Tasting Tuesdays
On Tuesday afternoon I saw a tweet about Tasting Tuesday's at the Winter Village in Bryant Park. When I found out that it was basically a scavenger hunt for free food samples, that culminated in a gift certificate, I knew I needed to check it out. There's almost nothing I won't do for a free food sample, so I thought it was worth a try.
The website listed the event as running from 4:30pm - 7pm, but when I signed up I was told that it was over at 6pm. There was a sign-up table located near the Christmas Tree in the middle of the park, where you wrote down your name and email and received a wrist band and map. They were out of the maps by the time I got there, but someone who had one let me take a photo of hers. Along with the map was a list of participating vendors and what they were offering. Most offered samples, but some offered discounts or BOGO deals as well. I only had about a half hour before the end of the event, so I tried to hit up as many booths as possible.
My first stop was the Wafels & Dinges booth, because I had heard good things and always wanted to try their treats. The line was long and it took a while for the samples to be made, but it was definitely worth the wait. They gave out mini wafels, topped with speculoos spread and a generous heap of whipped cream (totally free). It was just as good as I had imagined, and I'm definitely going to be trying the full-sized version real soon. I also got a small cup of hot cider from Big Apple Cider (with a real cinnamon stick!), and samples of a chocolate-covered churro, apple streusel, two different pickles, a coconut cronut (not THE Cronut but it was still fucking amazing), chimney cake, a chocolate-covered banana slice, vegetarian chili and falafel.
The thing I love most about free samples (aside from the free part) is that I get to try things that I would never normally eat. I'm a picky eater and I have total ordering anxiety — I'm always terrified to try new things because what if I end up hating them and missing out on something I already know I like? This is, of course, a stupid way to think, but that's why sampling is one of my very favorite things. I love that most ice cream shops let you sample before you buy, and I feel like all restaurants should be that way. I know that's not possible, but a girl can dream.
When I tried the pickle samples the guy in the booth told me that if I correctly identified both samples that he would give me a free, full-sized pickle. I think he was a little surprised when I guessed both right away, but I take my pickle knowledge very seriously. I chose the horseradish as my free pickle, and it was one of the best I've ever eaten. I don't think I'll end up getting falafel again, but it was nice to finally know what it tasted like (meh). After I was done, I waited in a pretty decent-sized line, and was told that I could either pick a $10 gift certificate from one of the food vendors (while supplies last) or take my chance and draw a random $25 one to one of the non-food shops. I don't like to leave things to chance, so I took a $10 one to Chimney Cake. I would have preferred Wafels & Dinges, but there wasn't one available and the Chimney Cake was my second favorite of all the desserts I ate. I was only there about an hour and the free gift certificate on top of all the free food I had already eaten was a nice bonus. Since it was all free I didn't have anything to lose by trying it out, and I'm obviously glad I did.
Although at one point, after eating the chocolate-covered churro, I picked up my phone and realized I had gotten chocolate sauce on my power button. I very quickly licked it off, because what else was I supposed to do, and then felt incredibly fat. But if licking chocolate sauce off of your phone in the middle of a crowded park is wrong, I don't want to be right.