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Beer Deserves its Place on the White Tablecloth

Nothing bothers me more than this scenario in a fine dining establishment: the polite waiter hands me a wine list, (which is essentially equivalent to the weight of the stone tablets that hold the Ten Commandments), asks if he can be of assistance, and, when asked, flips to the back page to reveal the “beer list” which reads: Guinness, Stella Artois, Blue Moon, Heineken, and maybe, just maybe, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Hmm….let’s look at this:  50 plus pages of wine…Jura represented by their offerings of Savagnin, an entire page of White Burgundy, all with three-digit prices. You want wines made…

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Let Us Eat Local: ‘Just Food’ Celebrates All Things Locally Grown

For those who spend their disposal income on the edible artistry of Manhattan’s best chefs, Just Food’s Fifth Annual Let Us Eat Local was like being inside Willy Wonka’s Fancy Fall Food Factory. The event benefited non-profit, Just Food, which keeps civilians in five boroughs of New York City connected with farms and local products. They engage the community by teaching how to grow and identity healthy food through CSAs, classes, outreach and Farm School, a program giving students a framework to grow produce in the concrete jungle. Forty restaurants rolled out dishes for a walk-around tasting using seasonal ingredients…

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Foodie-to-Farm Tour 2012: An Adventure in Chautauqua County

A farm tour of Chautauqua county this weekend, organized and led by Feed Your Soul founder and Buffalo Spree Food Editor Christa Glennie Seychew, brought the region’s incredible farm scene to life for forty-five Buffalonians with a visit to a cider mill, two family farms, and a winery, as well as two farm-to-table dinners by Western New York’s most renowned chefs. “This is the 5th anniversary of this tour, and it’s absolutely my favorite event of the year,” said Seychew at the start of the tour. Seychew’s company advancing the local food movement, called Feed Your Soul, hosted the all-day…

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Lost and Found Pop-Up Restaurant: 3 Local Chefs Look to Reclaim “Farm to Table”

Kyle Fiasconaro and Dan Shannon and Doug Weiler, the three local chefs behind Lost and Found are on a mission — a mission to make “farm to table” mean something again. “Many restaurants claim to be ‘farm to table,’ but what we have found from our collective experience in the industry, is that the majority of the time this is either a lie, or a tremendous exaggeration,” says Weiler. “The term has become somewhat of a buzz word, which seems to instantly attract people to a restaurant.” He points to the practice of only sourcing salad greens from a local farm, but…

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Restaurant Week in the Finger Lakes: Local Food, Large Crowds

On the first night that acclaimed restaurant Suzanne Fine Regional Cuisine was open during Finger Lakes Restaurant Week, owner Bob Stack found that nearly half his customers had ordered the all-local Restaurant Week menu. Some of those customers had come specifically for the event; others hadn’t known, but were eager to try the chef’s special hyper-local creations when given the option. “We’re off to a wonderful start,” Stack told me as we finished our meal on the deck overlooking Seneca Lake. “We’re very curious to find out how other restaurants are doing with it. We think it’s a great idea.”…

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Fork Finds: Aldo’s (Greenport, NY)

I have a very severe caffeine addiction. While I’m sure illegal substances have their allure, I’ll always stick with my favorite: a steaming hot cup of speed. In the city, I have a rotation of coffeehouses I can hit when I start to droop. I also have a well-documented love affair with that green and white java chain threatening to take over America’s souls. But when on the North Fork, it feels dirty and unsupportive of our small business owners to throw money at a corporation. But I need to feed my habit. And God forbid, I should make my own coffee EVERY morning! So through…

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Fork Finds: Suki Zuki, Water Mill, NY

Editor’s Note: This is the first piece in our new “Fork Finds” series by roving correspondent Tracy Weiss. In her weekly columns, she’ll share her latest finds on the North Fork or South Fork, including food, farmers, wine, beer and pretty much anything else interesting.   June on the North and South Forks are for fatties. It’s almost mandatory to exchange your business casual attire for elastic pants, flip-flops and a thermos of sugar-laden margaritas worn around your neck on a nylon strap. Those lucky enough to spend summers “Out East” will tell you it’s traditional to gorge yourself on…

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Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca: Unique Austrian Style in Finger Lakes Wine Country

Monday, May 7 was a big night in the national culinary scene — so big, in fact, that many in the business call it the “Academy Awards” of the food world. The James Beard Awards Ceremony is an annual event that honors outstanding restaurants, chefs, culinary professionals as well as food and wine writers. And although Dano Hutnik of Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca wasn’t in attendance, the event held special meaning for him and his wife and business partner, Karen Gilman. “Too much to do around here!” Gilman said last week with a tinkling laugh.” Hutnik was nominated as a semi-finalist for the Best Chef…

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This Thursday: “Partners in Living Local” Winemaker’s Dinner at The American Hotel

John Leo, winemaker for Clovis Point, has created a wine dinner series “Partners in Living Local” — all hosted at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor and all celebrating one type of partnership or another in wine country. From the series announcement:   [quote] The American Hotel in Sag Harbor presents local collaborative wine projects in a series of four course dinners celebrating some new landmarks on the East End wine scene. When you live in a place of timeless treasures it’s sometimes easy to overlook the subtle changes growing out of the familiar scenery. It is with this expectation we invite…

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