Great to be Open Late

The 2009 New York City Wine & Food Festival has begun. The eating extravaganza kicked things off last night with events such as an Alain Ducasse dinner at the James Beard House, Thrillist's Bacon and the Blues party at the Standard Hotel and Chelsea Market After Dark. For the latter, the gourmet food showplace was transformed into party central, with the always rocking Guy Fieri and the glamorous Sandra Lee each presiding over nightclub-worthy event spaces within the mecca of the NYC foodie world. Fieri's "suite" was fit for a bachelor party, complete with food-themed video games, tattooing and shots. Meanwhile, the rest of the market was transformed into a grand-tasting space, with purveyors from Eleni's to Chelsea Wine Vault throwing open their doors to happy guests eager to sample anything and everything.

Filled with energy (and ensuring that no reveler went home hungry or thirsty), Chelsea Market After Dark was a dynamic and delicious start to what promises to be a truly fantastic food weekend.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, at the Standard Hotel, Thrillist hosted the Bacon and the Blues party, where worries about cholesterol were checked at the door. The night was attended by chefs like The Mott's Brian Murphy (left), among others. For more pics from that party, including pork sliders from Gansevoort 69, click here.

Next up: tonight's big Burger Bash by the Brooklyn Bridge. (Say that ten times fast.)

Recipe for Special Occasion

Take a talented cookbook author, a food-festival impressario, a pair of highly regarded Food Network stars and a country western band, gather them together in a Texas barbecue restaurant in Manhattan and what have you got? A recipe for a truly special occasion. Which is all the more ironic, because the reason for the alignment of these winning ingredients was the launch of a cookbook subtitled Recipes for Everyday Occasions.

Thrown by New York Wine & Food Festival organizer extraordiniare Lee Schrager, the party honored his good friend Katie Lee, whose book is the latest in her Comfort Table series. In addition to Food Network stars Giada De Laurentiis and Guy Fieri, a passel of journalists, friends and publicists popped in to the Flatiron district resto Hill Country to congratulate the always-gracious Lee and to sample recipes from her book, including such feel-good foods as sliders, macaroni and cheese and super-chocolatey brownies. Suffice it to say, there were many happy faces in the room, helped no doubt by the copious and yes, comforting cuisine.

For more pics of the party, click here.

Paula Deen's Lucky Night

How can you not love Paula Deen? One look at her and you might just guess she is the happiest darn woman in America. But then you'd be happy, too, if you had a successful magazine and TV show. And happier, still, preparing and eating all of that rich Southern food for which she is famous. Hopping on-stage at the historic Art Deco Paris Theatre in South Beach tonight, Deen presided over a casino soiree where everyone in the room—regardless of whether they won anything—felt like a winner.

Also along for the fun and games were fellow food celebs Guy Fieri and Katie Lee Joel. In keeping with the casino theme, a bevy of showgirls kept things lively.

For more photos, click here.