After winning tickets on Reviewsings, I went to the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival Grand Market Event (or, more aptly named, Wine & Food Festival) held in the gorgeous ballroom at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City. My husband and three siblings tagged along, being very fond of food and wine themselves.
When we first walked in, I was a little skeptical. I saw a barbeque sauce display, a few product displays and single wine display. Where’s the food? Is this a boring trade show or something? This cost $30?!? Where's the food?
Then we found the food. Oh. My. Word. Did we find the food.
The restaurant sampling was phenomenal! We waited in a huge line to sample four of Atlantic City’s finest restaurants’ signature dishes. So worth the wait. Not to mention the Melting Pot’s chocolate fondue. And the Philly cheesesteaks. And the tons of chocolates & desserts. And the gourmet sauces, beer tasting and even the gourmet popcorn. There was so much to see and try. At first, I admit to being offended that it was $30 a ticket. But, believe me, you WILL get your money's worth!! The vendors were very generous with samples and there was tons to eat and drink.
There were lots of huge, recognizable names there that I won't bore you with. And there was just too much to share everything, but here are some of the tiny little jewels that we discovered:
FunniBonz Barbeque Sauce: This little family business is located in New Jersey. Can good barbeque come from Jersey? Oh, yes it can. All 5 of us agreed that it was one of the best sauces we ever tasted. The original was terrific, but the spicy version got all of our attentions. It starts sweet, sneaks up on you with a bit of spice, then turns sweet again. I don't know how they did it, but it was amazing. They also have "all natural" versions made with no high fructose corn syrup. YUM!
Lancaster Brewing Company: Wewere on our way out when we passed this little booth and the boys wanted to try some beers. I was intrigued by a "Strawberry Wheat" beer. Strawberry beer? Really? Oh my, was it fantastic. My favorite kind of beer - nice and light, not too strong. My husband tried the Milk Stout, which was a dark ale with hints of chocolate and coffee. I passed on that one, not liking dark beer, but he claimed it was wonderful and reminded him of Ginesess. The next time we buy beer - which will be soon since we're almost out - we're buying this one!
After trying lots and lots (and lots) of different wines, two wine makers rose to the top:
JAQK: I tried several varieties of their wine and my favorite was the “Soldiers of Fortune” shiraz, which was just perfect. I also tried the “Her Majesty” chardonnay, “Charmed” sauvignon blanc and the “22 Black” cabernet sauvignon. All of them were fantastic, but the shiraz was by far my favorite. My siblings all loved this wine as well – not necessarily because of taste. But because they have the coolest wine bottles we’ve ever seen. They are all card themed and super cool. We were all extremely disappointed that they were not available in PA yet.
Unionville Vineyards: I was over tasting varieties of fudge doing very important research when my siblings literally dragged me over to this display. They all claimed they were drinking the best wine in the whole world. I rolled my eyes and held out my glass to give it a try The Juggler. This was – seriously – the best wine I’ve ever tasted. It is a mix of riesling, chardonnay, and something else, I think. (Notice the accuracy when I'm reporting on wine tasting.) Even my future brother-in-law, who doesn’t like wine at all, thought it was amazing and asked me to drive to New Jersey and buy enough to serve at their wedding. Light, refreshing and just yummy. We tried several other varieties - the chardonnay was also fantastic - but all of us agreed that The Juggler was our hands-down fav. And at around $20 a bottle, its totally affordable! Unfortunately, it is only available at stores in New Jersey right now, including Wegmans, but I dearly hope it will be in PA soon!! It would be worth the drive to Jersey to pick up a case of these wines.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of the celebrity chefs because we didn't get to AC until late Sunday afternoon. But next time this event roars through my city, I'l br bringing my kids as well. My daughter's favorite channel is Food Network and she would have LOVED the live cooking demonstrations. (I don't remember what they were cooking. I was too occupied drooling over the appliances.) If your kids are really in to stuff like that, bring them along. (But it made a super fun date-night as well, so maybe you shouldn't!)
It is taking place again next summer, July 29-August 1, 2010! Save the date!
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