find out what Heaven tastes like.
As always a tremendous day was had by all of us.
The Freditor
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