More Americans are starting small farms, sometimes called 'hobby' or 'lifestyle' farms, which provide much of the food found at the nation's farmers' markets and roadside stands.
Le Bernardin reservations out of your reach? Chef Eric Ripert launched a wine club, giving the average Joe access to his vino-expertise and recipe pairings to use at home.
Can't make it to this weekend's Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival? Convinced that Slashfood can get a better peek at Guy Fieri's frosted tips and potential Paula Deen pants mishaps than you can?
Follow our every nibble, sip and celeb chef sighting via the handy widget above -- starting with tonight's Chelsea Market After Dark all the way through the Grand Tasting and Burger Bash to Sunday night's Meatball Madness with Giada De Laurentiis, or just follow us on Twitter as @slashfood.
There are loads of meat-this/meat-that festivals, but in honor of World Vegetarian Day, Slashfood would like to highlight international veggie gatherings.
Day Without Meat, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Oct. 3-4: To raise awareness for the benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet, the Brazilian Vegetarian Society in partnership with Greenpeace,Instituto Nina Rosa and others will provide information on vegetarianism, screen films, hold workshops and offer food and wine tastings.
Oktoberfests are ubiquitous this month. For those not interested in the chug-a-thons and oompah bands, check out this list of alternative options.
Dixon Lambtown USA, Dixon, Calif., Oct. 3: Break out the mint jelly! Attendees can participate in such culinary slugfests as the National Lamb Ribs Eating Contest and Barbecue Cook-Off, not to mention a shearing competition and sheepdog trials. For the kiddies, there's Mutton Bustin' -- a buckin' bronco bruising of the woolly kind. The Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, New York, Oct. 8-11: Hosted by and benefiting the Food Bank for New York City and Share Our Strength, this festival brings the toque and the home cook together. Everyone from sous chefs to casserole queens can attend wine seminars, recipe-creation panels and cooking demonstrations. For the kiddie cook, check out the Kids Get Cooking! series. Your favorite celebrity TV chefs will be there, en masse, including Ming Tsai, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain, as well as culinary heavyweights such as Sue Torres, Marcus Samuelsson, Odette Fada, Daniel Boulud and David Chang.
September might be halfway over and autumn imminent, but that doesn't mean the fall food fun has to end. Here's a selection of September food fests across the country.
Nappanee Apple Festival, Nappanee, Ind., Sept. 17-20: Apple season is upon us. Many are headed to pick-your-own orchards. This festival includes an apple-peeling contest, apple bake-off, pie-eating contest and the world's largest baked apple pie, weighing in at 600 pounds and a whopping 7 feet across. There's a daily lumberjack show, too.
The Houston Hot Sauce Festival, Houston, Sept. 19-20: Hot sauce festivals are on fire! Nationwide, they're popular, chilehead blow-outs. Attendees can sample and purchase a plethora of sauces, chiles and dry rubs. Don't forget to vote in the People's Choice for the Hottest Hot Sauce at this ninth annual festival.
Perhaps you couldn't get to NYC for the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show or maybe you're plotting the most delicious path through the 250,000 edible products on display at the Javits Center. Consider Slashfood your eyes, ears and mouth on the scene.
We'll be Twittering our most fabulous finds as @slashfood from the moment doors open on Sunday, until they roll us on out Tuesday night. Just sit back and watch Slashfood's real time reactions via the widget below and after the jump, see Twitters from folks all over the food world.
As promised, we're beginning our recap of the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party this past weekend, featuring 15 of the best pitmasters from around the USA. After you take a dip in the barbecue sauce fountain, courtesy of Mike Mills and Amy Mills of 17th Street Bar & Grill, click on the post to see our photos. "Peace, Love & Barbecue," everyone!
If you're going to be in NYC this Sunday, plan your weekend accordingly. Head down to the Lower East Side to check out Pickle Day. I went to this pickle festival last year and thoroughly enjoyed tasting Guss' famous crunchy juicy bright green pickles and Rick's sweet and mildly spicy pickle spears in a cumin and lime brine. If you enjoy pickled vegetables, it's well worth your Sunday.
Some festivities to expect this year include: cooking and home canning demonstrations, music, neighborhood walks, and activities for children. There will also be an interactive showcase with pickle recipes. And, of course, what would a trip to the Lower East Side be without a showing of the movie Crossing Delancey. The movie starts at 3 PM.
Pickle Day is hosted by the Lower East Side Business Improvement District and the NY Food Museum. It's going to take place on Orchard Street between Broome and Grand and in the parking lot on the corner of Ludlow and Broome. To find out more information, call The NY Food Museum at (212) 966-0191.
We're back in business this weekend, with food festivals from coast to coast (actually just on both coasts). And since it's finally beautiful outside, there's no excuse to shy away from amazing opportunities to consume ridiculous amounts of strawberries, artichokes and (as always) alcohol.
Savor: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience (May 16-17, 2008) - Don't be turned off by the pretentious name -- instead embrace the chance to attend a reception-style sampling (it's Washington, D.C., what did you expect?) of over 35 appetizers and 96 craft beers. The pairings look amazing, with duos like Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing's Dread stout beer with pan-seared pilsener sirloin tips with shiitake blue-cheese sauce. I'm salivating. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
The Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor (May 17-18, 2008) - And while you're in the nation's capital, check out the tons and tons of exciting foodie events down on the Potomac River. Attend lectures, panels, tastings and shows, and I definitely wouldn't miss the Maine-style clam bake either. With an emphasis on foods from across the globe (food will be divided by continent in the main tasting pavilion), this definitely seems like an all-hit, no-miss opportunity. And there are more!
I look at this picture, and I swear I start to smell the charcoal burning and the chicken charring. It gets me excited for a season of outdoor festivals, street fairs and the occasional grilling session in my cousin's backyard. You can see other images from this event here. Thanks, Ohad, for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool.
It's a good weekend for attending a food festival if you:
a) are a hipster of the American Northwest b) love wine c) have never attended a crawfish boil d) are hungry
If you, like me, find yourself nodding emphatically at these criteria, read on! This weekend offers food festivals sprinkled across the country, promising some of the most interesting and delicious foods I've seen in a while.
It's my final semester of college, and I'm taking Literature of the Great Depression to finish my English major. I think that my professor often feels badly, though, about assigning texts that are just so darn depressing, so she often opens class with a cheerful question like, "What's your favorite type of pie?" or "What's your favorite breakfast?" Recently, she asked us what our favorite thing about Spring is, and I knew instantly that mine is the delicious new food and produce that Spring brings. Clearly, there's no better way to celebrate these bright new ingredients than with entire festivals dedicated to them! This weekend, we have homages to asparagus, seafood, beer, more seafood, seafood and (my favorite) maple.
Read on after the jump to see where to go for the party, and meanwhile check out these lovely photos from last week's Great American Pie Festival.
It doesn't get any better than this. If I had magical powers and could transport myself to any food festival in the country this weekend, I don't think I'd be able to decide where to go! We've got BBQ in Missouri and Pies in Florida, and starting next Wednesday (4/23), Texas is the place to be with festivals in both Houston and Dallas.
Read on for details about all of these yummy events, and check out the gallery from last weekend's Scottsdale Culinary Festival!
There are always excuses to eat, but I find that there are rarely opportunities to just completely go nuts and eat everything in sight. So when these opportunities do come along (vacations to Europe, birthdays, Thanksgiving), it's best to take complete advantage. For me, food festivals definitely qualify as all-you-can-eat events. I remember my parents bringing me to Taste of Bethesda every year when I was growing up, and how exciting it was to chow through streets and streets of delicious foods.
Starting right now, I'll be giving you guys a weekly heads up about upcoming Food Festivals from around the country. Sadly, we don't have too many in the Philadelphia area, so I'll be living vicariously through the comments of those of you who are able to attend -- please relay all of the juicy details!
There are details about this weekend's festivals after the jump. For those who can't attend, perhaps this sweet gallery from Taste of Vail (April 2-5, 2008) will carry us through. Expect more to come!
A Brisbane fashion show has two high school students displaying some stunning clothes inspired by alcoholic drinks.
The Ambiwerra Festival is all about food, wine and has a jazz theme all of which have melded into these dresses. The two designers Melinda Toomey and Sarah Kalwy, are both too young to legally drink but they certianly know how to pin a couple of sheets of fabric and some baubles together. Their creations will be on display dyring the Sunday fashion awards.
The festival itself offers a great oppotunity to sample the delights of more than a dozen of Brisbane's best restaurants. Each will be offering entree-sized (starter) portions at attractive prices making them 'easy to stroll around with, and also makes it easy to save room for lots of all-day sampling'.
We're back in business this weekend, with food festivals from coast to coast (actually just on both coasts). And since it's finally beautiful outside, there's no excuse to shy away from amazing opportunities to consume ridiculous amounts of strawberries, artichokes and (as always) alcohol. 
It's a good weekend for attending a food festival if you: 
It's my final semester of college, and I'm taking Literature of the Great Depression to finish my English major. I think that my professor often feels badly, though, about assigning texts that are just so darn depressing, so she often opens class with a cheerful question like, "What's your favorite type of pie?" or "What's your favorite breakfast?" Recently, she asked us what our favorite thing about Spring is, and I knew instantly that mine is the delicious new food and produce that Spring brings. Clearly, there's no better way to celebrate these bright new ingredients than with entire festivals dedicated to them! This weekend, we have homages to asparagus, seafood, beer, more seafood, seafood and (my favorite) maple.
There are always excuses to eat, but I find that there are rarely opportunities to just completely go nuts and eat everything in sight. So when these opportunities do come along (vacations to Europe, birthdays, Thanksgiving), it's best to take complete advantage. For me, food festivals definitely qualify as all-you-can-eat events. I remember my parents bringing me to 
A Brisbane fashion show has two high school students displaying some stunning clothes inspired by alcoholic drinks. 
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