Gluttony is Better w/ Friends (Choice Eats Experience)

I think I'm suffering from a food hangover...which started last Thursday...which means I'm on Day #4 of said hangover. Don't laugh. A food hangover is a legit condition. eHow.com told me so: http://www.ehow.com/how_2087370_deal-food-hangover.html

Last week's social calendar pretty much explains how I ended up in this sorry state. I was lucky enough to have a couple different food-filled events on my agenda. But being lucky actually had less to do with eating delicious food and more to do with the fact that I got the chance to hang out with other food-loving people.

One of these events was the Village Voice Choice Eats. I had purchased my ticket to go to this annual tasting event almost 2 months in advance. There was so much good press about it, and an old college friend from NYU had already grabbed VIP tickets because she had such a good time when she went last year. I had to go.

Already feeling defeated that I had missed valuable eating time, I quickly ran to the first booth I saw and just started eating anything I could get my hands on. Some of NYC's best cuisine was being represented with over 60 booths at the venue.

Brisket, curry, meatballs, egg tarts, cheeseburgers...My heart wanted me to stop at every booth, but my stomach had only so much room. And by the time I hit my 10th booth, I felt myself hitting a wall. Before losing all consciousness in food coma, I remembered that friend I was supposed to meet up with. I shot her a text and within minutes she was there, already offering to get me a plate of food from the VIP lounge. What a true friend.

With more food and now a friend by my side, I didn't feel so overwhelmed and it was good to get a break from gorging myself. My stomach was grateful for the break.Then, to my surprise, my friend spotted other old acquaintances from NYU. It was a mini-foodie-NYU reunion!

While we were together, we talked about our favorite foods at the event. We discussed other great foodie events and restaurants with delicious multi-course meals. And right before the event officially ended, we even got our picture taken at one of the photo booths, and I won a free round of bowling! It was so unexpected and such a great surprise to have this mini-reunion. And, although the food was scrumptious and plentiful, the part that I enjoyed the most about the event was the time I got to re-connect with these old friends who, too, shared in my love for food.

...also, I got to take home enough leftover for at least breakfast and lunch the next day. Score.

If you're planning on going to the Village Voice Choice Eats event in the future (I know I'll be there next year!), here's my advice to you:
- Get VIP tickets. Sure, it's about $20 extra, but they get you in an hour early, which gives you more time to actually savor and enjoy the food as opposed to scarfing it down and stuffing as much of it as you can in your purse, which is what I did. Lesson learned.
- Go with friends. Along with making a good memory, you can actually be strategic when coming to this event and designate people to go on line, hold plates, and push through the hungry mobs.

Village Voice Choice Eats Annual Tasting Event
http://choiceeats.villagevoice.com/2014/