Archive | March, 2011

Eating for a Cause at Boqueria

24 Mar
2011

This past Sunday was the eighth annual Time Out For Hunger event, where over 160 restaurants in New York City participated in giving 10% of their day’s proceeds to the Food Bank For NYC. Presented with Time Out New York, the Food Bank enlisted some of the best restaurants this city has to offer, from Lure Fishbar to the Russian Tea Room, all of the BLT spots and more. I had a hard time choosing, but wound up heading to Boqueria for an amazing brunch with my family. Since I could never snag a table on any prior attempts, just getting a seat was reason enough for celebration.

Boqueria, named after Barcelona’s world famous and spectacular market, claims it offers New Yorkers “the chance to dine as they would in Barcelona’s famed tapas bars without ever leaving town.” I’ve never been to Spain, but if it’s anything like Boqueria in the Flatiron district, sign me up. The vibe is relaxed and communal, with high tables and chairs allowing diners and staff to be at eye-level, which strangely feels like you’re just chit-chatting with a friend while also ordering food. Genius.

There were six of us, and even though the Brunch menu looked amazing, we opted to stick with the tapas y raciones menu so that we could taste (and eat) as much as possible. The first bite to arrive at the table were the bunuelos de bacalao, which are salt-cod fritters with citrus aioli; the fritters were crispy and delicious, and the sauce was put aside on the table for all future dipping. Next up were the dates stuffed with almonds and Valdeon (a type of cheese similar to blue cheese), wrapped in bacon. These were small enough to pop in your mouth and exploded with amazing flavor after crunching through the salty bacon: sweet, savory, it was all there. Other highlights from the meal included the sauteed wild mushrooms with manchego cheese (salteado de setas), chorizo frittatas, and the grilled baby squid (txipirones) with garlic and parsley crispy potatoes.

My favorite pick of the afternoon were the blistered shishito peppers with sea salt (pimientos de padron); blackened to perfection, these little Japanese peppers were unassuming, simple, and fresh. They are typically mild, but a few can sneak in (on our plate, 3) that are very spicy, so we took the liberty to play ‘fiery pepper roulette’ with the table; I lost twice, but really, I won! I left Boqueria pleasantly full and happy, knowing that the amazing meal we just had would be contributing to the programs at the Food Bank.

For every $1 donated to the Food Bank For New York City, 5 meals can be provided to New Yorkers in need. Last year, Time Out For Hunger raised close to 300,000 meals in one day. The final tally hasn’t been completed yet for 2011, but Boqueria alone raised about $1,900- that’s 9,500 meals!

 

For more information about Time Out for Hunger 2012, visit the Food Bank for NYC website.

Boqueria has two locations- 53 West 19th Street in the Flatiron District, and 171 Spring Street in Soho. To see their menu and contact information, visit their website at www.boquerianyc.com

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Force of Human Nature: Spring Volunteer Activities Outdoors

24 Mar
2011

This post was originally written for offManhattan, an eco travel site featuring destinations out of Manhattan that are accessible sans car.

Whether or not the weather agrees, Spring is officially here. It’s time to put those winter sweaters back into storage and dust off your flip flops. It’s also the perfect time to volunteer in New York City. As the seasons change, so do the opportunities available; there are gardens to be planted, parks to prepped for the onslaught of visitors, and other outdoor projects that are most enjoyable in the cool sunshine of Spring. Below are some ideas for outdoor volunteer projects and activities that you can sign up for right now:

Pick A Day, Any Day

Are you too busy for a big time commitment? Sign up for these one-day volunteer events:

  • ‘It’s My Park Day’ is an bi-annual event taking place this spring on May 21st, 2011. You don’t even have to register: just find a participating park and GO. Partnerships for Parks invites dedicated community groups to organize volunteer projects and free cultural events in their neighborhood parks, in the hopes that people will come out to help and learn more about year-round opportunities. There will be over 150 community organizations and parks participating throughout the 5 boroughs.
  • Hands On New York Day: Join New York Cares and 5,000 other volunteers on April 16th to make our city’s parks and gardens cleaner, greener, and ready for summer. You can join my team or start your own!
  • Million Trees Planting Event: The city’s Million Trees Initiative has an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the City’s five boroughs over the next decade. On April 30th, 2011 you can help them reach that goal by joining them in one of five parks in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island and volunteer to help plant 20,000 trees in one day!

Runs Don’t Run Themselves

New York City plays host to a slew of fundraising 5K’s and walks, and all of them need volunteers to help ensure the day goes smoothly. You can help by handing out water along the route, checking in participants, cleaning up after the race, or even cheering! Here are some upcoming runs and contact info:

  • New York Road Runners: Find more races and opportunities here by signing up to volunteer at any NYRR race. All opportunities in 2011 will count as a volunteer credit toward the 9+1 Program for those who would like to receive a guaranteed entry to the 2012 ING New York City Marathon.

Going Green for the Season

There are many organizations that are dedicated to community gardening and environmental education all year long. Now that Spring has arrived, they’ll need help for the busy planting season. Check out these groups for on-going volunteer opportunities with varying commitment levels:
  • ioby (which stands for ‘in our backyards’) connects donors and volunteers to environmental projects in their neighborhoods to inspire new environmental knowledge and action in New York City. They have sponsored projects in need of volunteers to plant veggies, building gardens and educating the public; email volunteer@ioby.org for more info or visit the website.
  • TimeBanksNYC Green April is a month-long marathon of eco-friendly, green-inspired projects. Each Saturday in April, TBNYC will be in a different borough for an environmental community service event. To gain access to the Green April events, attend the volunteer kick-off event on March 30th at the Horticultural Society of NY; RSVP at volunteer@timebanksnyc.org.
  • New York Cares is the all-encompassing, citywide mecca for volunteers. Just sign up online and attend a 45-minute orientation and you’ll be able to access their database of 1,000’s of projects that take place all over the city, from Pelham Bay Park to Gregory’s community garden in Brooklyn and almost everything in between. You can volunteer once, weekly, monthly; whatever you schedule, NY Cares has something for everyone.
  • Slow Food NYC is the New York City chapter of Slow Food, a non-profit, member-supported organization founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life. From time to time they need volunteers to staff events or to help with outreach programs. Contact them at volunteering@slowfoodnyc.org to find out what’s available now; for one, they will be preparing their neighborhood farm in Brownsville on April 16th, 30th and June 4th for the upcoming summer program for 100 local kids.

For more environmentally-helpful volunteer projects, visit my spring greening tips from last year, “Volunteerism in Full Bloom.”

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8th Annual Time Out For Hunger

16 Mar

On Sunday March 20th, 2011 you can dine out in New York City and donate to the Food Bank for NYC at the same time. How you ask? It’s simple: go to one of over 150 participating restaurants and eat a delicious meal; the rest will be taken care of, as 10% of the day’s proceeds will be donated to the Food Bank. These restaurants are the favorites of Time Out New York, every New Yorker’s go-to magazine for the city’s weekly offerings, so you can rest assured that no matter which place you choose you’ll be leaving full and happy. Since there are so many to choose from, I’ll help you out by listing my top picks (all NY’ers are self-proclaimed foodies and I’m no exception):

Bombay Talkie
189 Ninth Avenue

Txikito
240 9th Avenue

Porchetta
110 East 7th Street

Dos Toros Taqueria
137 4th Avenue

The Mermaid Inn
568 Amsterdam

Las Ramblas
170 West 4th Street

Bark Hot Dogs (BK)
474 Bergen Street

Motorino Brooklyn (BK)
319 Graham Avenue

For a complete list that will be updated until the day of the event, click here. Will you be dining out for hunger? If so, where?!

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Garden or Run, Pick A Poison.. Or Both!

10 Mar

There are two big events coming up in April that I’m participating in, and I’d love some of my Give And Get friends to join me! The first is Hands On New York Day on April 16th and the second is the Penny Harvest Run for Change on April 30th. Whether you’re looking to get down in the dirt or run a 5K, both of these events are sure to make you sweat. Read on for details on what these events are all about and how you can register:

Join New York Cares and 5,000 other volunteers to make our city’s parks and gardens cleaner, greener, and ready for summer. Hands On New York Day is an incredible day of service; we may rake and clean debris, or plant, or paint fences and benches! Teams haven’t gotten their assignments yet but it’s sure to be a fun, green time no matter what. Last year our team was placed in Queens where we painted benches in Bowne Park.  It’s a great way to get outside with some friends and make a difference, and also an important fundraiser for New York Cares that supports the 11,000 volunteer projects that run year-round. I’ve thrown together a team for this and NY Cares other annual event, New York Cares Day, for the past three years. This year is no different: Join Team Give and Get NYC on April 16th


 

The first ever Penny Harvest Run for Change is going to be an amazing day, and I’m not just saying that because I’m helping to plan it! It will raise money for one of the most important causes – supporting children so they can have the kind of future that you and I have been given, and help prevent them from dropping out of school and teaching them the collective power of youth leadership and philanthropy. Common Cents, creators of the Penny Harvest and Run for Change, will lead thousands of people as they run from Pier 84 on 43rd Street, down the Hudson River Greenway to the finish line at “Penny Park” located within Nelson A. Rockefeller Park. Following the run, you can attend the Student Service Fair and take a look at the amazing work these kids have done and celebrate their committment (and yours!) to service. If you’d like to sign up, you can register here and join the Common Cents Volunteers Team, which I’ll be leading on the 30th.

 

Both of these events require a $25 registration fee, which goes towards covering the event costs and fundraising, and also giving you a sweet new t-shirt to wear the day-of. You can register for both like I have, or pick one that is better suited to what you’d like to do. Both events, be it beautification of our parks or contributing to the education of our children, will benefit the City of New York by investing in it’s future. You can comment below and/or email any questions you may have to info@giveandgetnyc.org

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Green Guerillas Enviro-Film Fest

5 Mar

Green Guerillas, NYC’s pioneering community garden group, is hosting an enviro-film festival on March 9th from 6pm-9pm at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan. Come for the films and stay for the conversation. Watch award-winning films about community activism, agriculture, and sustainability that will inform you, inspire you, and ignite solutions and possibilities for all of us.

MKCREATIVE, a creative services agency, is co-producing the festival with Green Guerillas in the hope of bringing community gardeners, urban farmers, composters, and people who care about the earth together for this one-of-a-kind event. You’ll also be able to get information about volunteer opportunities and other ways to take action in NYC.

Ticket: $10, includes free Green Guerillas t-shirt.
Sponsor Ticket: $20, shirt, popcorn, recognition at event.

$1 popcorn and refreshments. $2 beers. Door prizes and raffle. Make sure to get your tickets in advance and arrive early; seating is limited and this is expected to sell out!

Visit www.FILMS2INSPIRE.org to find out more and to purchase tickets.

Co-hosts: ioby, bk farmyards, EcoStationNY, Neighborhood Preservation Center.

$10 tickets are not tax deductible. $20 sponsor tickets are 50% tax deductible.

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