Fashion Editor Reveals Food at New York Fashion Week

This is not the first time writer Carrie Goldberg has spent fashion week running between shows, she's been in the biz for nearly 5 years and has the caffeine addiction to prove it. But this season Ms. Goldberg returns to the tents a fashion lioness, as the new fashion editor of jewcy.com and the assistant stylist to one of America's most well-dressed morning show starlets.

I coaxed Ms. Goldberg away from Lincoln Center with the best margaritas on the Upper East Side to get the inside-scoop on what's really eaten behind stage, the worst bevereage faux pas to make in the tents and how food fits into her Fashion Week agenda.

The margaritas at MXco (1491 2nd Ave) are a mixture of tequila, freshly squeezed lime juices and homemade fruit purees.

Walk us through a day of eating at Fashion Week:

6:00 am- Wake up, get dressed and grab a 4-shot skim latte from Starbucks. I'd rather get my coffee in NOLITA at this new place Gimme! but I go to the Starbucks across from ABC Studios near Lincoln Center just for convenience.

7:30 am- I'm backstage. I won't drink coffee anywhere near the garments but I'll grab water. A lot beverage companies sponsor the shows, so there is usually plenty of Fiji water bottles around.

11:30 am- Today I grabbed an early lunch. My boss and I were pulling pieces at Barney's, so we went upstairs to Fred for lunch. We shared the grilled shrimp over quinoa appetizer. The portion was surprisingly big but it was perfect. During Fashion Week you want to feel good in the clothes you’re wearing, so it’s important to have small high-protein meals.

5:00 pm- I met a friend for some ceviche at Rosa Mexicano post Chris Benz. I attended his presentation in the afternoon. It was nice to see that his collection was so sophisticated. I loved the shoes.

What are your essential food and/or beverage items for staying energized through the day?

Just coffee really. I don’t pack snacks in my bag. Actually, my grandmother asked if I wanted to bring a tuna fish sandwich with me today. She bought way too much tuna salad from Sables. It’s my favorite so it was tempting, but can you imagine me at Fashion Week with a tuna fish sandwich in my bag?

What about behind the scenes, what kind of food do you find backstage, if any?

Water, coffee and champagne! There are usually tables with pastries as well but it’s mostly beverages. A lot of times the models bring in their own food. You’ll see them eating fruit or eggs before they get dressed.

Have you been surprised by anything you've seen a model eating this year?

Actually, I was backstage the other day when a show manager told a model to go get dressed and the model said, “hold on I have to finish my breakfast.” I was really surprised to hear that, but it was great.

Which restaurants are editors, designers and models going to around the tents? The move to the Upper West Side gives them so many more options!

If you follow a lot of the designers or models on Twitter there are always updates on where they’re eating. Some of them don’t live in New York and this is their only time to try out the New York restaurant scene. A lot of them still go all the way down to the Meat Packing District to get a burger at Pastis. And right around Lincoln center you have Bar Boulud, Nougatine, Rosa Mexicano, there’s just so much.

What is the number one food faux pas you've seen people bringing into the shows this year?

Frappuccinos. You should only be bringing the necessities to Fashion Week. Coffee is definitely a necessity, especially for a lot of the editors since it’s all about work. You drink coffee at work, you drink coffee at a show–it makes sense. It’s odd if a frappuccino is you’re morning coffee beverage. I like to think of each fashion show or presentation as a museum; each piece is a work of art. You might bring a coffee into a museum but you wouldn’t walk around sipping a coffee milkshake. I know I certainly wouldn’t.

Speaking of sweets, I brought a Crumbs' Fashion Week Cupcake for you to try. Taste it and tell me what you think?

Wow, it’s so sweet! It’s just plain vanilla frosting, plain vanilla cake and what is that? Chocolate pudding. It’s too sweet. Yours are better.

Do you think this properly represent NY Fashion Week?

Maybe because it’s cheap to make in mass quantities? I could see it being served at a middle-school “fashion” birthday party. But it’s not special enough for NY Fashion Week.

I couldn't agree more. So describe your ideal FW cupcake:

Not to sound clique but I think a Fashion Week cupcake should use the best ingredients you can buy like saffron or dark chocolate. It should be something rich and creative, definitely not this