Fancy Food Show 2010

I missed this year's Taste of Stamford and Fairfield County Eats, but there was no way I was missing the Fancy Food Show last Sunday at the Javits Center!

My day started out pretty fancy, as the FFS was on the same day as Pride Day in NYC, so my train ride down was FABulous.

Then I had to trek from Port Authority 326 blocks to the Javits Center, with a quick detour through the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market...


After sweating profusely, I finally got to the Javits Center, so here we go!

There was food from all over the world, including such exotic locales as Kosovo, Cyprus, Syria and Texas. Olive oil was a big theme, as there were booths from all over the world; even California is getting into the olive oil business! There were a lot of unique products as well, like basil spray, smoked jalapeños, sweet potato butter, yummy halvah, and chocolate bars infused with wasabi-ginger and with bacon. A lot of familiar names made their presence known too: Jelly Belly, Scharffen Berger, David's Cookies.

One product that I love is Bequet's caramels. Their caramels are so smooth and rich, and they have a flavor for everybody, from the traditional caramel to spicy chipotle!

My favorite item from the show was Mrs. Renfro's newest salsa: GHOST PEPPER!!!! The bhut jolokia, or ghost pepper, is the hottest pepper in the world, and this salsa was HOT!! However, it wasn't one of those 3,000,000 Scoville-type foods that just burns your eyebrows off - it was delicious as well! I can't wait to buy some when it hits store shelves.

Now here are some of the strange and interesting highlights from the show:

Haggis chips...


Ham hocks...


Tequila bottles shaped like weapons...


Amazingly beautiful chocolates...


An unfortunately named Slovenian soda...


The Mona Lisa made of Jelly Bellys...



A blue cow from Holland...

I haven't seen a cow that blue since Ol' Bessie found out what veal is!

And have you ever had a craving for a small bird stuffed inside of a bigger bird, which is then stuffed inside of an even bigger bird -- but just didn't have time for all that bird-stuffing? Well, you're in luck! It's Tur-Duc-Hen in a box!


Oh yeah, there was also cheese...


Lots...


and lots...


and lots...


and lots...


and lots...


and lots...


and lots...


...of cheese.


I haven't seen that much cheese in Manhattan since NKOTB played the Garden!

So after tasting and tasting and tasting, I started my trip home. I made it to Grand Central just in time to make the 5:07 train with a connection to Glenbrook (free parking on the weekend!). And that was the last good thing that happened that day.

The train stopped in Mt. Vernon due to a mechanical problem. So we sat there while they tried to fix it. After half an hour, the A/C turned off. Yeah. It was tolerable for a little while, but then after half an hour, it became stifling.

They sent another train to take us home, but we didn't get on it until the newly-arrived mechanics tried again to fix our current train. Once they called it quits, we started transferring section by section.

Oh yeah - while transferring passengers, they have to power down both trains. I think you know where I'm going with this: no power = no A/C in the new train either!

Well, we finally got everybody on board the new train. And did I mention that we went from a 9-car train to a 6-car train? Time to get snuggly!

Luckily, we made it to Stamford in time for me to catch another connecting train to Glenbrook -- TWO HOURS LATER.

If I wanted to ride in a vintage car from the 70s, I'd hop in a GTO. When it comes to trains, epic CT DOT fail. In Connecticut's case, I think DOT stands for Decrepit Old Trains.

Overall, I had a fun day, and I can't wait for next year's Fancy Food Show, but man, do our trains suck.