It’s down to the home stretch of my marathon New York City Wine & Food Festival weekend. Sunday morning, I hurried down to the early session of the Grand Tasting, and grand it certainly was. It was an eating extravaganza in the tasting pavilion, which was packed with people eagerly sampling plates from dozens of NYC establishments, along with wines, spirits and creative cocktails to wash down every decadent bite. I bellied up to the vendor tables, one by one, and sipped and munched my way through like a true champ.

Num Pang Sandwich Shop’s Five Spice Pork Belly Slider

Standout bites of the tasting included: Landmarc’s Orecchiette alla Norcina, Ed’s Lobster Bar’s Lobster Roll Canapé, The Neely’s Pig Parlor BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, PEI’s Butter Poached Lobster & Short Ribs over Mashed Potatoes and Salmon Ceviche from Nuela. During and after the Grand Tasting, more Food Network stars autographed cookbooks and chitchatted with guests at the Welcome Center—Bobby, Rocco, Sandra Lee, Morimoto, and Miss Thang Paula Deen (she was just as adorable as you would imagine, ya’ll).

Sweet Street Desserts at Carts in the Parc

That afternoon, as if I hadn’t eaten enough already, I decided that I couldn’t miss out on sampling the best fare on four wheels at Carts in the Parc, hosted by bizarre-food guru, Andrew Zimmern. The street cart food craze is definitely taking NYC by storm and the city’s best vendors parked their infamous trucks at FoodParc—Jeffrey Chodorow’s new 20,000-sq. ft. indoor/outdoor modern food marketplace. The sleek, futuristic-looking hall on the ground floor of the Eventi hotel houses permanent food stands, such as 3Bs, Red Farm and Fornetti, and has a spacious outdoor courtyard which was lined with the boroughs’ most acclaimed carts for this highly anticipated event.

Check out pics below from my Day 3 festivities:

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