Sunday’s Grand Tasting at the New York Wine & Food Festival started slowly. As we all know, New York laws prohibits drinking before noon on Sundays (what is this, Utah?), so the first hour was a foodcentric one, with just a hint of the heavily pushed Diet Coke. Booths from heavy hitters like Govind Armstrong and the unfortunately absent Marcus Samuelsson were oddly sparsely frequented, but heartier, more hangover-friendly tables like Rosa Mexicana were hit hard. Tuna and steak were the key ingredients of the early afternoon. Mostly steak. From seared slices of filet mignon to short ribs with bone marrow, the chefs seemed to be really feeling the fall weather and dishing out rich, meaty dishes.

Once the noon bell rang, a great shout of glee rang up from the crowd and the booze began to freely flow. Wines from all over were poured, but the better tables were those from the hard alcohol providers, who upped the stakes with hot girls and blinking, neon stirrers. If one got sick of copious amounts of alcohol and food, a preview of the new Wii cooking game was available to play. Or you could watch a live Iron Chef battle between two upcoming Next Iron Chef America contestants. It was riveting.—Justine Sterling