Best Bloody Mary Brunch at the NYCWFF

By Jennifer Shanteau

When someone says, “let’s go to brunch”, I don’t generally picture having the option of sampling over ten different kinds of Bloody Mary’s, numerous brunch dishes from lox to quiche to waffles, and most of all, chatting with acclaimed chefs and Food Network celebrities from “Chopped”, but at this particular brunch, that’s just what I had.  Held at Chelsea Pier 60, the NYCWFF Best Bloody Mary Brunch was one brunch I’ll never forget.  Knowing that this was a large event, I assumed I would be walking around a big warehouse going from station to station juggling my food and festive beverage. When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find a coat check, tables dressed in white linen, and our own personal waiter who was eager to pour us fresh, hot, high quality coffee from Illy.

I didn’t know where to start, so in keeping with the theme of this event, I began with what they called an “Eason’s Nawlins Style Bloody Mary” and an “Intensely Bloody Mary” from Death’s Door Spirits, which I paired with a Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese Quiche created by Roberta Pipito from Homemade Delish.  I picked a great place to start, because the Eason’s Nawlins Style Bloody Mary ended up winning the Best Bloody Mary Brunch judges vote for “most creative” cocktail of the day, and the Intensely Bloody Mary for the “best overall”.  I loved them both.  The Eason’s was my favorite of the two, because it was spicy, just the thing to wake you up at brunch after one too many the night before.  After all, isn’t that what Bloody Mary’s are for, a bit of the “hair of the dog that bit you”?  I have equally good things to say about the quiche.  It was a perfect bite, a great balance of flavors, and beautiful to boot!

By that point, I had a chance to glance at the tantalizing menu, and spotted Lev Gewirtzman of Mayfield’s Shrimp and Grits, which I immediately made a beeline to sample.  Apparently, I was not the only one with this bright idea.  Several people were eagerly waiting with me, and there wasn’t a single bite left at the end of the day, leading me to believe this may have been the crowd favorite.  Not that I blame the crowd, in fact, I agree with them.  Have you ever tried to make grits?  It may not seem difficult, but cooking a pot of decent grits is no easy task.  I’ve tried.  I’ve failed, several times.  These were the best grits I’ve ever eaten, so creamy, including, (please don’t hate me), the ones I’ve had in the south, but no, Gewirtzman lives and works in NYC.  Oh, and the shrimp and collard greens that went with them were on point, too!

I was on a roll, because next, I discovered my personal favorite Bloody Mary station occupied by Ménage a Trois Vodka with cocktails created by Cody Goldstein, founder of Muddling Memories.  I’m not sure why the “California’s Coolest” or the “Gotham’s Greatest” didn’t win for most creative, unless they were too creative, being the only beverages that were green and orange instead of classic tomato red.  Now, check this out as a list of ingredients for the California’s Coolest, and form your own opinion:  Ménage a Trois vodka, tomatillo, California green tomato, lime, cilantro, serrano pepper, Cipollini onion, sea salt, white pepper, and Ménage a Trois California Sauvignon Blanc, garnished with Hass avocado foam, a tortilla chip and topped with chopped tomatoes.  Come on!?  I had three, or was it four?  Hey!  They were little!  I was too embarrassed to keep going up to get more, so I sent my dad once, and stole my boyfriend’s.  I kid you not.  I would do it again, too.  Who wants to be my new best friend and make these for me?  Anyone?  As I write this, I’m jonesing for one right now!

It’s difficult for me to stop talking about this, but I know you want to hear about all the other great cocktails I drank, and all the other amazing food I ate, so for you, I shall move on.  Actually, I don’t have to move far, because sitting beside the new love of my life was the “Gotham’s Greatest”, sharing in my list of “top three”.  This was a very fresh tasting drink made with Basil infused Ménage a Trois vodka, yellow heirloom tomato juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon horseradish, lemon, cayenne pepper and sea salt, and garnished with fresh basil, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese.  It tasted like the garden on a beautiful summer afternoon.

After  shamelessly stealing as many of my favorite cocktails as I could, I somehow managed to peel myself away from the Ménage a Trois Vodka table and happily stumble upon another of my favorite food items of the afternoon…..Chris Becker’s Cunningham Farms Suckling Pig. Believe it or not, I used to be a vegetarian, so I sometimes still have mixed feelings about eating my fellow creatures, but feel if I were a pig, and had to go out, being prepared in such a sumptuous, melt in your mouth manner, and served to chefs and foodies at the food event of the year in the best city in the world is not a horrible way to go.  Wow, was that a delicious pig!

What I loved about the food at this event was not only how superb everything tasted, but also the creativity that was shown.  Instead of your classic bacon BLT, Charlie Marshall gave us the DLT, substituting duck for bacon.

Melba’s gave us mini Egg Nog Waffles set upon a skewer and stuck into a lush mini lawn as if they were flowers.

Telepan offered up mini Fallen Pancake Souffles, and this doesn’t even begin to cover everything!

So, what could be better than a smorgasbord of inventive drinks and delicious food?  How about sharing all of this with the chefs you watch every week on TV?  You know, the ones you’ve been dying to meet?  Yeah, that helps.  There was a line you could stand in to meet all of your favorites, but since the chefs were also walking around amongst us, I decided to skip the line and try my chances.  And there he was Geoffrey Zakarian…..GZ!  Right in front of me, until he turned around and we were face to face, that is.

I’m pretty sure when words finally exited my mouth I sounded like a star crazed teenager meeting her favorite rock star, but to me, chefs are rock stars!  Speaking of, I then ran into Aaron Sanchez who I had the honor of having dinner with just a few weeks before.  I wasn’t sure if he’d remember me, but the bear hug I received when he saw me, assured me that he did.  He’s the warmest man you’ll ever meet!  That’s the thing about New York.  Here, your dreams can come true.

Inventive drinks, outstanding food, and stellar company?  It turns out, it was, in fact the best Bloody Mary brunch! Thank you NYCWFF for a once in a lifetime experience!

Click here for my favorite place to eat Ramen in NYC.