USA TODAY Wine & Food Experience 2019
On September 7th, 2019, the third annual USA TODAY Wine & Food Experience Tour kicked off at LeFrak Center At Lakeside Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Other locations and dates include Detroit, September 14; Indianapolis, September 28; Cincinnati, October 5; Louisville, October 19; Las Vegas, October 26, presented by MGM Resorts International; Scottsdale, November 2 & 3; Los Angeles, November 9; Chicago, November 16; and lastly, Naples, November 23.
Upon entrance, attendees were given a wine glass to try wines that were scattered throughout the venue. As you walk further, you’ll find an area called “The Cellar” where wine seminars such as Drink like a Somm, Partners in Wine, Urban Winemaking Master Class and Tasting, and Discover the World of Bordeaux Wines were happening. And since wine tastes better when accompanied by food, guests were also able to indulge in the Grand Tasting, which featured dishes from both emerging talent and renowned culinary leaders. Every food booth at this event had a suggested wine for their respective dish.
While some chose to taste food at the Grand Tasting area, others opted for a more personal experience by visiting the culinary stage. Visitors were able to watch culinary leaders Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Chef Antoni Porowski, and Chef Sujan Sarkar of Baar Baar whip up a specialty dish in real time for guests to try immediately after. Food and wine lovers must attend the Wine & Food Experience at least once.
Chef Sujan Sarkar of Baar Baar
Braised Pork Belly Pickled Radish Wrap by Jungsik
Mascarpone Cheesecake with mixed berry jam by La Ventura
Butterfly Pea Coconut Sticky Rice by Kopitiam
Hojicha Panna Cotta from En Japanese Brasserie
Owner’s Recipe Seafood Salad by Hunt & Fish Club NYC
Octopus Salad from Otto Enoteca e Pizzeria
The Talent
Agern & Great Northern Food Hall by Jeppe Kill Andersen
Ample Hills Creamery by Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna
Baar Baar by Sujan Sarkar
Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca by Rob Zwirz
Baby Brasa Organic Peruvian by Franco Noriega
Bella Gioia by Nico Daniele
BKLYNwild by Ivy Stark
Bouley at Home by Chef David Bouley
Butera’s by Martin Butera
Bien Cuit by Zachary Golper
Di Fara Pizza by Dom De Marco
DOC’s CAKE SHOP by Doc
Du’s Donuts and Coffee by Wylie Dufresne
EN Japanese Brasserie by Abe Hiroki
Fausto by Erin Shambura
Gran Tivoli by Chef Robert Marchetti
Hunt & Fish Club NYC by Chad Brown
James
Jungsik by Suyoung Park
Kopitiam by Kyo Pang
La Slowteria by Hugo Orozco Carrillo
La Ventura by Peter Lipson
Lady Lexis Sweets by Lexis Gonzalez
Lady M Cake Boutique
MID|NIGHTS by Joshua Cormier
Otto Enoteca e Pizzeria by Gaetano Arnone
Restaurant Latour at Crystal Springs Resort by Aishling Stevens
Sans by Champ Jones
Table 87 by Jack Spadaro
The Breslin Bar and Dining Room by Ryan Jordan
The Flying V Poutinerie by Matt Vymazal
Van Da by Hannah Wong
Wash Hill Oysters by Jeffrey Gardner
Sponsors
Arizona The Grand Canyon State, Vins de Bordeaux, Shipt, Confettii, Roscato, Mon Frere, Gunpowder Irish Gin, Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur, Camus, New Belgium Brewing, Hailstone Vineyards, City Harvest
TD Five Boro Bike Tour
People say you never forget how to ride a bike. In fact, the expression “like riding a bicycle” is used to describe something that once learned, cannot be forgotten. However, for some people, forgetting how to ride a bike is not an issue because they never learned it in the first place. Biking is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly ways to get around the city. No one should be stripped of this privilege just because they never had the chance to learn.
Photo by Tod Seelie
Each year, cyclists from every state in the U.S. and dozens of countries around the world descend upon lower Manhattan in support of Bike New York’s free bike education programs. From there, they experience something unlike any other – a ride on traffic-free streets.
Photo by Tod Seelie
Despite the unseasonably cold and rainy weather, the appeal of having 40 miles of busy streets in the concrete jungle shutting down just for cyclists made the event exciting. The bike routes ran through all five boroughs of New York City which included FDR Drive, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and the Queensboro and Verrazano-Narrows Bridges, with the finish line in Staten Island.
Photo by Tod Seelie
The TD Five Boro Bike Tour is the largest charitable bike ride in the world, with all the proceeds going towards free bike education programs. Funding for these programs comes from the organization's numerous annual events, including the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, Bike Expo New York, and smaller regional and local rides. In 2015, the bike education program taught more than 17,000 how to ride bikes and grab life by the handle bars.
Photo by Tod Seelie
I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in this year’s tour, and I was exceptionally excited because the TD Five Boro Bike Tour was my first large-scale organized ride/event ever. I was not worried about the 40 miles because as an avid biker, I usually clock in 40 miles three or four times a week during the summer. However, the rust had set in from the long winter, and I decided to prepare for this tour. The week before the tour, I rode my bike from Brooklyn Prospect Park to Central Park which was about 45 miles round trip and covered the tour mileage- it was easy work, and I was ready.
Photo by Tod Seelie
Mayday - On Sunday, May 1, along with 32,000 other cyclists, I endured the gloomy rain and began at the the starting line in downtown Manhattan. At first, I was so excited, the rain had no effect on me, but as the ride went on it became heavy and more constant. I was beginning to feel cold and my knee caps started to cramp. I decided to make a rest stop at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn.
Photo by Tod Seelie
I really thought about stopping the tour right there because I was freezing. I thought I was going to get frostbite on my hands which were exposed to the wind, and I was not sure if I could even finish the race due to the kneecap cramps. But there was no way I was going to end my first ever tour with 10 miles to go. I ate a banana in hopes of stopping the cramp and got back on my bike and continued.
Photo by Tod Seelie
The roughest stretch was the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. We rode across the three mile span of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, half of it uphill, into Staten Island in a rain soaked headwind. I remember I was trembling pretty bad as we neared the end of the bridge. It would have been an amazing ride if it was sunny, but you can't fight Mother Nature. In the end, I crossed the finish line and checked this off my bucket list.
Photo by Tod Seelie
Summer is coming, go out and grab life by the handle bars.
Photo by Tod Seelie
Special Thanks to Sam Polcer from Bike New York
Photos courtesy of Bike New York