NOTES FROM NEW YORK

First of all, the Fancy Food Show isn't what you think it is. When someone learns I'm going to a food show, that the whole of the Javits Center in New York will be filled with food, their eyes widen, their jokes get silly, their bellies reverberate from the guffaws. "Uhh-uh, tough job you got. Uhh-uh. Eating all that good food."

Most of it comes in the form of condiments. A little vinegar here, a spot of mustard there, a dab of flavored mayo in between shots of chocolate-covered pretzels and flakes of smoked trout. It's about micro-bites downed with minted waters and fruity sodas. Javits is packed to the gills with buyers and distributors, each trying to scope out the next hot food item. There are thousands of booths, from mom-and-pop one-product set-ups to huge spreads from the tractor-trailers of food companies.

As I walk up and down the aisles over the course of three days, trying to pick out the good stuff from the gimmicks, I overhear the stomach aches in progress. By about 2 p.m. daily, some folks are in real trouble. Too much hot sauce atop cream puffs, peppadews following rose sherbet, lemongrass chips backing up honey vinegar.

Right now, I'm compartmentalizing. I'm sifting through my taste memory and filtering out the best of the best. The next two Wednesdays (July 18 and July 25), our Food section covers will feature products from the Fancy Food Show. Yesterday afternoon, when photographer Bob Bielk and I went through his hundreds of snaps from the show, I smiled at images of a couple of sisters from Paterson who wowed me with a great new product and a young culinarian from Holmdel who is part of a company developing sensational and environmentally sound condiments.
You'll read all about them, and lots of other foods and folks, in the coming weeks.

BUT: Sunday night, after the show closed up for the day and I had an hour to re-group, I went with a couple of pals to Hill Country, the new Texas-style barbecue joint on 26th Street near Broadway. Good food, good fun. We had moist brisket and ribs, superb Kreuz sausages, dandy mac-and-cheese, campfire baked beans, terrific coleslaw, a classic green bean casserole, topped with fried onions, completely yummy corn pudding - you catch my drift. The only disappointment was that Hill Country had sold out of deviled eggs before we ordered. I was crushed. I have to go back.

It's such a different kind of restaurant for New York, and I suspect it will inspire folks in that business to create more casual, easier-on-the-pocket joints that suit families, gangs of friends, twosomes looking for low-key eats. Plus, if you haven't tried Texas-style barbecue - dry-rubbed, no sauce - it's something to experience. That brisket mesmerized me.

OK: I'm heading south today for some fish-eating. Writing that just made my gastric juices flow; boy, do I love just-caught fishes, simply prepared. My stomach's recovered from the food show and I'm ready to do business again.

cheers,
Andy
7.12.07