Feasting of the Seven Fishes at Casa Barilla Radio City

By: Finance Foodie

To celebrate the holiday season, Casa Barilla, unveiled a special “Feast of the Seven Fishes” menu at its restaurants in New York and California. The two dishes on the menu pay homage to the Southern Italian custom of La Vigilia (the Vigil) and the Italian-American tradition of the “Feast of the Seven Fishes” in which in observance of an abstinence of meat on Christmas Eve, guests feast on an abundance of seafood in the form of a “grand-meal.” I had a chance to sample the menu recently at Casa Barilla's Radio City NYC location and it was a real treat!

Barilla's Feast of the Seven Fishes

Get Your Drag On at Lucky Cheng's Dinner Show

By: Finance Foodie

Lucky Cheng's, NYC's original and longest running drag queen cabaret, recently celebrated its 25 year anniversary with a spectacular dinner show hosted by Drag Queen OG Paulina the Princess of Power. Yours truly had a chance to attend this spirited performance while noshing on a three course meal - and all I can say is - WoW what an interesting and fun-filled night!

Lucky Cheng's

Get Your Healthy On at the 2018 Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expo in San Mateo, CA

By: Irene Yang

The Gluten Free and Allergen Friendly Expos (GFAF) are the largest and fastest growing special diet consumer events in the US. Started in 2007, the events are professionally managed and have expanded from one to eight cities throughout the United States. In addition to meeting the needs of the Celiac community, the Expo welcomes those with gluten sensitivities, auto-immune/inflammatory diseases and autism.

Lucky for North Cali residence, the GFAF is coming to town in less than 2 weeks! As someone who embraces a mostly gluten-free diet, I went last year and it was amazing - so much to see, so much to eat and so much to learn.

To buy tickets click here

A Vegetarian Delight: Taste Testing Thug Kitchen x Barilla Restaurants' Red Lentil Pasta

By: Finance Foodie

The other night, I headed down to the Barilla restaurant in Rockefeller Center to check out their latest menu offering. Partnering with the viral vegan cooking site Thug Kitchen, Barilla recently debuted a new limited-time menu item featuring Barilla’s Red Lentil Penne and Sundried Tomato Pesto and toasted almonds. Packed with protein and vegetarian friendly, I was excited to see what was in store.

Red Lentil Penne

Ten on Top at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2018

By: Finance Foodie

One of my favorite events every year is the Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show. Held in the massive Javits Center, this three day spectacle is every food lover's dream - aisles upon aisles of gourmet food products just waiting to be imbibed and indulged!

Entrance

There was a lot to see and eat, but I narrowed down my Top 10 for 2018 below.

Chocolate Heaven at the 2018 International Chocolate Festival

By: Irene Yang

I recently attended the 2018 International Chocolate Festival at the San Mateo Convention Center this past April. I won’t lie—my favorite part about food festivals is the free samples! There were over 40 vendors all throwing out their wares for the visiting chocoholic. The Chocolatiers are all very happy to talk to you about their work. Where they source the beans, how they make the bars, what kind of flavor profiles to expect; you can feel their passion as they walk you through the different kinds of chocolate available.

Small Batch Chocolate

Fun and Fine Dining: Bagatelle Part Deux

By: Finance Foodie

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to revisit the Meatpacking hotspot Bagatelle for dinner. It had been a few years since my previously impressive gluttonous feast at this joint,  so I was excited to taste some of the new menu items!

Interior

Celebrating Carbonara Day at Barilla Restaurants

By: Finance Foodie

The other night, I visited the Barilla Restaurant in Herald Square to celebrate pre-Carbonara Day. Carbonara Day was established in Italy last April 6 as a way to hail a particularly delicious pasta that most believe was first made in mid-20th Century Rome as a hearty meal for Italian charcoal workers. Barilla Restaurants will bring Carbonara Day Month to the States by adding Chef Alfonso Sanna’s signature Pasta alla Carbonara on April 6 to its menus and keeping it until May 6. However, yours truly got got a special sneak peak at this tantalizing menu item along with a special cooking demo by Chef Sanna himself!

Carbonara

Organic Nearly Naked Popcorn by Popcornopolis to Debut at Costco

By: Finance Foodie, in partnership with Popcornopolis

Popcornopolis, an artisan popcorn purveyor, was founded by Wally and Kathy Arnold. In 2003, the Arnolds opened their first Popcornopolis retail store at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles, California. Today, the family-owned company’s iconic cone-shaped popcorn packages can be found in grocery and club stores, professional sports stadiums, movie theatres and at www.popcornopolis.com

Beginning March 13, Organic Nearly Naked will be in Costco stores across the country selling for $5.39 a bag. From April 19 – May 13, the cost will drop to $3.49. You can follow them on Instagram and Twitter at @popcornopolis or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/popcornopolis/

Pizza, Pasta and Pizzazz at Acqua Restaurant NYC

By: Finance Foodie

During the President's Day long weekend, the Mister and I journeyed to the south end of Manhattan to visit the Seaport District (aka/fka South Street Seaport). As both of us hadn't visited the area since pre-Hurricane Sandy, we were excited to see the new restaurants, stores and buildings that have redeveloped the area from yesteryear.

Exterior on a snowy night

2018 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco Roundup

By: Irene Yang

It’s fitting that the Specialty Food Association's 2018 Winter Fancy Food Show was held in San Francisco. A town known for it’s diverse new technology—why not diverse new foods? Here’s some of the more interesting trends and items seen at the 2018 Fancy Food Show.

Entrance - Source: Specialty Food Association

A Slice of Italy at Margherita NYC

By: Finance Foodie

On most weekends, the Mister and I head to south to Chinatown for some satiating noodles and dumplings. However, we decided to mix it up this weekend and veer West to neighboring Little Italy to check out Margherita NYC, a Southern Italian shop known for their brick oven pizzas and rich pastas.

Exterior