New York’s State Food Festival brought dozens of vendors selling all kinds of cuisine – from Italian to Nigerian – to the Empire State Plaza in Albany Wednesday.
Kathleen Anjum and her husband Chris run Given to Fry, a play on Pearl Jam’s 1997 hit “Given to Fly." As she and her husband were preparing for the day, she said this year’s festival was shaping up to be a smash.
“This is the first year since COVID that we've actually got the food truck back on as of this spring. So, you know, the Fourth of July was awesome. Anything down here at the plaza is really good,” Anjum said.
Given to Fry serves all manner of potato-based plates. As for recommendations?
“We sell poutine, which is a big, big seller. We have an Italian poutine, we call it, with garlic sauce. We have specialty nachos that has everything on it,” Anjum said.
For food truck operator Charlie DiGristina, his spin on Italian food is "a Utica thing." The Handshake City restaurateur traveled more than an hour to sell his regional favorites.
“The three biggies from Utica, New York are Utica greens, chicken riggies and tomato pie,” DiGristina said.
If you’ve never tried them, Utica greens pack a hefty punch.
“It's an escarole. It's boiled down. It's sauteed with olive oil, onions, hot cherry peppers, prosciutto, salami. It's all mixed back together. It's finished off with like a bread crumb mixture,” DiGristina said.
DiGristina says tradition dictates hot cherry peppers. Mild peppers are a no-go.
“It would be like putting ketchup on spaghetti. I just could never do something like that,” DiGristina said.
If sweets are more your style, Emily Doak of Nothing Bundt Cakes – with storefronts in Albany and Clifton Park – was glad to oblige.
“We have these giant coolers that- each cooler holds about 160 cakes. So we brought, I think, close to 1,000 cakes today. Last year we sold about 800, so we're hoping to beat that number this year,” Doak said.
Nothing Bundt Cakes sells tiny “bundtinis” up to two-tiered options.
“Right now, our feature flavors are lemon, raspberry, and then we also have pop-ups coming, so we will have another one next week,” Doak said.
For those looking to whet their whistle, Dan Dineen of Albany's Bull and Bee Meadery was selling a honey-based wine.
For first-timers, Dineen recommends the Midas Sweet Mead, a Grecian-style mead meant to resemble the nectar of the gods from Greek myth.
“It's City of Albany water, local honey from Old McDonald Honey Farm in Fultonville, New York, and wine yeast,” Dineen said.
While this was Bull and Bee’s first year at the Food Festival, Dineen has been vending at the Empire State Plaza's farmers’ market every Wednesday morning since last November.
“It's nice to actually get an event in an area where we can also direct locals, state workers and stuff when we're open Wednesday through Friday,” Dineen said.
In addition to food, artists were peddling their wares. James Gooden, from Queens, creates his works by pouring colorful acrylic paint over canvas.
“I was a preschool teacher at one point in time, and I saw the technique online, looking for different things for the kids to do, and I found it, and I tried it myself, and I found it was something that I wanted to continue doing on my own, and I've been doing it ever since,” Gooden said.
Gooden said he enjoys outdoor festivals like this, whether his artwork sells or not:
“It's just fun for me, it's therapeutic. It's something I really like to do,” Gooden said.
Akeem Heshimu, a New York state employee who came to the festival during the lunch rush, said everything looked delicious.
“My bank account can't cover everything here, but I'm going to try as much of everything as I can,” Heshimu said.
Heshimu settled on a chicken empanada.
“I would definitely recommend it. 100 out of 100,” Heshimu said.
