May 18, 2011

Zagat Food Truck Frenzy!

When: May 23, 2011

Where: 21st & 22nd Streets, between 10th & 11th Avenues, 12 – 3 pm

Price: $15 – 18 USD

Gourmet mobile food trucks are all the rage from coast-to-coast this year. And today, hungry New Yorkers will have the rare opportunity to sample many of the city’s best food trucks all in one convenient location when two entire blocks of West Chelsea are transformed into a lunchtime food festival courtesy of Zagat. Each ticket scores diners a voucher for four food items, which you can pick and choose to your heart’s desire from any of the participating vendors.

Food trucks include:

Bian Dang 
• Big D’s Grub 
• Big Gay Ice Cream Truck 
• Bistro Truck

Coolhaus
 • Cupcake Crew 
• Cupcake Stop
 • Desi Truck • Eddie’s Pizza

Endless Summer Tacos 
• Feed Your Hole
 • Joyride Truck 
• The Katchkie Truck

Kelvin Natural Slush Co.
 • Korilla Food Truck
 • La Cense Beef Burger

Luke’s Lobster 
• Mexicue
 • The Mud Truck
 • Patacon Pisao 
• Souvlaki GR

Steak Truck 
• NYC Sweetery 
• Treats Truck 
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

Once you’ve had your fill, foodie fanatics are encouraged to rate their favorite dishes on ZAGAT.com.

For advanced discount tickets click here, or buy them at the gate for a mere $18.

See you there!

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May 14, 2011

A New Taste of the Upper West Side

Next weekend, May 20 & 21, Whole Foods Market is set to host one impressive, Iron Chef-like showcase of the finest culinary talent on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The two-day event kicks Friday night off right when Adam Richman of Travel Channel‘s Man vs Food and Dylan Lauren, of Dylan’s Candy Bar, co-host an evening of re-inventing “comfort food classics”. Charged with the task of reinterpreting quiessential American favorites, 35 chefs including: John Fraser of Dovetail, Ed Brown of Ed’s Chowder House, Ellie Krieger of The Food Network, Magnolia Bakery and Shake Shack, will turn classic dishes on their heads by whipping up their own mouth-watering twists on traditional comfort food fare. Presented by Singha Beer and Columbus Square.

Saturday night’s fete will honor Upper West Side resident Dana Cowin, renowned taste arbiter and Editor in Chief of Food & Wine Magazine, at the star studded “Best of the West” culinary cook-off. With an emphasis on using solely local ingredients, this evening will feature 40 of the Upper West Side’s premier chefs, who are encouraged to use the freshest seasonal foods they can source within 100 miles of New York City. Chefs rising to meet this challenge include: Daniel Boulud of Bar Boulud, Missy Robbins of A Voce, Michael Psilakis of Kefi, Jonathan Benno of Lincoln, Bill Telepan of Telepan, Rosa Mexicano and Jacques Torres of Jacques Torres Chocolate, just to name a few. Accompanying their creations will be local wines from the vineyards of the Long Island Wine council, along with spirits and wine from Southern Wine and Spirits portfolio.

In all, some 80 chefs and restaurants will convene to celebrate the diversity of this often under appreciated culinary neighborhood. All proceeds raised from the weekend festivities will go to the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District’s dedicated fund for neighborhood beautification. You too can participate by purchasing tickets for one or both of these events:

Friday Evening “Comfort Classics”
$85 Individual Admission

Featuring 35 of the Upper West Side’s most innovative chefs on a mission to reinvent the classics, along side live music, fine wines and spirits.

Saturday Evening “Best of the West”
Celebrating Dana Cowin, presented by Zagat
$125 General Admission, 7PM to 9:30 PM
$200 VIP Ticket, includes private reception from 6 – 7 PM

Featuring 40 of NYC’s best and brightest chefs, presenting their signature dishes utilizing the freshest, locally sourced ingredients from within 100 miles of the city, to captivate your taste buds and set your palate ablaze.

For tickets, click here.

Or call 212-721-5048 for more information

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April 25, 2011

GVSHP Village House Tour Benefit – May 1, 2011

This Sunday is Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s 13th Annual House Tour Benefit and it will offer exceptional access into seven of the Village’s finest and most exclusive homes.

This year’s tour highlights include a stately Italianate home with an elaborately-paneled entrance and intricate, original moldings; an artist’s townhouse and studio with an unexpected layout and surprising hidden features, including a backyard treehouse; a 350-square foot apartment with anything but a small sense of style accessed by a splendid shared courtyard; an art collector’s two-floor retreat featuring a life-sized mosaic tile tree; an extra-wide townhouse with Victorian-era details, once the home of Emily Post; and a traditional townhouse featuring a restored stoop and façade and an interior rich with period detail, some salvaged from other Village residences.

Advance tickets may be purchased online before April 30 and will be available for pick up on May 1st after 12:30 pm at Greenwich House Music School. The tour is completely self-guided, rain or shine, from 1 – 5:30 pm, and a cocktail reception will follow the tour at a private townhouse in the neighborhood atop a stunning roof deck.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon in The Village and support a very worthy cause while you’re at it. GVSHP is at the forefront of the fight to protect still un-designated portions of Greenwich Village and a leader against NYU’s massive 2031 expansion plan. While NYU seems determined to take over the Village for their megolithic purposes, GVSHP is thankfully one of the only organizations to continuously hold NYU accountable for the promises they’ve made to the neighborhood, and serve as community watchdog to make sure the university responsibly rehabs its existing properties. They are invested in the push to move NYU’s future expansion plans to the Financial District, so that the spirit and integrity of Greenwich Village may be preserved for future generations. Be sure to take a look at their website to see the all myraid community causes they’re involved in, and if these issues speak to you as well, please buy a tour ticket in support or make a donation. Every little bit helps!

 

The weather promises to be lovely (fingers crossed), so if you’re interested in making a whole weekend of it, consider also attending the OHNY and Fourth Arts Block (FAB) Tour of East 4th Street on 
Saturday, April 30 at 1pm.

FAB is rooted in the Lower East Side’s long history of hosting community and cultural spaces that served marginalized immigrants, artists, and activists. In the 1960s and ‘70s, East 4th Street coalesced as a center for experimental theater and film. Four decades later, the block’s cultural groups founded FAB to preserve and develop these historic arts spaces.

The tour grants you access to many of the East 4th Street theaters, promoting an opportunity for discussion and awareness of how FAB weaves the arts with neighboring small businesses to strengthen a distinctive East Village cultural and community identity. To buy tickets, click here.

 

*Sidenote: The fact that I’m mentioning any of this at all, makes it official. I’m turning into my mother.

I jest, but seriously, I’m such a preservation/architecture/design nerd in my own right that GVSHP made me a docent captain for their House Tour Benefit this year. I’ve volunteered as a docent for the last 3 years running and it’s definitely one of the events I most look forward to every spring. I’m a freelance artist, and tickets aren’t cheap, so volunteering my time is an ideal way to participate. I love meandering through the Village with a map, exploring those yet undiscovered nooks and crannies of my neighborhood, and gaining unprecendented access to the crème de la crème of NYC residences. It is a rare treat to actually enter these homes that I walk by every day, and oogle the impeccable design, art collections, and impressive restorations. The tour always inspires to me to dream big about what I’ll create in my own future West Village rowhouse and secret garden (after I make my first couple of millions!) I also meet the nicest people every year and really look forward to the fascinating conversations I have with other die-hard Village lovers who are always chock full of interesting lore about these buildings and the illustrious residents who’ve inhabited them in the past.

You must understand that I find this passion of mine more than a little ironic because as a child, I was constantly dragged, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, to many a home and urban walking tour by my mother, Christy Johnson McAvoy, an esteemed historic preservation and architectural consultant in Los Angeles. She’s one of the founding members of Hollywood Heritage, multi-term President of the Los Angeles Conservancy and the California Preservation Foundation, among other notable credits.

I was affectionately known in these circles as “the preservation kid” growing up, undoubtedly attending more tours and conferences than many of the adult members of these organizations. I developed a well-earned reputation for being that incredibly well-behaved child who sat quietly in the corner entertaining myself with coloring books during Hollywood Heritage board meetings at Wattles Mansion. And I was probably one of the only people under the age of 30 to witness Cecil B. DeMille’s Barn crawl slowly through the streets of Hollywood on a flatbed truck in the wee hours of the morning as it made it’s 1983 pilgrimage from it’s original location (where it was in danger of succombing to the wrecking ball), to it’s now permanent resting place in the parking lot across from the Hollywood Bowl on Highland Avenue. When my Mom worked on the city surveys of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, I’d accompany her as she drove every block, and call out each home’s architectural style from the back seat, like it was a fun game. “Colonial Revival! Tudor! Craftsman!”

It was clear to me as a young girl, people in the preservation community admired my mother tremendously. She was extremely beloved and a singular wealth of knowledge on topic of historic preservation. Everyone wanted her involvement and advice. She was leagues ahead of her time, crafting her own niche and starting up her own consulting business, in a relatively unpopular field by Los Angeles standards. She was, and remains to this day, a human encyclopedia of architectural information, with a mind-boggling personal library and memorabilia archive to boot, that is virtually impossible to rival.

And while I recollect that it was sometimes fun to check out an infinite array of exclusive Hollywood landmarks and feel privy to rather sophicated circles at such a young age, I also remember wanting to just stay home and play with my toys, and thinking that other kid’s parents didn’t do this weird kind of stuff on the weekends. (“Awww, Mom. Can we go now?”)

As proud as I am of my mother, it became important to me to chart a different course and pursue my own interests as a grew older. Being the Hollywood chick that I am, it seemed a natural path to explore acting and filmmaking. I had an talent agent in my teens, and attended UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and TV, though I never quite felt 100% comfortable in front of the camera. As I realized I was more suited to creating behind the lens, I attended Art Center College of Design and majored in Film Directing.

Despite my best laid plans though, my mother’s passion for preservation and architecture did in fact rub off on me, and when presented with the opportunity to photograph a series of landmark buildings for the National Register of Historic Places and CA State Office of Historic Preservation after I graduated from film school, I was happy to oblige. I justified this because A) I needed the work and B) “it was more about photography than architecture”. Surprisingly, I found myself quite enjoying the work of photo documenting historic preservation and rehabilitation projects, and over the course of the next decade, I ended up photographing over 60 historic building projects in Los Angeles and California. (Read more “backstory” here)

So, I have to chuckle a little at myself now, when I attend these type of events – of my own volition and with great enthusiasm. Now that I live here in New York City, it’s actually become a way for me to stay connected to my mother and continue sharing our mutual passions. It’s impossible for me not to think of her during the GVHSP tour and I always end up calling her afterwards and sharing every little detail. I have great hope she’ll make it out one spring and join me for the tour. That will be one full circle moment, to be sure.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll think about taking your son or daughter on the tour with you! They might protest, want to touch stuff, and intermittenly act bored, but you might just plant a seed about the value of preserving the places of the past, for the future kids of Greenwich Village, and that IS actually pretty cool…

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you!

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April 20, 2011

Taste of E 7th Street Food Fest

Between 1st Avenue and Avenue A

April 20th – 22th, 2011; All Day Long

$18 USD

One street. Three days. Five restaurants.

At Scoop St., they’re always looking for ways to make your New York City experience that much more fun and exciting. Which is why they’re bringing you the opportunity, for the second year in a row, to experience an entire street’s – and some the city’s best – restaurants at half price.

Nestled in the heart of the East Village, 7th Street is home to the bustling bars, salons, and boutiques that epitomize New York. This one block alone offers food lovers diverse, multi-cultural cuisine of every flavor, a microcosm of New York City itself. But don’t just take my word for it— grab your friends, family, date, or the guy on the corner and come experience the tastes for yourself.

Whether you try them all in one go, or spread out your sampling over the three-day affair, a mere $18 gets you $34 worth of the following sweets and savories at a savings you won’t see again. In case you’re thirsty afterward – and who wouldn’t be? – head to some of the neighborhood’s best bars for a complimentary $2 off beers.

Your ticket entitles you to:

One small lobster roll @ Luke’s Lobster

Your choice of: 
A) Currywurst + any 8oz beer on tap/soda
 B) Neumberger bratwurst in a roll + small side of potato salad/sauerkraut + any 8oz beer on tap/soda @ Wechsler’s Currywurst

Your choice of:
 4 seared pork dumplings
 or 4 seared veggie dumplings @ Dumpling Man

Two tasty cupcakes @ Butter Lane Cupcakes

One vanilla rainbow or chocolate rainbow donut @ Cowgirl’s Baking

After you’ve satiated yourself with this five-course meal, it’ll definitely be time to hit the pub. Get $2 off beers when you present your “Taste of 7th Street” voucher at these local bars:

Jimmy’s No. 43 – Choose from 12 high-quality European and local selections on tap, 13 bottled, including such favorites as Otter Creek Vermont lager and Six Point’s Bengali IPA.

Burp Castle – Although the monastery-themed bar may sound like a children’s fantasy, it is certainly a playground for adults, with 12 draft and 40 bottled beers imported from Belgium, Germany, and Britain.

Standings Bar – Offering unique brews such Abita Purple Haze Beer – a crisp, American style wheat beer with fresh raspberries – or the popular Weyerbacher Winter Ale, brewed with deep-roasted chocolate malt.

Is your mouth watering yet? Hurry and grab your tickets to the second annual Taste of 7th Street extravaganza before they disappear!

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March 24, 2011

Eat & Booze For a Good Cause

Times are tough, no question. The world is changing rapidly. Millions of people are in the midst of a daily struggle to survive. We are facing an overwhelming amount of devastating crises, both at home and abroad. We want to help, but don’t know where to start sometimes.

Food is one of the only common denominators in this world, across every culture, country, language, and religion, that truly brings people together. Breaking bread is a sacred experience. Sharing a meal creates lasting bonds. We demonstrate our love and respect through the food we serve to others. We can be of service to others by making wise choices about where and what we consume.

Luckily, there are an abundance of terrific opportunities to put your money where your mouth is this month. I’ve compiled a short list of the tastiest happenings, from coast to coast, so you can eat well for a good cause. If you know of other simpatico events, please feel free to comment with info and links, so we can all contribute to uplifting our global community.

 

Dine Out for Japan Relief: March 23 – 30, 2011

APA @NBC Universal is proud to partner with AZIX, Japanese American Association, New York State Restaurant Association, FEED and the restaurant industry for “Dine out for Japan Relief”.  For one week, participating restaurants will donate a portion of their profits to the Red Cross. A donation of 5%* from every breakfast, lunch and dinner meal will go toward disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami through the Pacific.

@ PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS:

ABC Kitchen • Aburiya Kinnosuke • Alice’s Tea Cups • Asia de Cuba • Bar Basque

Bar Italia • Bogota Bistro 
• Brasserie Ruhlmann • Captain Bill’s • Carte Blanche

Cha-An • China Grill • Choshi • Crabtree’s Kittle House 
• Curry-Ya • Decibel

Ed’s Chowder House • The Empire Hotel Rooftop • FoodParc • Hakata Tonton

Havana Central • Hasaki 
• Ippudo NY • Jack the Horse Tavern • Jojo • Ko Sushi

Le Colonial Restaurant • Madison • The Mark Restaurant 
• The Mercer Kitchen

North Square Restaurant Orsay • Otafuku PDT • Perry St • Plunge
• Rai Rai Ken

Robataya • Sakagura • SD26 • Shabu-tatsu • Shimizu • Sobaya • Soba Totto

Sugar Bun Bakery 
• Tanuki Tavern • Telepan • Totto Ramen • Yakitori Totto

For more details, please visit:
www.nysra.org/DineOutforJapan

 

Fry for Life: March 16, 2011 –

@ Terroir Tribeca, 24 Harrison St. (at Greenwich St.); 212-625-9463.

& Terroir East Village, 413 E. 12th St. (at First Ave.)

Both Terroir wine bars are raising money for Japan relief one $6 plate of ginger-garlic-soy fried chicken at a time. All proceeds from the chicken go toward Doctors Without Borders in Japan. The recipe for these super crisp and juicy boneless chicken thighs is the same one that Yoshi Nonaka, a line cook at Hearth, uses for staff meals.


NY Vintners: March 24 – 30, 2011

@ 21 Warren Street, New York; 212.812.3999

100% of sales proceeds on all sake wine bottles will be donated to Japanese Earthquake Relief. For store hours and more information: http://www.newyorkvintners.com/


Brewers for Brewers Benefit: March 28, 2011; 7 – 10 pm

@ Brooklyn Brewery, 79 N. 11th St., Brooklyn; 718-486-7422 or goodbeerseal.com

New York-area brewers Sixpoint Craft Ales, Brooklyn Brewery, Heartland and Empire Brewing Co., team up with The Meat Hook for food, suds and a silent auction to raise money to aid their Japanese counterparts, the Kiuchi Brewery (makers of Hitachino), and other earthquake-damaged sake and beer breweries

Click here to purchase tickets.

 

The Village Voice’s Choice Eats: March 29, 2011; 6:30 – 9:30 pm

@ 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue, 68 Lexington Ave @ 26th Street, NYC


 

The Village Voice proudly presents their fourth annual curated Choice Eats tasting event. Handpicked restaurants and food trucks from all five boroughs featured in The Village Voice reviews are represented, along with complimentary craft beer pairings, wine and liquor-laced cocktails. A portion of the Choice Eats ticket sales will be donated to this year’s charitable partner, Slow Food NYC, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to achieving a good, clean, and fair food system.

For the complete list of participating restaurants and to purchase tickets, click here.

 

Punch Party for Japan: Monday April 11, 2011; 7 pm -

@ Summit Bar, 133 Ave C, New York

Show your support for Japan and enjoy some top-shelf punches in the process at this benefit going down at East Village’s best cocktail haunt, Summit Bar. Spirit brands like Pernod Absinthe, Beefeater and Belvedere have teamed up with mixologist, Greg Seider, to create six concoctions featuring Japan-inspired ingredients. Your $20 ticket (pay at the door) goes straight to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund, and it scores you bottomless glasses of punch all evening. Whiskey lovers can also support the Yamazaki whiskey distillery by purchasing neat pours ($10) and whiskey cocktails ($12) while jamming to tunes from DJ Kimiko Masuda.

 

Taste of the Lower East Side – April 28, 2011;   7 – 10:30 pm

@ 82 Mercer @ Spring Street, New York; 917.639.5850

This year’s 11th annual Taste of the Lower East Side will proudly feature the signature dishes from over 50 neighborhood restaurants and an all-night open bar of specialty cocktails. Benefiting the Grand Street Settlement, proceeds will be used to fund programs and services for Lower East Side community residents of all ages – from toddlers to teens, senior citizens and families.

This event was born in 2000 when a pioneering group of young professionals saw the neighborhood’s burgeoning restaurant scene as a terrific cultural resource and rallied the culinary community to help raise sorely needed funds to support the Grand Street Settlement’s various programs. The now yearly event has since enabled local restaurants, food lovers, and corporate sponsors alike to give back to the neighborhood and celebrate its diversity on an ongoing basis.  Despite the increasing business development and gentrification, the community continues to face serious social-economic issues and a great need for social services, so your support is greatly appreciated!

The event has grown in size every year since and is now thought of as a premier culinary event, drawing a crowd of 1000+ food lovers. This year’s event will feature music by Nick Pattakos, as well as a silent auction and raffle prizes – including a new iPad2, courtesy of Tekserve.

Participating restaurants include:

A Casa Fox – Alias – barrio chino – Beauty & Essex

Café Coradito – The Clerkenwell – Clinton St. Baking Co.

DBGB Kitchen & Bar – Double Crown – Edi & the Wolf

Falai Panetteria – The Fat Radish – Gemma

Hecho en Dumbo – Hotel on Rivington – ‘inoteca

Il Laboratorio Del Gelato – Kuma Inn – La Esquina

Little Giant – Loreley Restaurant & Biergarten – Macando

The Meatball Shop – Mercadito – Mercat – Mulberry Project

Northern Spy Food Co. – Olivia – Osteria Morini

Peels – Porchetta – Public – Pulino’s – Rayuela

Rice – Roni Sue’s Chocolates – Russ & Daughters – Salt Bar

San Marzano – Schiller’s Liquor Bar – The Stanton Social

Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery – Think Coffee – Tre

Vandaag – Veselka – wd50 – Yerba Buena

With beverages by:

Anheuser-Busch – Barcardi Rum – Barefoot Wine & Bubbly

Bombay Sapphire – Grey Goose Vodka – Izze Sparkling Juice

For a complete list of participating restaurants and sponsors, please visit: www.grandstreet.org/taste

To purchase tickets, click here. This is a 21+ event.


Global Street Food – May 1, 2011; 11 am – 1 pm

@ The Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica, CA

Join Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW’s Good Food, for an exploration of street food from around the globe. The OC Weekly’s Gustavo Arellano will join Evan and other special guests for a discussion on how street food can shape the culture of a city and influence what we eat.  Then, sample international street food flavors from some of L.A.’s best food trucks, including Mariscos Jalisco, Let’s Be Frank, India Jones, Piaggio Gourmet on Wheels and the Nom Nom Truck alongside the warm Latin/African grooves of the Masanga Marimba Ensemble. Proceeds will benefit KCRW. With NPR and public radio funding under attack, they need your help more than ever!

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

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March 20, 2011

Time Out For Hunger – 3/20/11

Today more than 160 restaurants are taking a Time Out For Hunger and will donate 10% of the day’s total proceeds to the Food Bank For New York City, so get out there for Sunday brunch with friends, a mid-afternoon coffee with the newspaper, dinner with the family, and mangia for a good cause!

See below for a partial list of participating restaurants. For the complete list, click here. Thanks for your support!

 

West Village

annisa – Bee Desserts & Café -Bistro de la Gare – Burrito Loco

Café Condesa – Casa La Femme – Las Ramblas – Luke’s Lobster

Lupe Osteria Romana – The Mermaid Oyster Bar – North Square

Ofrenda Cocina Mexicana – Popbar – Satay Junction

Slice – Tio Pepe – Otto Enoteca Pizzeria

 

East Village

Agozar - Curry-ya – Goat Town – Hecho en Dumbo

Joe The Art of Coffee – The Mermaid Inn – Motorino

Northern Spy Food Co. – Octavia’s Porch – Plum Pizzeria

Podunk – Porchetta – S’MAC – The Sunburnt Cow

 

Lower East Side

BabyCakes NYC – Clerkenwell – Kuta

La Vie Restaurant and Lounge – Lina Frey – Bondi Road

 

Chelsea

Bombay Talkie – Café Grumpy – Dirty Bird To Go

The Red Cat – Rye House – Sueños – Txikito

 

Gramercy/Flatiron

ABC Kitchen – Bamiyan Afghan Restaurant - BLT Fish Shack

BLT Prime – Boqueria Flatiron – Cana Wine Bar

Chinese Mirch – ilili – Junoon – SD26 Restaurant & Wine Bar

 

SoHo

BLT Burger – Boqueria Soho – Chicca Restaurant

David Burke Kitchen – El Camion Cantina – Lure Fishbar

Savore Ristorante – South Houston

 

Union Square

Dos Toros Taqueria – Fredi Sandwich Bar

And more!

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March 2, 2011

Feast of Good at The Brooklyn Kitchen

When: March 14, 2011, 6:30 – 9:30 pm

Where: The Brooklyn Kitchen

Price: $75.00 USD

You are cordially invited to join Eye For Style for a spectacular evening at Brooklyn Kitchen. Good Commons is bringing their signature culinary experience to New York City for one night only, and you will have the unprecedented opportunity to indulge in creations from four chefs, who will each take the reigns for a delicious, seasonal dish, along with wine pairings from a seasoned sommelier. The open kitchen gives you an insider’s peek as the chefs prepare each course, and the communal table promises to provide a stellar setting for uncommonly good food, friendship, and community. Wondering what’s on the menu? It’s a surprise! Fear not though – the menu has been thoughtfully designed to accommodate a variety of palates and gluten-free guests.

Your host for the evening is GOOD COMMONS, a boutique retreat located in Plymouth, Vermont. Originally built in the 1840s, it first operated as a general store. Lovingly restored and fully renovated in 2007 by radiant owner/hostess, Tesha Buss, Good Commons has quickly become one of the premier travel destinations in the Northeast. They host a series of weekend getaways throughout the year that draw from the bounty of the region, ranging from culinary immersions, food & wine weekends, yoga retreats, health & wellness events and outdoor adventures.

THE BROOKLYN KITCHEN is the culinary brainchild of Taylor Erkkinen and Harry Rosenblum, who saw the need for kitchenware stores in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. What they’ve created is a neighborhood hotspot that includes an eclectic collection of kitchen supplies and local products. Within the store is the Meat Hook, an artisan butcher counter and charcuterie; as well as Brooklyn Kitchen Labs, two dedicated spaces for cooking workshops, classes and special culinary events.

Your Chefs for the evening include:

MATTHEW WEXLER is a partner in the Good Retreat Company as well as a private chef and food, travel & lifestyle writer. When not cooking at Good Commons, Matthew is a regular contributor to EDGE Media Network, offManhattan, and Endless Simmer. He is currently writing the Good Commons food memoir, Uncommonly Good: Stories of life, food and the Birth of Good Commons, as well as his own blog, http://www.roodeloo.com/.

BRENDAN MCDERMOTT is a New York City native who currently dwells in Brooklyn. An acclaimed chef and instructor, Brendan has honed his skills at some of NYC’s most notable restaurants, including Mesa Grill, Olives, and Patria. Trained at Peter Krump (now The Institute of Culinary Education), he shares his knowledge and passion for food throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. His knife skills class at Brooklyn Kitchen was named by New York Magazine as “Best Cooking Class” and he is also featured in the up-and-coming cooking show, Working Class Foodies.

APRIL STAMM is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute. As a freelance food writer, April has written for a wide range of publications including Pastry Scoop, an online pastry magazine, and The Nibble, a gourmet product review and foodie information site. April has made numerous appearances as a guest chef at Good Commons and also teaches home cooking classes.

MARTIN HOWARD has had a lifelong passion for great food. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America where he studied all areas of cuisine, he went on to lead some of the top pastry kitchens in New York, including the legendary Rainbow Room atop 30 Rock. He has competed many times on the “Food Network Challenge”, winning top honors for his sweet creations. Martin’s first children’s story/cookbook “Tina Cocolina, Queen of the Cupcakes” was recently published by Random House.

Sommelier, KRISTEN SIEBECKER, has been a great fan of viticulture and vinification since her first illicit sip of Boone’s Farm wine beverage in her formative years. More recently, she completed the Advanced Certification program from the WSET with distinction, and is certified in Advanced Blind Tasting by the American Sommelier Association. You’ll find Kristen at the NYC East Side Best Cellars wine shop, advising customers and assisting in the store’s ‘Sommelier for an Evening’ program. Kristen’s current favorite varietal is Gruner Veltliner.

Have we whet your appetite? Seating is limited, so act fast! PURCHASE TICKETS here.

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February 20, 2011

Eye For Style Recommends: The Shiny Squirrel

Jessica Goldfond, the brains and beauty behind The Shiny Squirrel, has an incredible eye for style, to be sure. Single-handedly creating The Shiny Squirrel back in 2006, it began as (and remains) a popular fashion art blog. Within the last two years, she’s expanded into a new media and PR company based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that works with emerging artists and designers who primarily create one-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces. The Shiny Squirrel is a clever mash-up of online marketplace, art gallery, and real world pop-up sales showcase, meets artists representation and brand consulting. Jessica’s on-going mission is to give the growing market of young creative talent a voice and multitude of forums to display and sell their work.

Lucky for all you buyers and fashionistas, she’s hosting yet another fabulous pop-up showroom and sample sale this week, from February 21 – 23, at the undeniably hip Ace Hotel New York. This event is guaranteed to be even bigger and crazier than the last, with 12 of the most cutting-edge designers from the jewelry, accessories, and clothing world participating. These select brands represent a mix of both local and national designers, coming from as far as California to showcase their line!

If you’re seeking some truly unique, affordable, new merchandise for your boutique, or that accessory that no one else will be wearing come spring, this is one destination shopping opportunity you should not miss!

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February 12, 2011

Introducing: Eye For Style Maps

After tons of research, and many foodie photo missions over the last 2 years, I am happy to present Eye For Style’s “Best of NYC” – my absolute favorite, highly recommended, culinary and cultural hotspots. Each awesome destination has been personally hand picked and mapped out, with original photography and reviews, by yours truly. Featuring topics such as NYC’s Best: coffee, pizza, brunch, burgers, cheap eats, vintage clothing, and more!

For the complete list of Eye For Style Maps, click here.

Disclaimer: I’m a die-hard Greenwich Villager and Loisiada, and make no bones about the fact that, in my opinion, The Village and Lower East Side are the best neighborhoods in New York City. My maps reflect this biased love – and I’m totally cool with it. These are my stomping grounds, my passion, my point of view.

That said, I love good food, wherever it may live, and I can occasionally be lured above 14th Street, or to the nether lands of the outer boroughs, for truly excellent eats. I would love to hear your comments and opinions about what YOU consider to be the “Best of NYC”. Please share your picks here and I’ll be sure to add them to my list. As much as I love giving suggestions, I love receiving suggestions even more, so dish the scoop. I’m all ears!

Since it’s almost Valentine’s Day, you’ve probably been racking your brain or scouring the web for that perfect romantic dinner spot, some better than average chocolates, and/or an intimate booth to grab a cocktail? If you’re still drawing a blank, make it easy on yourself and check out my maps of the Best Dinner Date Spots, Best Sweets and Chocolate, and Best Watering Holes for up-to-the minute tips on the ideal locale to wine, dine, and treat your sweetheart. Every one of these places are a guaranteed “no fail zone”. Pick any recommendation from the list with confidence, so you can simply focus on charming the pants off your date. You can thank me later…

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February 10, 2011

City Bakery’s Hot Chocolate Festival

February 1 – 28, 2011

3 West 18th Street @ 5th Avenue, NYC

 

While the winter weather has been dreadful this year, there’s still a great reason to celebrate the cold. Hot chocolate! For the past 19 years, City Bakery has been hosting its Annual Hot Chocolate Festival for the entire month of February. Every day of the week, they jazz up their signature chocolate blend with a different featured flavor. Some are fruity, a la lemon, banana, or fig; some are spicy, with cinammon, ginger, or chili pepper; some are boozy, dosed by bourbon or beer. Some are a mystery, with playful names like “Love Potion”, “Ode to the Polar Bear”, and “Moulin Rouge”. My favorite of the bunch is “What Would Faulkner Drink?” – a special concoction of honey, lemon, and homemade moonshine – and a most heavily googled search term this month in NYC.

City Bakery’s hot chocolate is made from their very own, finely crafted recipe made entirely from melted chocolate bars. No cocoa powder here, folks. I visited on “Earl Grey Tea” Hot Chocolate Monday and made sure to add one of their highly touted handmade marshmallows. It was well worth the extra buck. The handmade marshmallow is so dense, it wasn’t about to melt into my drink. No biggie. I actually ended up grabbing a spoon, pouring the hot chocolate over the top of the marshmallow iceberg, letting it sink it, and then scooping it out in big bites. It was akin to eating a sweet cloud floating in chocolate soup, and certainly not a hot chocolate experience I’ve ever encountered before.

This luscious bowl was so very rich, I found it challenging to drink the whole cup, though I wasn’t going to let a drop go to waste. I didn’t even touch the baker’s muffin – a decadent cinnamon infused croissant meets bread pudding monster pastry with juicy currants – I bought to accompany my mug. My eyes were clearly bigger than my stomach and the combination was complete sugar overkill, but the muffin made for a fabulous breakfast the next day.

If you plan to frequent the fest more than once, I suggest getting a large cup with a marshmallow ($6) on your first visit, with a small cookie, if you can handle the diabetic coma that’s sure to ensue. On repeat visits, consider grabbing one of their “shots” ($3) to sample other flavors throughout the month. To check out the full festival calendar of flavors and plan your ideal visiting day, click here.

You can also buy their signature blend in a convenient take home carton ($6) to experiment with your own favorite flavor combinations. Carton upon carton are amply stacked Warhol-style throughout the bakery and in their Chocolate Room – a little phone booth sized den, with beautiful deep red embroidered walls, chock full of various locally made chocolates delights.

I love that City Bakery has devoted a whole month to celebrating the diversity of hot chocolate and theirs is certainly one of the finest concoctions I’ve sampled. That said, there are a few other hot chocolates in NYC that I would be remisce not to mention in a post devoted to the subject. Luckily, they’re all conveniently located within striking distance of each other, so therefore, may I suggest you gather a few friends together and go on a Self-Guided Hot Cocoa Crawl of SoHo!

Start your journey at Jacques Torres (350 Hudson @ King St), as it’s probably my favorite hot chocolate in the city. Torres seriously knows his chocolate. It’s not only mouth-watering, but the individual truffles are beautifully decorated with cool designs, and you can taste the love with which they’re prepared. Not at all surprising, considering he’s one of the kindest food purveyors around. I had the pleasure of meeting him recently at The NY Chocolate Show, and he greeted absolutely every visitor to his booth with a warm welcome and big smile. I adore his original hot chocolate, but I think the “wicked”, with cinnamon and chili peppers, is the bomb! It’s got a nice kick that’s perfectly balanced (unlike my experience at Max Brenner’s which I asked to exchange because it was utterly undrinkable). If you’re craving something a bit more unusual, go wicked.

Then head east on Houston to Aroma Espresso Bar (145 Greene Street @ Houston) which makes a wonderful “sunken treasure” style cocoa. They place pieces of luscious dark chocolate at the bottom of a mug and pour hot steaming milk over the top. You grab a spoon and mix the frothy milk and melty chocolate together as you sip. I give Aroma props for the  presentation, served in a clear glass mug so you can see the treasure at the bottom, as well as the flavor.

Next, head south to either Vosges (132 Spring St @ Wooster) or MarieBelleChocolates (484 Broome St @ Wooster). These are really high-end chocolatelier boutiques that elevate chocolate to an art form in an almost gallery-like setting. Vosges features an Aztec (chilis, vanilla bean, and cinnamon), Bianca (Australian lemon mrytle and lavender with white chocolate), and La Parisienne varieties. MarieBelle uses Colombian whole bean dark cacao, not cocoa powder, for their Aztec and Spicy Hot Chocolate (made with ancho and chipotle chili). They also have three milk chocolate varieties – original mocha, hazelnut, and white chocolate vanilla. All are decadently rich and uniquely aromatic due to the quality and freshness of the ingredients.

Jacques Torres, Vosges, and MarieBelle are also ideal places to pick up chocolates for your sweetheart for Valentine’s Day, or even better, any day of the year when you want to express your love. They treat their chocolates like tiny canvases, hand-painting uniquely colorful designs on each to distinguish the different flavors. You can customize your own sampler box at any of the 3 locations and devise a romantic tasting for two – in a dimly-lit lounge with cocktails, or at home in bed – that is sure to score you some major brownie points. Pun intended.

For the complete list of Best Sweets and Chocolate in New York City, go to Eye For Style maps.

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