The James Beard Foundation has just announced the semi-finalists for its 2012 food journalism awards and we’re thrilled to announce that our former photo editor Michael Harlan Turkell has been nominated for the Visual Storytelling category for three restaurant profiles that appeared in this magazine.
As the weekend officially begins with a bout of chilly grey weather, we thought we’d pass on an icewine and cider cocktail recipe Zavatto sent us from Nick Venditti at Frankly Wines on West Broadway, which he created using Finger Lakes spirits for NY Drinks NY week. Says Zavatto: “I’d never in a million years have thought that icewine and gin would be so, so pretty together, but holy cow–DELICIOUS! And very dangerous.”
Was it just yesterday it was 72 degrees and so sunny we needed SPF 30? Luckily our intrepid photo editor, Rebecca McAlpin, had an outdoor assignment. Working on our next issue–Eat, Drink, Local-themed–she tracked Daniel Bowman Simon to the greenmarket to buy seedlings and then to a community garden where they were planted in raised beds.
Those of you who participated in last fall’s Dine Out Irene will be pleased to hear that the organizers of the one-night fundraiser have tallied up the donations from dozens of local participating restaurants and collected a whopping $47,375 for farms impacted by the hurricane.
The International Association of Culinary Professionals, in town for their annual conference–this year’s theme is food and fashion–has a few extra seats for their food policy panel, which is being broadcast live tomorrow night at 7 pm at WYNC’s Jerome L. Greene performance space.
On Saturday, April 14 more than 50 food and farm getaway destinations within a day’s drive or train ride of NYC will be exhibiting on the main floor of Skylight One Hanson in the old Art Deco Williamsburgh Savings Bank, as part of the second annual EscapeMaker.com Local Food & Travel Expo.
Back at the tail end of last year, the brewers behind Pennsylvania’s Sly Fox (owned by one Brian O’Reilly) and Shmaltz Brewing Company from Upstate New York got the idea to do a Hanukah-Christmas beer challenge. The follow up–St. Pat’s v. Purim, naturally–will be held tonight, March 7, from 7 to 10 pm at Jimmy’s No. 43.
Each year the Hudson Valley Seed Library commissions New York State artists to design the packaging for a special line of heirloom seeds called Art Packs. Until March 2, you can see the packs next to the original works–and buy both the seeds and reprints of the art–at the Horticultural Society of New York on West 37th Street. If you do miss it, don’t worry–you can get a glimpse of the 23 packs and the 23 works of art on our most recent NY1 segment. Watch it right here.
The owners of Great Performances and Katchkie Farm–the Manhattan catering company and not-for-profit upstate agriculture center we wrote about last year–are launching a workplace CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program for those who work too late to hit their neighborhood pickups, and the sign-up season is starting now. All you have to do is get 20 co-workers to sign up and they’ll create a pick up site at your office. For more information call 212.727.2424 and ask for Brooke or send an email to info@katchkiefarm.com. You can sign up for a regular non-office CSA at one of their four other Manhattan pick up locations.
The blending of art and food have always been one our favorite intersections. (Fifth Avenue and 51st Street in Sunset Park is also nice, if you like tacos.) So we wanted to say thanks to Daily Candy for sending notice of this “eating installation” and pop-up supper into our inbox.
Earlier this week we got a whiff of chocolate, but it wasn’t from a heart-shaped box. Rather, it was from a flask—one of those little glass flasks with the typewriter-written labels from Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn. In time for the biggest chocolate buying day of the year the city distillery released a chocolate-flavored whiskey, available in Manhattan at the Park Avenue Liquor Shop. (We’d get on getting one stat, if we were you, since we hear Park Ave is already going through their second case.)
Want to make your Valentine a romantic farm-to-table meal but don’t know your romaine from your rutabaga? Let chef Marc Murphy make the meal for you, if the price is right. Until February 9th you can bid on a Valentine’s Day dinner prepared for you by the chef of Benchmarc restaurants. Murphy is a member of City Harvest’s Board of Directors and their Food Council, and is offering himself up for auction online to raise money on their behalf. You tell him what to cook and he’ll show up with the groceries.
