derryX and The Wine and Dine for the Arts 2014 Festival

I attended a few of the events at the 2014 Wine and Dine for the Arts festival, and I have a few pictures and stories to share.

Barista Albany
Barista Albany

Wine and Dine for the Arts badges

I arrived part of the way into the Barista Albany competition where a handful of esteemed local baristas each had 20 minutes to fix up three signature coffee beverages. They were vying for a handful of pretty awesome prizes.

Barista Albany Prizes
Barista Albany Prizes

The beverages were being prepared for a panel of judges including recognizable faces, Docsconz and Suvir Saran.

Coffee judges including Docsconz and Suvir Saran
Coffee judges including Docsconz and Suvir Saran

Luen Profit from Lucas Confectionery took home the gold in this competition (and rightfully so).

After the competition, I took a peek back at the outstanding equipment being used to generate the coffee beverages.

Barista Albany Burr Grinder
Barista Albany Burr Grinder
Insane Espresso Rig
Insane Espresso Rig

Barista Albany overlapped slightly with the Saturday Grand Tasting, so a few minutes before the doors opened for that, we got in line. Once we were inside, we made it a point to try everything that stood out before the room reached critical mass.

The first bite was shrimp remoulade from Helsinki Hudson, and it pretty much remained my favorite bite throughout the tasting.

Shrimp Remoulade from Helsinki Hudson
Shrimp Remoulade from Helsinki Hudson

The room got a little packed pretty quickly, but I think I hit all of the highlights that I cared to hit.

Beef Brisket and Corn Bread from Grille One Six Five at Normanside Country Club
Beef Brisket and Corn Bread from Grille One Six Five at Normanside Country Club
White Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with Pecan Caramel from Grille One Six Five at Normanside Country Club
White Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding with Pecan Caramel from Grille One Six Five at Normanside Country Club
Chef Justin Engineri from Portofino's in Latham serving up Eggplant Rollatini and soup
Chef Justin Engineri from Portofino’s in Latham serving up Eggplant Rollatini and soup
Tala Bistro Table
Tala Bistro Table
Hilton Albany's braised short rib with porcini mushroom risotto (the risotto here was exceptional)
Hilton Albany’s braised short rib with porcini mushroom risotto (the risotto here was exceptional)
The Epicurean (Latham) also had mushroom risotto (not so exceptional)
The Epicurean (Latham) also had mushroom risotto (not so exceptional)
The Century House - Blue cheese cheesecake with fig compote (interesting savory cheesecake)
The Century House – Blue cheese cheesecake with fig compote (interesting savory cheesecake)
Salty's Pub (Clifton Park) - Pulled pork with coleslaw (monster tasting portion!)
Salty’s Pub (Clifton Park) – Pulled pork with coleslaw (monster tasting portion!)
Illium Cafe's Pulled Pork (also a monster tasting portion)
Illium Cafe’s Pulled Pork (also a monster tasting portion)
Classic Italian bites from the U Mundu E Ca table
Classic Italian bites from the U Mundu E Ca table
Shogun/Rain had some interesting bites including coconut milk jelly cake (I joked that most Asian restaurants don't have incredibly inventive desserts like this)
Shogun/Rain had some interesting bites including coconut milk jelly cake (I joked that most Asian restaurants don’t have incredibly inventive desserts like this)
Sarah Fish (Hungry Fish Cafe) serving up baked French toast with apples
Sarah Fish (Hungry Fish Cafe) serving up baked French toast with apples
Meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce (Dale Miller) - There were far too many people standing around here for me to understand what they were saying comprised these
Meatballs in a sweet and sour sauce (Dale Miller) – There were far too many people standing around here for me to understand what they were saying comprised these
Taste hadn't arrived while we were there
Taste hadn’t arrived while we were there

Then there was the rising star pavilion, which was just a corner of the room that was tied off and only had one way to get in and out. Not only was it packed inside, but people were just standing around dilly dallying at the entrance/exit. I did what I could to try the food from the places inside the pavilion without pushing people around too much.

Johnny's (Schenectady) with a cutely decorated booth.
Johnny’s (Schenectady) with a cutely decorated booth.
Johnny's bite - contained truffle oil polenta (luckily a small amount of truffle oil)
Johnny’s bite – contained truffle oil polenta (luckily a small amount of truffle oil)
Sperry's (?) Pannacotta
Sperry’s (?) Pannacotta
Sperry's (?) Play on Pig - cracklin with bacon cotton candy
Sperry’s (?) Play on Pig – cracklin with bacon cotton candy
Yono's/dP slinging oysters and something else
Yono’s/dP slinging oysters and something else

I only stopped at one of the spirits booths, and that was Bacardi, because they had a spiced rum variant that I’ve never tried (I have tried just about everything else at the table – the benefit of visiting the distillery on a regular basis).

Bacardi Spiced Rum
Bacardi Spiced Rum

I was getting full, thanks mainly to the two samplings from Salty’s and Illium, and that was good because the room was becoming difficult to manage (about 1 hour in). We headed downstairs to watch the Adirondack Appliance Signature chef invitational challenge, where five chefs competed against each other in an Iron Chef/Chopped style competition.

In the same space, there was a Battle of the Bartenders Bloody Mary competition, and the room was almost packed. With both events happening simultaneously, it was a little difficult to follow what was going on with the invitational challenge. I tried a Bloody Mary from Daisy Bakers; it was good, but I can’t remember what was in it. The other competitors included Yono’s/dP, The Speakeasy, Johnny’s (Schenectady), Tala Bistro, and Athos. Once this started to clear out, the invitational challenge was a little easier to follow.

Battle of the Bartenders Bloody Mary Edition

Battle of the Bartenders
Battle of the Bartenders

Apparently, by a landslide, Yono’s/dP won this competition from the judges and the peoples’ choice.

The signature chef invitational was fun to watch, but we had to leave part of the way into the event.

Cooking equipment and pantry
Cooking equipment and pantry
Participants: Courtney Withey (Aperitivo Bistro), Marla Ortega (Illium Cafe), Mike Niccoli (Century House), Ryan Huneau (Mallozzi), Brian Bowden (Mingle on the Avenue) [Also Dominique Brialy (The Epicurean) and Michelle Hines Abram]
Participants: Courtney Withey (Aperitivo Bistro), Marla Ortega (Illium Cafe), Mike Niccoli (Century House), Ryan Huneau (Mallozzi), Brian Bowden (Mingle on the Avenue) [Also Dominique Brialy (The Epicurean) and Michelle Hines Abram]
Chef Bowden in action
Chef Bowden in action
Chef Huneau in action
Chef Huneau in action
Chef Ortega working (note the can of Pringles on her worktop; she's always integrating fun things into her food)
Chef Ortega working (note the can of Pringles on her worktop; she’s always integrating fun things into her food)
Chef Withey seasoning some proteins
Chef Withey seasoning some proteins
Judges' Table, including Docsconz, Suvir Saran, and 2013 Signature Chef Invitational winner, Giovanni Morina
Judges’ Table, including Docsconz, Suvir Saran, and 2013 Signature Chef Invitational winner, Giovanni Morina

For the rest of the day, all I could remember was the intoxicating scent of Chef Bowden’s cream-basil puree.

Chef Bowden's Basil Puree
Chef Bowden’s Basil Puree

Throughout the day, I got to speak with and laugh with lots of friends from the local food scene, which was lots of fun. As we were climbing the stairs to leave, I bumped into Stacey Morris, a local travel writer who has had a bunch of success with DDP Yoga. This was a little fun “worlds colliding” moment. As it turns out, our social circles overlap a little.

All-in-all, it was a fun day. This is definitely the type of event that could become miserable for you if you lose patience with people easily (like me), so it’s best to expect to need to relax a little. There were more wine/spirit stands than food, so having a driver or a room within walking distance (the local hotels are good about offering good rates when this event comes to town) will ensure that you’ll get the most out of the events.

(And I brought my Nintendo 3DS expecting to pick up a few tags and didn’t even pick up one! That made me pretty pissed. C’mon people; start bringing your 3DSs around so I could complete these puzzles.)


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2 thoughts on “derryX and The Wine and Dine for the Arts 2014 Festival

  • MetalFrog

    Awesome coverage on this! Some of those things look insane. That brisket/cornbread bowl is calling my name. It’s a shame it’s from a country club.

    How was the bacon cotton candy?

    I’ve also started carrying my DS around with me, and I’ve yet to meet up with anyone. 🙁 I guess we need to be creepy old guys and show up to random parks and just hang out.


    • derryX

      The brisket/cornbread was really great. I’m not sure it’s a regular menu item there, anyway, but I don’t think it’s a really fancy place even though it’s in a country club. I’ll talk to some people and get back to you on that.

      The bacon cotton candy was interesting. I thought the cracklin (pork rind) was the better part of the dish, just because the nature of it being cotton candy made it go away quickly.

      Definitely take the 3DS to Target and Best Buy. I picked up a few special Nintendo tags from there. According to the Nintendo Website, pretty much every McDonalds and Home Depot is an official hub, where I think every person who goes gets saved and they all get tagged to your system when you pass. There’s a map somewhere that has all of the locations listed. I’m definitely taking this thing to the airport when I go to Puerto Rico!



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