Food and Things » Events

Upper West Side: Henry’s Signs Up to Support School Gardens

Laura Weiss — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:09:59 +0000

Henry’s, an Upper West Side American-style pub, is one of twenty restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn to sign up for a program to give back a portion of each guest’s check to a citywide school garden program.

The program, which takes place June 24-30, is to support the efforts of Grow to Learn NYC, a government-private partnership to spur the creation of school gardens citywide. Some of the city’s top restaurants are participating, including Gramercy Tavern, Ma Peche, Northern Spy Food Co. and Back Forty. Many will be offering a special Greenmarket menu for the week.

Details follow:

School gardens get a boost in a week-long restaurant promotion.

Henry’s
2745 Broadway @ 105th Street.
NY, NY 10025
212 866 o600

Upper West Side Butcher Competes in Whole Foods Meat Meet

Laura Weiss — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 13:40:22 +0000

Butcher from Bilgit, Hunza, Pakistan. By Jobopa via Flickr.

Butchers and butchering are big. No big surprise then that Whole Foods, the organically-leaning supermarket chain, is trying to hop onto the trend. On June 22nd, you can cheer on Upper West Side butcher Orlando Vega (he wields his cleaver at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods) who will meet three other Whole Foods butchers in a face-off to determine who is the best knife man in the store’s northeast region.

Famed meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda and food writer Josh Ozersky will sit on the panel of judges.

You’ll have to take the train to the Bowery store, but there should be some Upper West Side pride here. The only butcher to be selected for the meat meet who hails from Manhattan is an Upper West Side-based meat carver. Perhaps that’s appropriate. After all, we Upper West Siders love our grocery stores.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Whole Foods Market’s Best Butcher Competition brings together what the chain claims are Whole Food’s top butchers in the Northeast. Contestants will be graded on items like presentation and efficiency. Other categories include workmanship, visual appeal, cleanliness, knife-handling skills, and trim specification.

WHO: Whole Foods Market northeast region butchers tasked with cutting up their meat in less than three minutes. Butchers include: Orlando Vega(WFM Columbus Circle), Jim Crookston (WFM White Plains), Chris Durko (WFM Madison, New Jersey) and Sal Cacicia (WFM Lake Grove Commons)

JUDGES: On the panel are Pat LaFrieda, along wit food writer Josh Ozersky as well as a Whole Foods official.

WHEN: JUNE 22^ND, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

WHERE: Whole Foods Market Bowery, 95 East Houston St.

Gin in June: Modern drinks and Vintage Ones Too at This Brooklyn Event

Laura Weiss — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Gin and Tonic. Photo by by massdistraction via flicr.

Nothing says summer more than gin and tonic, so this June 10 gin-and-a dose-of-history event at The Old Stone House in Brooklyn, is well-timed. You can hop on the 2/3 train which stops near the Old Stone House, then have yourself some summer drinks and learn a little gin history, too.

They’ll serve old time gin drinks as well as modern ones. Apparently, gin has a strong connection to NY drinking history. The early Dutch settlers, it is said, were fond of gin. To give the event that old time feeling, historian Sarah Lohman, author of the food blog www.fourpoundsflour.com, will present a flight of traditional gin cocktails.

Here are the details:

What: Gin in June! Classic Cocktails & the History of Gin – a fundraiser to support the Old Stone House of Brooklyn.

When: Friday, June 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm

What’s to drink: Sarah Lohman, author of the food blog www.fourpoundsflour.com, will present a flight of traditional gin cocktails. Sample four gins, including two historic gins and two contemporary gins, from traditional Dutch Genever to locally distilled Breuckelen Gin. Lohman will discuss the history of each liquor and mix it into a cocktail from the past.

Where: 336 Third Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn. During the playground renovation, enter the park mid-block on Third Street and access the House through the door facing 4th Avenue.

How much: Tickets: $45 in advance, $50 at the door. Purchase at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/177776.

An All Ice Cream Dinner June 6 in New York

Laura Weiss — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:51:33 +0000

Ice Cream Cones. Photo: Roger Smith Hotel

NEW UPDATE: The New York Times, June 1, 2011:

Five-Course Dessert

Ice cream from soup to nuts will be featured at a five-course dinner on Monday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Roger Smith Hotel…. Click here to read more.

UPDATE: Carolina M Capehart of Historic Cookery will be making ice cream the old fashioned way at the dinner. Samples will be available for tasting!

If you’re food fantasy is an all ice cream dinner, then this event may be for you. Yours truly, an Upper West Side author, will also be speaking about ice cream around the world. Here are the details and the menu:

Ice Cream: Edible Conversations at the Roger Smith Hotel

Where: 501 Lexington Avenue, New York; 212 838 0844

When: June 6th, 2011 6-8:30pm

What: From Tallahassee to Tokyo: The Scoop on Ice Cream’s Global Allure

Speaker: Laura Weiss, Upper West Side author.

How much? Tickets: $45 for an ice cream based dinner and talk. Reserve a seat: icecreamglobal.eventbrite.com

Almost All Ice Cream Dinner Menu (tentative)

Snacks

Marinated Olives

House roasted nuts

Canapes

Guinness float

Smoked salmon tartar on crostini with horseradish ice cream and chives

First Course

Chilled Green Pea Soup with Yogurt Ice Cream

Second Course

Beet Carpaccio with Goat Cheese Ice Cream

Third Course

Seafood ceviche with Cilantro lime sorbet

Fourth Course

Venison loin, fingerling potatoes, grilled asparagus, lingonberry demi glaze ice cream

Fifth Course

Dark Chocolate gelato with sea salt, caramel, broken pretzels

Daniel B. Mowles

Executive Chef

Roger Smith Hotel

Joan Nathan talks about French Jewish Cooking Nov. 11

Laura Weiss — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 21:20:22 +0000

It’s not that long until Hanukkah. Are you trying to think of something to cook instead of those same old latkes? Maybe some inspiration from Joan Nathan, the high priestess (or high maven) of Jewish cooking in America, is in order.

Quiches Kugels and Couscous, by Joan Nathan.

Come hear Nathan talk about the Jewish cooking of France Nov. 11. She will share recipes and stories, and at a reception afterwards, you can sample some of the dishes from the book, titled Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France

What: Talk, book signing and recepetion featuring dishes from the book.

When: Thursday, November 11,

Where: Congregation Rodeph Sholom

7 West 83rd Street (between Central Park West and Columbus)

Time: 6:30 pm Check-in and reception | 7:00 pm Lecture

$25 Culinary Historians of NY/Congregation Rodeph Sholom Members | Fee: $40 Non-Members and Guests |22 CHNY Senior & Student Members

For further information and to buy tickets securely online:

If you want to pay at the door, email Events.

Photo ID is required for entry into the event.

Learn About Immigrant Foodways at Ellis Island Event

Laura Weiss — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:34:29 +0000

Ellis Island Great Hall: NY Public Library.

It goes without saying that immigrants have contributed mightily to America’s melting pot of culinary traditions. Take my Grandma Binnie. Her matzoh balls will surely go down in culinary history as the closest food equivalent to cannonballs. To celebrate America’s immigrant heritage, you can dine in the Great Hall at Ellis Island Nov. 4 with culinary luminaries like cookbook author Molly O’Neill and New Yorker food writer Calvin Trillin.

The event will include:

A sneak asting of dishes featured in cookbook author Molly O’Neill’s new book (due out in late November) entitled: One Big Table, A Portrait of American Cooking.

The menu will feature : Behroush Sharifi’s Saffron King’s Persian Kebabs, New York, New York; Peter Nguyen’s Vietnamese Shrimp, Biloxi, Mississippi; Norma Naranjo’s Cheese and Chile Tamales, OhkayOwingeh, New Mexico; Dan Huntley’s Pulled Port and Red Slaw Sliders, York, South Carolina; and more.

Food for Thought Panel discussion with Molly and friends Calvin Trillin of New Yorker Magazine, the Food Network’s newest star Aarti Sequeira and others.

An advance copy of Molly’s 900 page cookbook – One Big Table – before it hits the bookstores

Free transportation to and from Ellis Island

Price: $130/ticket.

For more information you can visit: The National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy.

All About Cheddar Cheese at Jimmy’s No. 43 Feb. 3

Laura Weiss — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:18:30 +0000

Some people travel the globe in search of love. Others search for adventure. But Diana Pittet looked far and wide for cheddar cheese.

Eat, Pray, Love for cheese lovers?

Cheddar Cheese. Photo by by ulterior epicure via flickr.

Find out why Pittet embarked on a 10-month global search for the rich, savory cheddar–and what she learned along the way at this Feb. 3 event at Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village.

And come enjoy a taste of the farmstead British cheddars that Diana helped make during her travels. There will also be cider and cask ales from England, the traditional way to savor a hunk of cheddar.

When: Wednesday, February 3, at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Jimmy’s No. 43, 43 East 7th Street, East Village, NYC

How much: $25

RSVP: Call 212.982.3006 or e-mail jimmypotsandpans@gmail.com

Women in Cheese at the Astor Center Jan. 6

Laura Weiss — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:00:32 +0000

Ladies, are you hankering to become a cheesemonger? Or maybe a cheesemistress?

Cheese. Photo: Chiot's Run via Flickr.

Then come down to the Astor Center to hear about the world of cheese retailing from a group of New York’s best women cheese mavens.

Here are the details from Slow Food about the event at the Astor Center in the East Village:

Join Slow Food NYC Jan 6th for an evening filled with local women in cheese. On hand will be local cheese purveyor Anne Saxelby, of Saxelby Cheesemongers, leading a discussion with Karen Weinberg of Three Corner Field Farm, Betsy Devine and Rachel Mark of Salvatore Bklyn, Angela Miller of Consider Bardwell Farm, and Lisa Schwartz of Rainbeau Ridge.

Hear the story behind the cheese and how this diverse group of women got into the business. They will discuss the cheese making process from the pastures to the shelves and what makes each of their cheeses so wonderful and unique. And of course each participant will also bring plenty of cheese to try, paired with local New York State cider.

Proceeds from this event will help support the activities and programs of Slow Food NYC.

Location: Astor Center – 399 Lafayette St. (at East 4th St.); Manhattan [Web Site]

Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Tickets:
Slow Food Members: $25 – use promotional code SFNYCMEM
Non-members: $35 – use promotional code SFNYCNON

Tickets Available ONLY on-line at
www.astorcenternyc.com/class-slow-u-women-in-cheese.ac

Riverside Park Leaf Cleanup Day Slated for Dec. 5

Laura Weiss — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:25 +0000

Want to burn a few calories while helping to keep Riverside Park beautiful? Then stroll over to the park with your friends and family next Saturday and help clean up the leaves covering Riverside’s lawns and paths. If you’re worried about what all those latkes, candy canes and eggnog will do to your waistline this holiday season, raking leaves is a great way to shed some extra pounds!

Photo by Juanfrans via flickr.

Here are the details:

What: Clear leaves from Riverside Park lawns and paths.

When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009; 10 am to 1230 pm.

Where: Meet at 104th Street, inside the park. Take the 1 train to 103rd Street. Walk west to Riverside Drive. Cross the street and go down the ramp into the park. the group will be waiting for you at the base of the slope.

What do I Wear to a Leaf Cleanup Party? Dress according to the weather and be prepared to get dirty. Leave the bling at home and tie back your hair. Closed toe work shoes required. Do not bring extra bags; there is no place to store belongings.

Where do I get more Info? Kimberly Green, 347-287-1114 or Lynda Miller, 917-880-0615.

Food Inc. to be Screened at New School

Laura Weiss — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:04:38 +0000

If you’ve been wanting to see Robert Kenner’s FOOD, INC, the documentary that explores the multi-billion dollar food industry, you can attend a screening plus a panel discussion afterward at the New School Thursday evening, Nov. 19. Co-hosted by the New School’s Department of Food Studies, Media Studies and Film, and the Center for Communication, the event will feature noted author Marion Nestle, as well as other experts on the US food system.

What: Screening of FOOD INC. and panel discussion.

Photo: Courtesy, FOOD INC.

When: 6pm,-9pm, Thurs., Nov. 19.

Where: The New School, Tishman Auditorium, First Floor, 66 West 12th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues.

How Much: Register at www.cencom.org, or e-mail.

Panel:
Peter Pringle, author, Food, Inc.
Mendel to Monsanto- Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest
Bryan Walsh, staff writer, TIME
Marion Nestle, author, Food Politics and What to Eat
Moderator: Jill Richardson, food activist and author, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and How to Fix It