Choice Eats 2011

The March 29 gastronomical extravaganza featured cuisine from more than 90 restaurants, including Peruvian, Greek, Portuguese, Thai, Mexican, Australian and French dishes. Try to recreate some of the tasty treats seen here for your next dinner party or while watching the big game -- and make room for company. Left: A chef from Mercandito doles out bite-size spicy shrimp and avocado tacos.

A colorful take on "corned" beef brisket, sauerkraut and "My Friend Mustard" cream by Jimmy's No. 43 was a hit with the deli-centric New York crowd.

A collection of bread, cheese, honey and other toppings from Brooklyn's SCRATCHbread.

Chefs from Del Posto drew the longest lines of the night with their intricately-crafted chocolate and vanilla ice cream eggplant creation. 

A delectable shrimp roll topped with paprika, greens and a touch of mayonnaise from Red Hook Lobster Pound in Brooklyn, where the $15 lobster roll (served Maine or Connecticut style) is the top draw.

Chefs from Manhattan's Mexico Lindo offer authentic tamales topped with chocolate sauce.

The event -- held at the 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue -- was quickly flooded by eager eaters in search of new tastes.

In addition to food trucks and a special dessert section called Choice Sweets, the event featured dozens of beer and wine vendors offering their standard concoctions or special, limited-time-only brews.

Five succulent spreads from Kashkaval, a cheese shop that doubles as wine bar in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen. From top: olive tapenade, tzatziki, beet tapenade, red pepper walnut and baba ghanoush.

Baohaus, an authentic Taiwanese restaurant in Manhattan's Lower East Side, featured Smash Bang chicken, its take on General Tso's chicken -- a spicy mix of chili peppers, legumes and celery.

Chefs from Cascabel Taqueria prepare tacos featuring long-braised meats like homemade chorizo and tiny fried-dough pastry snacks.

Dirt Candy, a vegetarian restaurant in the East Village, had a meatless wonder on its hands with fried cauliflower with buttermilk waffles and wild arugula.

Slices of prime Wagyu-Angus hybrid beef from Takashi with lightly-dressed greens satisfied even the toughest meat critics.