Foodievents

Scalpers Target the New York City Wine & Food Festival

The Burger Bash is sold out, but tickets are available on Craigslist.
The Burger Bash is sold out, but tickets are available on Craigslist. Photo: Courtesy of Dan Klores Communications

Many events for the New York City Wine & Food Festival this weekend are sold out, but Stub Hub scalpers are banking on Food Network fans to pay double and triple the face value of tickets to get close to their favorite TV stars. Tickets for Rachael Ray’s culinary demo at Whole Foods are going for up to $172 from a $35 face value. A night at Chelsea Market After Dark with Guy Fieri and Sandra Lee goes for $334, more than three times the original cost. And Meatball Madness is marked up to $334 from $200 bucks. Surprisingly, there are more deals (if they’re legit) on Craigslist, where a handful of sellers want asking price or lower. If you don’t want to deal with second-hand sales, there are still tickets available for our man Ming Tsai’s Dim Sum & Disco Brunch Sunday, and Saturday’s grand tasting has space during the early shift from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you’re not around this weekend, a Craigslister has an extra $65 ticket to meet “Hot Doug” Sohn tonight at an Astor Center event with Chicago’s most famous hot-dog place.

Scalpers Target the New York City Wine & Food Festival