JFG Nation, before we get into more of my meat & cheese exploration of the Summer Fancy Food Show, this is important: EPISODE 84 OF THE NOSH SHOW IS HERE!

For you new arrivals, The Nosh Show is a podcast started by Marvo from The Impulsive Buy, featuring Ryan from GrubGrade, Dubba from On Second Scoop, and, of course, me, your friendly neighborhood JFG. And today marks the release of The Nosh Show, Episode 84: Airport Salad!

This week: “Two new s’mores Girl Scout Cookies we have to wait months for, butterscotch M&M’s, more craft sodas from Pepsi, Domino’s salads, and much more.” You can listen embedded here:

You can subscribe to The Nosh Show using various services: iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, RSS.

Ok? Back to the Summer Fancy Food Show 2016!!

Like I mentioned yesterday, everywhere I turned at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2016, there was someone slicing meat. I have learned not to judge meat just by appearance – as much as the above pick looks like a raw cadaver leg, this ultra fine Iberico ham shoulder from Cinco Jotas will run you about 275 euro…. Or about $311. Each slice I ate off of it tasted like a delicious five dollars down my throat.

Some vendors at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2016 had interesting ways of displaying their wares – above you see slices of Iberico manchego-style cheese hung like a scene from Silence of the Lambs. How…appetizing?

This beauty came from Wagshals, a butcher/delicatessen from right here in DC. Amazing corned beef on top of mustard basted bread. I remember telling the vendor that I loved Wagshals but thought they’re sandwiches were too expensive (they really weren’t any more expensive than any other place, but I was a broke law student). But after having a couple of these corned beef bites, I was willing to empty my savings account for more. SO. JUICY.

For the JFGal and my friend Jen, the Summer Fancy Food Show is basically their time to stuff themselves with as much burrata (essentially mozzarella and cream). And when it’s presented with the message above, how could anyone say no? Also, World Cheese Award Winner? That’s a thing?

A couple of my favorite companies from the Summer Fancy Food Show each year: first, Southern Culture Artisan Foods. – year after year they serve amazing chicken and waffles and the best damn candied bacon I’ve ever had. Their pancakes? Absurd. Waffle mix? Ridiculous. Just good flavors, man. I highly endorse this company even though I have received no endorsement payola. I mean, they have Meyer Lemon Blueberry pancake mix. How can I not be a fan?

Second: Hancock Gourmet Lobster Company. Dude, for lobster that goes from a frozen meal box to a plate, this stuff is AMAZING. Lobster Mac and cheese. Lobster flatbreads. LOBSTER GRILLED CHEESE. I could eat this stuff all day every day and cry tiny tears of joy. Every year the people at Hancock remember us and tell “Eat! Enjoy! Eat eat!” We have no shame. We clean them out. It’s like coming home to loving parents…who only know how to cook lobster.

I think the most revelatory was this above-pictures thick cut bacon from Neuske’s. You could smell this amazing bacon cooking from rows away and when I got up close, this delicious pile of meat was waiting for me. My friend’s Rob and Nicole told me that apparently Neuske’s is well known in NYC, and that Potbelly’s Sandwich Company has stated to use Neuske’s bacon (apparently after years of complaints about how poor their prior bacon was.) This stuff was GOOD.

Finally, on the very last day before the Summer Fancy Food Show 2016 ended, Jen and I scoured the show floor for some more slices of Iberico ham. We found this amazing slice from Fermin. Fermin Iberico wins awards for their ham each year. Remember how the Cinco Jotas Iberico leg went for around $311? A full Fermin leg, 16 pounder, goes for about $450. Yeeeeeg.

In meat and cheese alone, it’s possible to eat over $200 in fine food bites over the course of three days. It’s the most expensive my stomach ever feels outside of a restaurant.

Tomorrow: another SFFS food group! Maybe…booze?

Sincerely,

The JFG