This past weekend was blessed by one of the warmest weather Octobers in recent memory. Fortunately temperatures remained relatively high and the rains held off during the Food Network New York City Wine and Food Festival, which held dozens of different food experiences all weekend long for thousands of hungry guests. Friday evening’s climate only furthered the anticipation for the outdoor neighborhood crawl entitled “Meatpacking Uncorked.” Presented by Cupcake Vineyards, the event would combine the ultimate mix of local food and tasty wines and provide attendees an excuse to stroll around the Meatpacking District.

The event, with tickets coming exclusively through LivingSocial.com, generated a frenzy of interest from locals and quickly sold out, leading to a line of hundreds waiting to check in for the neighborhood crawl. Each guest was then handed an event map which outlined the shops and restaurants participating with samples and sent off on their way. Into Chelsea Market we began, joining dozens of other like-minded eaters, seeking out some pours of wine to begin their weekend in style.

“Meatpacking Uncorked” became a scavenger hunt of sorts because as the sun dimmed, it became difficult to track your location on the map. But we managed to spot out others holding their orange map and followed their lead instead. With more than thirty stops along the way for wine and over twenty food offerings, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who nearby was serving. That said, patience was more than a virtue here, as each food stop along the way had a line of people sometimes a half block in length and made the waits to taste any of the fare a bit frustrating. Instead, we trekked around to each of the wine stations, in and out of some truly odd places.

We began in women’s clothing store Anthropologie of all places, for pours of “Cupcake Red Velvet” as shoppers around us checked out blouses and pants in wonderment of the lineup of men nearby. Other stops like Scoop NYC, Elizabeth Charles, Kiehl’s Meatpacking, Joie and Ernest Sewn were all pivotal stops along our route. Although some of the stores had repeat wines, there never seemed to be much of a wait and that was just fine by us. Among our favorite wines were the “Cupcake Prosecco” at Diane Von Furstenberg, the “Big House Red” at Levi’s Meatpacking, and the “Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc,” a crisp and buttery white at Tracy Reese.

Unfortunately the prevailing wait times for food managed to take up a chunk of our allotted three hours, leaving us with scant time to taste much of the fare. Early on, we managed to secure a “Mini Chicken Slider” courtesy of The Diner, served on a soft potato roll and Korilla BBQ‘s “Porkinator Taco,” packed in with fiery kimchi. We also went wild for the “Apple Cider Donut” from the Carpe Donut NYC truck, which was sugary and perfectly spiced for fall. Although there was a great deal being offered, many guests seemed equally as frustrated by the lengthy waits for food, which marred an otherwise fun event. But it seemed impossible to be able to taste everything that you would have wanted to from all of the outstanding participating food purveyors, which despite our noticeable buzz from the wine, was disappointing to our still hungry stomachs.