We actually think one of our best blog posts ever was one of our very first: Called Apples+Pig Fat=Heaven, it was about one of the best dishes we tasted last year, during the outdoor pig roast called Sagra del Maiale that Il Buco hosts annually. With your help, that is. This year’s is slated for September 26, and will be part of our own Eat Drink Local week, but only if they get approval from the community board, which they’re going in front of tonight. [UPDATE: Before they could go before the board, the owners of Il Buco decided to cancel the 2010 pig roast to focus on their new specialty foods shop and wine tasting room.]
Below is a message from Il Buco and their appeal for your help. If you like pork fat, and you like apples, and you like eating them outdoors on a beautiful fall day, and you live in Noho, well, read the below from the general manager of Il Buco:
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Due to a last minute change to its agenda – il Buco is going before the Community Board (CB2 Street Activities Committee) for a hearing about our Annual Pig Roast, and we need your help. If you are a neighbor and are able to attend the meeting it would be fantastic.
We would also hope you might be able to take the time to send an email or fax in support. If you need it, at the bottom of this letter is an outline for a note that you can cut and paste into a document to fax or email that we can then present to the board as a sign of this amazing community’s support.
Thurs., 8/5 @ 6:30 PM- NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 410
In case you don’t know about our pig Roast…
This event started back in 2004 as a way to commemorate our 10th anniversary and celebrate the revitalization of the Noho neighborhood we live and work in. It is a great chance for our friends and neighbors to enjoy visiting with each other on a fall day and eat some great food. It’s also a chance to meet some of the farmers who supply the amazing produce and proteins that we serve every day here at il Buco.
This is an event that gives back to the community – last year we donated 1/3 of the total gross sales to A.C.E. (the Association of Community Employment is a great organization that helps the homeless and the neighborhood by hiring the homeless to clean trash from the streets year-round and remove snow from sidewalks in winter) and we plan to donate 100% of the proceeds this year to that same cause.
Unfortunately – as you may know – we have met considerable resistance from some elements within Community Board 2 that have opposed our application every year (we shut down 1 lane of Bond Street to set up a grill). This year, there is an effort to somehow connect the opening of our New Restaurant/Wine Bar on Great Jones – to the il Buco Pig Roast, and they threatened to derail its opening.
For all of you who have enjoyed this event in the past, and for those of you who may want to join us, please stand with us and help keep this tradition alive.
Attached you will find a letter that I am hoping you can either fax back to us on your letter head if possible – or you can email it if that is easier.
I would appreciate it if you could demonstrate your support for this great neighborhood tradition by copying the note below – ADD YOUR NAME AND COMMENTS – and either print it and fax it to me at 212.533.3602 – or paste it into an email and send it to ilbuco@ilbuco.com
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August 4, 2010
Dear Bob Gormley, Jo Hamilton, Evan Lederman, and the rest of Community Board 2:
As a member of the Noho community, I support il Buco and its annual Pig Roast fundraiser for A.C.E. It is a rare chance for the entire neighborhood to get together and enjoy delicious food and the company of our friends and neighbors.
In a city with “street festivals” populated by sock vendors and smoothies, il Buco has deep roots in the community and is helping neighborhood charities with this event.
We support this event – an event that enriches the quality of life here in Noho – and urge you to do the same.
Sincerely,
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Please add any comments or stories about the pig roast and the neighborhood. Thank you for the support.
Wishing you all the best,
John Cassanos
General Manager
