Mutton Anyone?

Last month I attended the third annual NYC Food Film Festival. A fest of films and foods and free-ness--who could resist? The free-ness, of course, was only for those who do not like to drink beverages. The folks at the door checked my bag to make sure I was not sneaking in a water bottle. Dang, right? I indulged in a $6 Peroni (an Italian Lager), which was the only beer available (Peroni was one of the main sponsors of the event). Fortunately, it was pretty good.

There were seven short films that night, including: The Food Hypnotist, The Sacred Food, Food Cops, Thanksgiving, Mutton, The Sandwich Thief, and New Jersey's Red October. The shorter shorts were editorial or fiction films, such as Food Cops. This live-action short starred a guy in a hot dog costume and a guy in a hamburger costume as food detectives seeking out a food waster who left a smashed taco on the sidewalk. Hilarity ensued. Or whatever. The best part of this film was probably when the hot dog detective was pouring olive oil into a whiskey glass and drinking it because he was stressed out about the case.

The documentaries--The Sacred Food, Mutton, and New Jersey's Red October--were the ones that came with samples. Immediately available on arrival at Water Taxi Beach, L.I.C. was barbecued mutton. Unlabled, but free, I ate it without knowing what it was. It looked like pulled pork, but it was definitely tougher. After chomping down on a huge piece of fat, I pretty much gave up on the mutton. It was served with corn bread, which is always good, and cole slaw, which is always bad. Here was a case where the film was better than the sample. Mutton, as it turns out, is meat from a sheep that is over a year old. If the sheep is less than a year old it's lamb. What I wonder is what you call the meat if the sheep is slaughtered at the very moment it turns one. sheep?

The second free sample came with The Sacred Food, a documentary about the Native American tradition of harvesting wild rice in Minnesota. This film is apparently available on Youtube if you're interested. I could smell the wild rice as I was watching it being cooked on the screen. I don't know whether this enhanced my experience or just distracted me from the film, but it certainly made me hungry and raised my expectations. Unfortunately, the wild rice was cooked in chicken broth and simply took on a salty, chickeny flavor. It did make me want some good wild rice though. Anyone have any good recipes?

New Jersey's Red October was a documentary about New Jersey (represent!) cranberry farmers. It was everything you ever wanted to know. Ask me about cranberries. Go ahead. Right now. Maybe it just made me nostalgic for home or proud to be from NJ (though I'm definitely no piney), but I really liked this one. AND we got little 100 calorie pouches of Craisins, which really hit the spot after that salty chicken flavored wild rice.

In conclusion, that night's installment of the New York Food Film Festival was more about short films than it was about delicious food. Though I did have some awesome french fries at Water Taxi Beach.