Seen and Sampled at the 2025 Sun Wine & Food Fest
The Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT, held its 21th Sun Wine & Food Fest from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25, 2025. The Grand Tasting included more than 1,000 varieties of wine, beer and spirits, along with several celebrity chef demonstrations.
Some of the new products we discovered or tasted include Shanky’s Whip Irish Liqueur, which was kind of like Baileys without the cream; Crafty Radler beer with grapefruit and tangerine; Sausage Tree Irish vodka, Aupale vodka from Canada, Natura wines from Chile, and Seir Hill non-alcoholic spirits.
Gush, a brand of Korean pear juice that promises no hangover if you consume it before drinking, was handing out samples. Bushmill’s booth was a fun Irish pub, while the Campari/Aperol stand was awash in roses. Don Julio’s mixed up a Passion Fruit Margarita that was a winner, and a surprising favorite drink was a frozen Jack Daniel’s and Coke.
Celebrity Chef Dine Around
More than 20 celebrity chefs showcased their signature dishes and creative expertise paired with a wine, beer or spirit. For example, Mark Murphy created a signature spice blend surf and turf, roasted salmon Israeli couscous and tabouli salad paired with Ferrari Carano fumé blank. Scott Conant offered a polenta “cremosa” porcini and sausage ragu paired with Vite Colte Langhe nebbiolo.
Jason Santos served up Viet-cajun style crispy shrimp with herbs, chili-pecan crisp, and coconut yogurt, paired with J Vineyards Russian River Valley pinot gris or Down East Mohegan Sun Liquid Luck cider. Esther Choi paired her gochujang baby back ribs and a cucumber radish mash with Sea Sun pinot noir.
One of our favorites came from Govind Armstrong, owner of Post & Beam, and Ben Ford, owner of Ford’s Filling Station (both in Los Angeles). The chefs collaborated on grilled swordfish with golden chimchurri and almond crema, paired with Lingua Franca Anvi chardonnay.
Behind the scenes at Beauty & Essex
One of the highlights of the event for us was Cocktails & Chandeliers: A Sneak Peek Inside Beauty & Essex, the unique bar and restaurant from Chef Chris Santos. Mohegan Sun will officially open Beauty & Essex in collaboration with Tao Group Hospitality on Feb. 7.
Like the other two locations, the Beauty & Essex in Mohegan Sun is a pawnshop up front selling vintage jewelry, custom musical instruments and other art pieces. We overhead a woman at one of the jewelry cases say that she had made a sale at the preview party.
The new Beauty & Essex at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT.
Inside the 11,000-sq.-ft. restaurant, the massive chandeliers and upholstered walls create a sophisticated and indulgent ambiance The spaces, which include the Pearl Lounge and Bar, the Peacock Dining Room and the Locket Private Dining Room (separated by a screen wall of antique frames), were inspired by the delicate yet glamorous details of jewelry, the company says.
Cocktails included the Beauty Elixir ($17), with Bombay gin, La Marca sparkling rosé, cucumber and strawberry, and the O.D.B “Old Dirty Bramble” ($23), with Casamigos reposado tequila, smoked blackberries, honey, ginger and lemon. Samples of the food menu included cheese, smoked bacon and tomato soup dumpling, and oven braised chicken meatballs with whipped ricotta, wild mushroom and truffle.
Chef Santos, a Chopped guest judge, was one of the pioneers of the small, shared plates dining trend. He opened the original Beauty & Essex in New York in late 2010 and a second location in 2017 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
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