NEW YORK -- "Do you have a plan for the show?" my friend asked as we ate breakfast. My breakfast was girly light. The nibbles I'd face at the 54th Annual Fancy Food Show in New York City, held June 29 to July 1, are prodigious. You can't eat just one.

I had no plan. I start at the first booth offering something yummy and keep on rolling. I visit old friends; check to see what's new.

I began my "travels" in Greece. I paused to stare at the enormous space, 2,400 exhibitors. I thanked my shoes for being comfortable.

The aroma and sizzle of grilled hallumi cheese was the first edible encountered. A sheep's milk cheese, it's tough enough to fry. Delicious but I wasn't in the mood. Instead I accepted an overly sweet cup of mango nectar, then looked for somewhere to toss it.

Around the corner was Salem Baking Co. They're famous for wafer-thin Moravian cookies now in a host of flavors, including sugar, spice and chocolate-dipped. For fall, check out cute maple leaf, apple and pumpkin-shaped cookies. I tried their shortbread cookies. Yum! Key lime. Now I needed coffee.

A stop for Point Reyes blue cheese, a personal favorite, was next. They've got a new cheese coming out, but wouldn't divulge.

Still into cheese, I visit Paula Lambert, a Texas cheesemaker producing mozzarella and goat cheeses. New is fresh goat cheese wrapped in hoja santa leaves, adding a minty note. The Mozzarella Co. sells online at mozzco.com.

After cheese, chocolate. Miles of it. Bits and bites and nibbles. I especially love a dark chocolate spiked with bits of chiles.

Next I sampled Maya Kaimal's fresh fig chutney, mild and delicious.

Michael Leviseur is head smoker at The Organic Smoke House in Wales. He and his two brothers offer nibbles of organic smoked salmon. I linger to taste smoked olive oil, smoked butter (delicious, really), and admire big flakes of smoked salt, curiously sweet-smelling. That's because it luxuriates in a gentle oak-smoke haze for 18 hours. These guys will smoke anything! Cheese, sugar, milk, chicken. Their products are created for top U.K. chefs. As yet, there's no U.S. distributor.

Thirsty, I sipped Ayala's herbal water. I enjoyed the lemongrass mint vanilla. Sweet, but not sweetened and very refreshing. It's sold in Philadelphia; maybe it will make it across the state.

But my favorite thirst-quencher was Pietra, a hand-crafted amber beer from Corsica brewed with chestnuts. I also enjoyed limoncello and a glass (OK, two) of Dives, a lovely Italian red, from Lazio. Winemaker Marcella Giuliani offered panpepato, a peppery, nutty cake as a complement.

As always, there was a huge Italian presence. I munched porchetta (Italian-style roast pig), tasted Tuscan honey, creamy burrata cheese and smoked mozzarella. From the singing butcher of Chianti, I tried mostarda, a grilled pepper jelly.

Academia Barilla and Giada De Laurentiis (she wasn't there) introduced a gourmet line, including Sicilian sea salt with lemon zest that smelled great.

I snagged a slice of hand-carved prosciutto and some scrambled eggs with Urbani truffles. Time for an espresso and something sweet.

Robert Schueller from Melissa's Produce rescued me from sugar-overload. Black velvet apricot juice dripped as I devoured the fruit. Its season lasts just three weeks. New from Melissa's is the exotic mangosteen, a hard-shelled fruit with white sections inside. Tasted like a lychee.

If the show had a theme, I'd say healthy, functional, organic.

"Who needs an organic lollipop?" I asked the guys at Yummy Earth. Open mouth, insert Organic Pomegranate Pucker Lollipop. I wish I had one now.

From Elverson, Pa., near Philadelphia, comes Zukay Live Foods. A family company, they produce salsa, ketchup, and relish with an unusual twist. They ferment probiotics (the good stuff like in yogurt) into your burger topping.

I might not have taken a second look if they weren't in the Pennsylvania section. A taste of their super-fresh, crunchy garlic dill relish made me glad I'd stopped. It would be great on cheese sandwiches or grilled hot dogs. Zukay's ketchup won a Sofi Silver award for Outstanding New Product of 2008. Zukay products are sold at Whole Foods and the East End Food Co-op.

The most earnest new product is Tanka Bar, an all-natural buffalo-cranberry energy bar that's low-fat and low-cal. Tanka Bar was developed by the Oglala Lakota Tribe at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It's a reservation-owned business, employing others on the reservation. Five percent of proceeds are pumped into Lakotafund.org a micro-lender helping to spark other grassroots businesses. Tastes good, too (TankaBar.com).

Two days of this made my feet and taste buds weary. The strangest product was Frank's Sauerkraut Singles. But Frank had a point. If you love sauerkraut and don't want to open a big bag, this single-serving pouch is right.

Strangest sight? Watching the heads of the presidential candidates being sculpted in hummus.