The offerings vary at some restaurants, but for the most part, the purchase of two courses will get you a tasting of two or three chocolate desserts. Some restaurants require a reservation and certain restrictions apply. For all the locations, the special is not available on Valentine’s Day. More details can be found on the Chocolate Week website.

The smell of burgers caught the attention of my travel companion and so, we made our way to the Plan B Burger Bar booth. This burger joint currently has several locations across Connecticut, but also future locations in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and Georgetown. At their booth, they were offering their popular Plan B’s Certified Humane Famous Mini Cheese Burgers. These burgers feature 100% certified natural beef that’s ground in house daily from whole chucks, so it’s super fresh.

Here’s two mini cheese burgers sans cheese.

Nearby the sight of oyster shucking drew my attention to Jasper White’s Summer Shack. This New England based seafood shack offers delectables from fresh raw bar, fish, lobster, surf and turf to lobster rolls and burgers. I immediately ordered one piece oyster, one piece shrimp, and one cherry stone clam.

The oyster shucking action was happening right behind the booth.

Lastly, there was the coconut shrimp from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. Five pieces of shrimp, coconut breaded and fried, served with your choice of the orange-horseradish marmalade or cocktail sauce. At first, we choice the orange-horseradish marmalade, but found it to be too sweet for the coconut shrimp. We went back and asked for the cocktail sauce instead, which complemented the fried shrimp much better.

Coconut shrimp with orange-horseradish marmalade, on left, and cocktail sauce, on right.

We arrived at the Convention Center nice and early. After taking a brief stroll through the exhibition hall, we were ready to pick up our wine glasses and begin the tastings. We had a great time sipping on different wines, cleansing our palate with bread and water, and sipping some more. I’m not the most knowledgeable about wines, but I do enjoy the wine experience, especially when thinking about how it pairs with different foods, dishes, and moods. The Grand Tasting event draws a huge crowd, but I was happy that it was not too crowded on Sunday, allowing us to maneuver through the space with ease and sample drinks with little waiting time. Sweet!

There was a Hennessy Ice Luge. Awesome! My Hennessy cranberry cocktail traveled through the ice luge and into a small plastic shot glass. Along with my drink, I also scored a pair of rocking pink shades. Woo!

As we walked around, visiting the booths, and tasting wines and liquors, we made sure to take pictures of the ones that we sampled, along with the ones that we liked. We sampled mostly red wines. Here are some of the ones that caught our attention.

Chile: Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (the under $10 wine), Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Terrunyo Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Concha Y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (pricey bottle but very enjoyable)

Columbia Valley, Washington: Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Merlot 200

France: Chateau Boutisse Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2008, Chateau Lyonnat Lussac Saint Emilion 2008 (definitely requires food, great with a hearty dinner)

California’s North Coast: La Follette Pinot Noir North Coast 2010 (very easy to drink, good for a casual drink)

And then there was Scotch Whiskey – The Glenlivet and their aged single malt whiskeys. The flavor, aroma, texture develops as the whiskey ages and most of the flavor depends on the type of the cask in which it matures in. We tried the 12 year and 15 year aged Classic range whiskeys and the Nadurra 16 year. Out of the three, I definitely liked the 15 the best, on the rocks or with some water. Mm.

Throughout the afternoon, we caught a glimpse of the chef demonstrations on the Main Stage as we walked by.

Aside from all wine tasting, we also grabbed at few bites at the event. Prepared foods were available along the back wall of the exhibit hall. Restaurants offered some of their signature dishes in exchange for food tokens which could be purchased at certain kiosks. There was a nice selection of cuisines, from American to Italian to Asian, and food items included burgers, sushi, seafood, meatballs, and more.

Upstairs there was a whole floor dedicated to beers. We made a through the space, but didn’t really sample much since at that point, we were working on sobering up for our drive home. I’m a huge fan of Red Stripe beer, so I was excited to approach their booth where they were sharing samples of their Red Stripe Light.

We had a great time at the Grand Tasting. We got exposed to so many new wines and spirits, as well as the tasty foods and snacks to enjoy while drinking, from fancy chocolates to savory dips. Thanks Mohegan Sun for the press access. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on the foods we ate and the snacks we sampled at the Grand Tasting. Cheers, for now!

(Photos: Ben Hider)

The cake being transported in the snow.

Buddy Valastro and his Office Depot desk cake

There was a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The Office Depot Foundation presented a $1,000 donation to the Make-a-Wish Foundation (New Jersey Chapter).

The event concluded with an autograph and photo session where attendees got the chance to meet with Buddy Valastro.

Oh, and of course, there was slices of cake for everyone!

The new Office Depot retail store is located at 59 Washington Street in Hoboken, New Jersey and Carlo’s Bakery is located, up the street, at 95 Washington Street.

Gong xi fa cai! Kung hei fat choi! Chuc mung nam moi!
Wishing everyone much prosperity, happiness, good luck, great health, and lots of tasty eats!

Don’t forget to check out the local Chinese New Year events in your area. Today in New York City Chinatown, there’s going to be a Firecracker Ceremony to start off the new year, while the Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival will be held next Sunday.

Have Fun and Happy Eating!

Starting at the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA)… There’s the Lunar New Year 2012: Decoding the Chinese Almanac with Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith, co-authors of the Pocket Chinese Almanac, this Saturday, Jan. 21 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m..

On Sunday, Jan. 22nd from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., MoCA welcomes you and your family to Lunar New Year Festival Family Day where there will be workshops on traditional Chinese dance, calligraphy and language.

MoCA is also hosting walking tours this weekend as well as next Saturday Jan. 28th. The tour takes visitors through Chinatown to experience the traditions and customs observed by Chinese households and businesses in preparation for the New Years. The schedule can be found here.

Then on Monday, Jan. 23, there’s the Firecracker Ceremony from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Roosevelt Park between Grand and Hester Streets. Firecrackers are ignited to bring good fortune and scare away the bad spirits.

On Sunday, Jan. 29th, there’s the 13th Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival. The parade starts at 11:30 a.m. around Canal Street South and weaves through the streets of Chinatown. There will be music, dragon dances, performances, and many decorative floats from local organizations and community groups. The streets will be crowded, but it’ll be great! Oh yeah, firecracker confetti shooters too! Those are always fun!

Where?
The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue at 57th Street, 8th Floor

When?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Session I: 1 PM
Session II: 3 PM

How?
Tickets can be purchased here.
Members:
$25 per family of 3-5 ($5 each additional family member)
$10 for individuals
Non-members:
$30 per family of 3-5 ($5 each additional family member)
$15 for individuals

For more information, visit Korea Society

There’s also going to be contests, such as the Mohegan Sun WineFest Grape Stomp presented by Ciroc Ultra Premium Vodka and Oyster Open presented by Bud Light Lime.

The one-day pass for Sunday, Jan 29th is still available! Tickets are $70. The tasting runs from 12pm to 5pm at the Convention Center.

Another event is Bubbles & Bon Bons on Sunday, January 29th. This event, presented by Perrier-Jouët, brings you champagne and sweet, sweet desserts – featuring Jacque Torres, one of the most highly regarded pastry chefs and chocolatiers in the world. Jacques will be joined by Emily Luchetti, recognized around the world for her award-winning sweet creations and the author of five cookbooks, Daisy Martinez host of Viva Daisy on the Food Network and Executive Pastry Chef Lynn Mansel from Mohegan Sun. Indulge in tasty desserts and while popping champagne, now how great does that sound?

Tickets are $95. This event runs from 6pm to 9pm at the The Cabaret Theatre and concludes the Sun Winefest weekend.

If they both interest you, they have a special package for $135 giving you access to both events on Sunday.

Mohegan Sun is located at 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard in Uncasville, Connecticut. Here’s some information on how to get there and a list of places to stay in the area if you choose to spend the night.

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The people at Mohegan Sun are offering two $25 Mohegan Sun gift cards to one lucky reader! The gift cards can be used for all your shopping, dining and entertainment needs while at Mohegan Sun. They are also accepted at the hotel, the Elemis Spa and Mohegan Sun’s Mobil gas station and convenience store.

To enter the giveaway:

• Simply leave a comment below with your email.

Giveaway ends Friday January 20th at 11:59pm EST and a winner will be randomly selected shortly after!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored giveaway. No other compensation was received for this post. The post was written by LookyTasty and all opinions expressed are solely mine.

The ladies at Miss Tea are super friendly. They offered me a sample of their tea and told me a little bit about what their teas are all about. Miss Tea offers a selection of pure organic, fair-trade, loose leaf teas that are collected from all around the world. Their teas are healthy and delicious. They have all sorts of teas, including black teas, green teas, white teas, as well as a nice selection of herbal teas.

They pretty much have something for everyone and every need. They’ll also be happy to suggest and recommend teas depending on whether you’re looking for an energy boost to help you get through the work day, or you’re looking for a relaxing after dinner kind of tea.

A few of their popular specialty herbal infusions include: Serenitea, which features passionflower and lavender, and is described as “a gentle and calming organic infusion, great before bedtime or after a long busy day. Wonderful for quiet moments and for relaxing the mind.” There’s also Prosperitea, with gingko and calendula, “a spirited uplifting infusion, that is calming the mind and may aid in promoting overall long-lasting health.” There’s Vitalitea, with lemon and green rooibis, which is a refreshing all year round kind of tea.

Once you’ve selected your tea of choice, you can pick them up in a small glass jar, a large glass jar, or a resealable bag. They also sells tea brewing supplies and accessories.

I came home with a small jar of Prosperitea, that has ginkgo which is good for the mind, and a small jar of White Goji Blossoms Tea, a light and aromatic tea with raw goji berries and flower blossoms. That ceramic honey pot was very tempting though.