Weekend Whets 5/24

Local Food, Global Trade, and the Future of Rural Communities, Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 6:30 p.m., Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, Manhattan:  Writer Fabio Parasecoli discusses issues regarding where food products come from.

New Taste of the Upper West Side, Wednesday, May 29, 2013 through Saturday, June 1, 2013, Columbus Avenue between West 76th and West 77th Streets, Upper West Side:  Annual festival celebrating restaurants and chefs of the Upper West Side.  Ticket sales fund the Streetscape project.

Meat Hooked!, Thursday, May 30, 2013, 6:30 p.m., BLDG 92 , Brooklyn Navy Yard Center, 63 Flushing Ave (at Carlton), Brooklyn:  Gotham Center Director Suzanne Wasserman’s new film, a documentary about meat and the rise and fall and rise again of butchers and butchering in and around New York.  $8/$5 members.

A Secret History of Coffee, Coca, and Cola, Thursday, June 6, 2013, 6:30 p.m., Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, Manhattan:  A discussion by author Richard Cortes.

A Moveable Feast, Tuesday, June 12, 2013, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 101 West 15th Street, Manhattan:  Apartment hop in the Stonehenge building trying gourmet bites at this James Beard Greens (foodies under 40) event.  Tickets $95 non-members.

Born with a Junk Food Deficiency, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 6:30 p.m., Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, Manhattan:  Writer Martha Rosenberg discusses what goes on behind the scenes at large food companies.

The Food Truck Handbook, Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 6:30 p.m., Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, Manhattan:  Food truck owner David Weber discusses New York’s food trucks.

On the Chocolate Trail, Monday, July 15, 2013, 6:30 p.m., Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street, Manhattan:  Author Deborah R. Prinz discusses the history of the chocolate trade.

Happy Hour: Réunion Bar

On my recent Neighborhood Watch column on 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, I mentioned wanting to try Réunion bar on West 44th Street and 9th Avenue.  Well, I finally tried it this week, and I’ve already been twice!  If you’re missing the beach or a tropical clime, this is the place to be in NYC!  Just take the stairs down to the small bar that is kind of hidden and still a bit undiscovered.  You’ll see surfboards, video of surfers riding waves, coconut shell cups behind the bar and other beach bar decor.

The menu is limited as one would expect at a bar, but it’s a quality menu with some creative choices. I highly recommend trying the “Tot” Chos, basically Tater Tot nachos…with sour cream, guacamole and jack cheese.

There are happy hour drink specials as well, but I opted for some special cocktails. I really like the Coco Loco, Réunion’s version of a Piña Colada.

I also tried the Hawaiian Pog, a Hawaiian Daquiri with passion fruit, orange and guava.

The owner and bartenders are super friendly and welcoming, and the bar has a pleasant, chill vibe to kick back and relax after the work week!

Cool Food Blog

Crazy for Crust is a very cool food blog of yummy baked goods!  I love how playful she is, creating interesting desserts like ICEE cupcakes that look like ICEEs.  She also puts a unique spin on classic favorites like fudge–lemon meringue pie fudge–or Rice Krispie treats with a banana cream pie variation.  How about this yummy red velvet cheesecake loaf?  A lot of the recipes use  products like cake mixes, gelatin mixes, cereals and more to create fun and different goodies.

Two for Tuesday: Appliance and Dinnerware Stores

If you are looking for the best in kitchen appliances, Krup’s Kitchen & Bath in Chelsea is the place to go.  If you want something with a retro feel or in a unique color, Krup’s has it.  Look at this adorable 1950s-style refrigerator from Smeg in pink:

How about this adorable oven range from BlueStar in purple:

Fishs Eddy is the quintessential store for dinnerware with its interesting and kitschy designs.  If you’re a NYC fan, there are many local patterns like the New York skyline, the tunnels, the Brooklyn bridge, dog walkers, Brooklyn and more.  I got the Brooklynese set for my mom.

They have other designs too like Alice in Wonderland, the New York Times crossword puzzle and this pretty pattern from Lotta Jansdotter that I wrote about before.

creamer and coffee mug

Fishs Eddy also has a cool collection of vintage dishes dating back to 1903.

I also like these small trays. I got one that’s a recipe card, but there are others like a parking ticket, a lotto ticket, a restaurant check, a prescription and more.

Neighborhood Watch: Little Italy’s Grand Street

Today, it’s hard to imagine that Manhattan’s Little Italy once encompassed a much larger area than a few blocks along Mulberry Street.  Yes, my family lived on Mulberry Street south of Canal Street close to Bayard Street.  And Italians lived as far east as the Bowery.  Little Italy shrinks as the years go by.  It’s pretty much just Mulberry Street now maybe from Spring to Canal.  But that’s a stretch, as most of the businesses along that strip are not Italian or Italian-owned.  I would say the most Italian section of Little Italy is right off Mulberry and Grand Streets.  Here is the fairly new Italian American Museum, opened in 2001.  The building was the Banca Stabile, a bank founded in 1885 to aid the local Italian community and arriving immigrants.  Due to financial reasons, the museum is seeking a developer to build a new building at the site, so if you want to see the historic building, you should visit now.

The Alleva Dairy for cheese and meat and other Italian grocery items and the Piemonte Ravioli Co. for pasta.

Across the street is E. Rossi & Company, an Italian housewares store that used to be on the corner and that every Italian American from NYC remembers.  Here is a great history of the store.  The article also mentions Paolucci’s, a restaurant that closed as rents went up.  Paolucci’s actually had perciatelli on the menu.  The owner introduced me to Goodfellas‘ author Nick Pileggi at the restaurant one night.

Of course, no stop to Little Italy is complete without a visit to the famed pasticceria Ferrara.

Try gelato or pastries, such as cannoli, napoleons, eclairs, or rum babas.

At the end of the block on Mott Street is Di Palo’s, an Italian deli/grocery.

Head south on Mulberry Street to the Church of the Most Precious Blood.  Established in 1891, this church is the site of the San Gennaro festival in September.

For coal-oven pizza, try Lombardi’s on Spring and Mott Streets, the first pizzeria in the United States, opened in 1905.

Lombardi’s pizza

What to Eat:  Cannoli from Ferrara, pizza from Lombardi’s

Where to Shop:  E. Rossi & Company for housewares and Italian novelties; Alleva Dairy and Di Palo for cheese, meat and grocery items; Piemonte Ravioli for pasta

What to See:  Italian American Museum, Church of the Most Precious Blood

9th Avenue International Food Festival

Today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, May 18 & 19, 2013, is the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival.  The festival runs from 42nd Street to 57th Street.  As you can see from this pic, the darkening sky didn’t keep festival goers away.  In fact, when it started to pour, they got umbrellas.

There are all kinds of ethnic foods as well as typical fair foods like zeppole, funnel cakes, arepas, candy apples and grilled corn.

There are booths with Hell’s Kitchen and New York t-shirts and your standard street fair hats, sheets, spices, etc.  If you’re a single lady, there are some cute cops on the festival route, especially at 48th Street.

Some booths of note to check out are Empanada Mama, one of the festival sponsors, which has a few spread throughout the festival:

And Thai buns across the street:

I got the 3 for $5, Thai sweet sausages, pulled beef and curry chicken.  All were good.

Schmackary gave out free samples of its chocolate diablo cookie, a chocolate cookie that brings the heat.

It was really good.

Friendship has a booth giving away free samples of cottage cheese.

Poseidon Bakery, one of the festival sponsors, has a table of Greek pastries.

Weekend Whets 5/17

Great GoogaMooga, Friday, May 17, 2013 through Sunday, May 19, 2013, Prospect Park, Brooklyn:  Food and music festival.

Martha Stewart Cooking Demonstration, Friday, May 17, 2013, 1 p.m., Macy’s, 34th Street, Furniture department Level 9, Manhattan:  Martha cooks American food and signs her new cookbook, Martha’s American Food.

North Brooklyn Takes the Cake, Saturday, May 18, 2013, 6 p.m., The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street, Brooklyn:  A cupcake bakeoff!  Tickets are $15.

Taste of Tribeca, Saturday, May 18, 2013, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Duane Street (between Greenwich and Hudson), Tribeca:  Outdoor culinary festival featuring dishes from Tribeca chefs.  Tickets $50.  Raises money for PS 150′s and PS 234’s arts and enrichment programs.

40th Annual Ninth Avenue Food Festival, Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, 2013, Noon to 5 p.m., Ninth Avenue from 42nd to 57th Streets, Manhattan:  A celebration of the diverse restaurants on this strip.

The Sweet Escape:  New Jersey Confection and Dessert Tasting Expo, Sunday, May 19, 2013, The New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center, Edison, NJ: Sample tastings from the state’s bakeries, pastry chefs and sweet shops.  Tickets $65.

Cook it Raw:  David Chang & Friends, Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 7 p.m.,  New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Bartos Forum, Manhattan:  Momofuku’s David Chang welcomes  chefs Massimo Bottura and Daniel Patterson for a conversation with Cook It Raw founder Alessandro Porcelli, moderated by journalist Lisa Abend.  $25 General admission.

Gluttony:  Deconstructing Dinner, Thursday, May 23, 2013, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., The New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor, Manhattan:  Part of a series on science and the deadly sins.  Steve Ettlinger, author of Twinkie, Deconstructed, and Dwight Eschliman, photographer of Foodstuff, discuss ingredients in popular processed foods.  $15-$25.

Meat Hooked!, Thursday, May 30, 2013, 6:30 p.m., BLDG 92 , Brooklyn Navy Yard Center, 63 Flushing Ave (at Carlton), Brooklyn:  Gotham Center Director Suzanne Wasserman’s new film, a documentary about meat and the rise and fall and rise again of butchers and butchering in and around New York.  $8/$5 members.