June » 2010 » Markets of New York

Executive Chef Jim Smith Keeps our Seniors Happy and Healthy at Vi in San Diego

My mom recently made a wise, wonderful, and brave choice to move into a senior community. (Some of you may have met her at the book launch party at Posman Books or at “Celebrate Handmade Brooklyn” at the Brooklyn Indie Market) She had been living in a huge condo in a part of San Diego, California that has sketchy public transportation. So she felt ever more isolated and unhappy there. In a great stroke of luck for us, she found Vi, formerly Hyatt Classic Residences.

She spent quite a bit of time at Vi before making her decision, meeting other residents and the wonderful staff, and she got more and more excited about life here. But the one thing she mentioned over and over was the food. “The FOOD!” she’d say every single time I spoke with her. “It’s so delicious and fresh!”

So this week I came out to help make the final push to get her happily ensconced in her new home. I wanted to check out this food I’d heard all about. And, by golly, she was so right!!!

Executive Chef Jim Smith has been at Vi for almost 8 years. Originally from New Jersey, Chef Smith started out washing dishes at his parents’ establishment at the age of 15. He attended culinary school in New Jersey and worked in several kitchens. He joined Hyatt Hotels in 1986, and lived and worked in different regions of the US, including Boston, San Antonio and San Diego. So he can make a perfect clam chowder, and he knows his Mexican cuisine, from a TexMex barbacoa to a West Coast fish taco.

Chef Smith decided to work in this senior community because his family needed a less hectic schedule than the demands of being an executive chef at a busy hotel. He has come to find that there are many other benefits to working at Vi, primarily the ability to establish strong relationships with the residents. “They have great stories, great lives,” he says.

And he can give them the foods they love in the three restaurants he manages at Vi. He always makes comfort foods, like spaghetti and meatballs, or mac and cheese, and his roasted chicken has the perfect texture, juiciness, and seasoning. But he also likes to make the classics, like osso buco, which he can do in the most upscale of his restaurants, “21,” on the top floor with amazing views. “Many of the residents have lived and traveled all over the world, so when they tell me my rabbit confit is the best they’ve ever had, it makes me happy.”

Chef Smith has the advantage of living on Southern California, where so much wonderful produce is available all year round. He uses HAACP-certified food purveyors to provide safe food products for his clientele. He makes 600 – 800 meals per day for the approximately 500 residents. Many of the breads and breakfast pastries come from a local bakery, including a chocolate babka that I regret not trying this time! (I had too much fresh raisin bread on my plate.) He also likes to use hydroponic spinach and greens for his salad to provide nutritious, clean foods that still taste good.

As a testament to Chef Smith’s talents, his restaurants provide a warm, welcoming center of this special community. The breakfast room is full and sunny, and people sit together to chat over morning coffee and a fresh muffin. I saw friends meeting up for lunch, inviting newcomers to join them. Fresh cookies are served at teatime, when people can come downstairs for a chat and a cup of coffee. And Friday seems to be a big night here at Vi. I saw groups of people dressed in their finest clothes, meeting up at the elevators, and ready to go for a night-out, right upstairs at “21,” with its exquisite views and delightful menu.

Guest Market: Evening Farmers Market in Ocean Beach, CA

My mother and my sister Leslie live in San Diego, CA, and I’m presently visiting to help Mom settle into her new apartment. Late in the day on Wednesday, Leslie decided it was time to take a break from all the moving and sorting. She correctly assumed that I’d like to pay a visit the evening Farmers Market at Ocean Beach to help me get through missing two weekends of markets in NYC. We arrived in the heart of this surfer haven about half an hour before sundown, and the market was in full swing.

Newport Avenue in the heart Ocean Beach is lined with iconic California palm trees. Normally, I have seen street markets set up with the vendors facing into the street, with shoppers walking down the center. At this market, however, the tents are set up facing towards the sidewalk. So market shoppers and market vendors interact with the permanent businesses – shops, beach bars, and restaurants. But they don’t entirely ignore the street – you can ride a llama up and down Newport Ave. for $2 if you weigh under 70 lbs. I didn’t quite qualify.

The entire neighborhood gets involved with the farmers market. The people watching is just as fun as the market shopping. There are also crafters set up in parking lots just off the street, and we saw lots of interesting jewelry, hats, and more.

But my focus was really on the food (it was well past dinnertime). We bought the first blueberries of the season, as well as some sweet, fragrant donut peaches, all organic and pesticide-free. There were plenty of prepared food vendors as well. For dinner, we brought home tacos and quesadillas from Gourmet Tamales, with several different fillings, including cactus (my favorite), squash blossom, and chile relleno. They were absolutely delicious. For dessert, we picked up some handmade chocolates, but more about them tomorrow.

My only issue with my greenmarket at Abingdon Square in New York City is that no matter how early I get there, I’m always late. By the time I roll in at the crack of 10, just before my pilates class, all the good produce has been purchased by those mysterious and vexing “morning people.” So being able to get my pick of the crop at 4:00 PM, or even getting a great selection at 7:30 PM is just ideal for me. I loved the romance of strolling through the fruits, veggies, and cut flowers as the sun went down over the Pacific Ocean, just a block away.

Markets Events & Announcements!

Book Signing This Weekend:

Sunday, November 6, 2010: Abingdon Square Market - 9AM to 12PM. Finally hanging out at my market! Come out and say hello!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the wonderful people who contributed to the IndieGoGo.com project to add video to this site!

We exceeded our $1500 goal for a total of $1690! I am so excited to get the equipment and hit the markets to take gorgeous videos for fall and the holidays!

Book Review: Clean Plates NYC Will Help You Find Restaraunts Serving Delicious and Healthy Food

Clean Plates NYC by Jared Koch (photo from Clean Plates NYC)

A few years back some friends invited us out to dinner. One of them is a vegetarian, and so we thought their choice of a well-known barbecue restaurant a bit curious. Predictably, the non-meat eater struggled to find something on the menu, and the rest of us struggled not to dope slap both of them for their lack of forethought. The dinner was fine and fun, but all the discomfort could have been avoided if we had had Clean Plates N.Y.C.: A Guide to the Healthiest Tastiest Restaurants in Manhattan for Vegetarians and Carnivores (Jared Koch, 2009).

Clean Plates NYC author Jared Koch has had a longtime interest in health. In fact, he was pre-med in undergrad, and he deferred his admission to medical school indefinitely. He became a certified nutritionist instead, working with clients 1-to-1 on their eating habits and health goals. Being New Yorkers, Jared’s clients like to eat at restaurants several times a week but were concerned that their food choices would not be particularly healthy. So Jared started compiling a list for his clients of restaurants serving healthy, nutritious and delicious food. The list became a hugely popular among his clients. Clean Plates NYC, the guide and the brand, sprang from the idea of providing this valuable information to a broader audience.

Clean Plates includes a list of 75 restaurants in Manhattan that were evaluated using strict criteria:

- Taste

- Atmosphere

- Types of cuisine (the book has a wide variety.)

- Lifestyle (Casual, Fast Food, Power- Lunch, and Fine Dining)

- Geography (the list includes restaurants throughout Manhattan)

- Healthfulness of Ingredients (many of the restaurants serve local and regional foods, as well as grass-fed meats)

There are eight different icons to identify the key characteristics of the 75 restaurants in Manhattan. So you can pretty much please any crowd combination. Meat eaters, vegetarians and raw food eaters on a budget? Liquiteria!? Omnivores but gluten-free? Slice! Dairy-free, gluten-free, and raw with naturally-sweetened desserts? Pure Food and Wine!

In selecting each of the restaurants featured in the book, Jared and his restaurant review associate, food critic Alex Van Buren, dedicated themselves to finding food that is good for you but that actually tastes great too. Many of the restaurants serve locally produced foods, as well as grass-fed beef and organic produce. I no longer have to search across vast swatches of the internet to find a place nearby for delicious food to suit vegetarians and omnivores alike.

The part I like best about this guidebook is that it makes it easy to eat healthy food without changing my New York lifestyle. I was happy to see that some of my favorite places are on the list, including Le Pain Quotidian and Pret a Manger on the casual side to Blue Hill and Gotham Bar and Grill on the formal and celebratory side.

To make things even better, when you buy the book you get a secret password that allows you to access a members-only section of www.cleanplatesnyc.com, with restaurant updates, discussion forums, and much more. Not only is this book a tidy treasure trove for people who value healthy food that tastes good, but it is also your ticket to meeting and sharing information with other like-minded people. To paraphrase Jared’s introduction, the term “clean plates” implies food that is pure, unprocessed, healthy, and good enough to tempt you to lick your plate clean.

You can purchase Clean Plates NYC online and in bookstores.

Photo of the Day – June 18, 2010: The Great Scape!

Scapes are upon us! I came across these green, swirling beauties from Migliorelli Farm at the Zucotti Park Greenmarket downtown yesterday. For those of you who are wondering what do to with these unusual culinary treats, I just think of them this way: scapes are to garlic as leeks are to onions. Scapes are young garlic tops that you use much like you would use a scallion, only the flavor is garlic. They are stronger raw, but when you cook them, the garlic taste is much more subtle. My friend Kathleen Blake made a scrumptious Farmers Market Frittata with her fresh scapes. It was divine. You can find her recipe on her delicious blog, The Experimental Gourmand.

Also, here are more of my favorite market picks on Vital Juice!

Photo of the Day – June 16, 2010: Meeker Avenue Flea Market

The Meeker Avenue Flea featured on Good Day New York with Julie Chang - and Elvis.

I first went to the Meeker Avenue Flea Market last September. I was very impressed with this market even though it had only been open for two weeks. I knew I had to put it in the Markets of New York City guidebook; I had a strong feeling that it would be sticking around. Now, just ten months later, my hunch has been confirmed. The Meeker Avenue Flea Market has developed into an amazing source for antique and vintage furniture and decor.

When Good Day New York asked me to take Entertainment Anchor Julie Chang to a flea market, I thought of Meeker Avenue immediately. Not only is this market open 7 days a week, but it is a true destination, deep into Williamsburg, for antiques shoppers and dealers alike. We saw battered steamer trunks that had obviously seen the far corners of the world. There was a romantic sleigh bed, and an art deco bar in perfect condition. There were chairs, tables, and even antique bicycles for sale, as well as more contemporary items like desks and conference room chairs. The extremely long stainless steel commercial kitchen tables evoked a million possibilities for restaurants, diners, or soda fountains. And who doesn’t need a vintage Elvis lamp with glowing blue eyes?

Most of the items to be found at this market have had many prior lives, like the tiny school desks that brought back so many memories. But they were built to last, unlike much of today’s disposable merchandise. Not only can you find high quality craftsmanship, but you are keeping these pieces out of the landfill by bringing them home and shining them up for their next incarnation.

The Good Day New York segment on the Meeker Avenue Flea Market aired today. You can visit the market any day of the week, and they also have an online shop featuring many of their one-of-a-kind pieces. You can spend an entire weekend day at the markets in Williamsburg and also visit the two nearby Artists and Fleas markets (on 6th Street and in McCarran Park), and the Greenpoint Greenmarket on Saturdays.

If you didn’t catch the information at the end of the Good Day New York Segment, my Picks of the Week are:

- Hester Street Fair – Food, fleas, and farmers on the lower East Side
- The {NewNew}’s pop-up shop on Governor’s Island all summer long
- Brooklyn Indie Market in Carroll Gardens with a great neighborhood vibe, and high quality handmade jewelry, clothing, soaps, home decor, and more.
- Fulton Stall Market – Farmers, food and crafts in the South Street Seaport-

Tonight’s Tenement Talk – The Resurgence of Markets in New York City

Please join us tonight, Tuesday, June 15, for the Tenement Talk at the New York Tenement Museum. I will be discussing the recent resurgence of markets in New York City with Anne Saxelby, Proprietor of Saxelby Cheese in the Essex Street Market, and Kimm Alfonso, Designer and Printer of Kimmchi Silkscreened Apparel. Kimm is also a director of The {NewNew}, a group of New York metro area artisans who work together to foster creativity and commerce in the handmade markets.

Refreshments will include a selection of regional cheeses from Saxelby Cheese and artisanal beef jerky from New Jerk City. Rumor has it that tonight is the debut of New Jerk City’s Manhattan flavored beef jerky!

See the listing in the Books Section in Time Out New York for more details and map to the Museum!

Photo of the Day – June 16, 2010: Meb’s Kitchenwares!

Artist's Palette Cheeseplate with Paint Brush Knives by Meb's Kitchenwares at Crafts at Lincoln Center This Weekend and Next!

Woodwork artisans Meb Boden and Tom Vaiciulis of Meb’s Kitchenwares will be showing their lovely and clever homeware at the American Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center for the next two weekends (June 19/20 and June 26/27).

Be the first to bring home their new pieces, including a Grand Piano cutting board made of black walnut or cherry with tight curly maple for the keys. They also handmake pate spreaders, salad scoops, cheese knives, tongs, and something called a deli spoon. Imagine serving your friends an award winning Pawlet cheese from Consider Bardwell (my current cheese of choice at the Greenmarkets) on the Artist’s Palette cheese plate with paintbrush cheese knives (pictured). Their wooden drawer pulls will add enchantment to even the New Yorkiest of New York City kitchens. Meb and Tom only use New England woods, and much of it is harvested from their own backyard! Stop by Lincoln Center and say hello this weekend or next.

Photo of the Day – June 14, 2010: Cedar Hill Farm/Kernan Farms

Asparagus forest from Cedar Hill/Kernan Farms at the Grennmarkets

Imagine a forest of giant asparagus spears just next to a lake of drawn butter. That’s what I did when I saw this lovely community of fresh green stalks from Cedar Hill Farm/Kernan Farms at the Greenmarket. Asparagus season is another of my favorite times of year. I make plans for asparagus soup, roasted asparagus, asparagus tarts, and many other delights, but my bunches never make it beyond a quick steam and a splash of lemon juice. It just seems silly to do anything more with something so perfect as it is, don’t you think?

Photo of the Day – June 13, 2010: Grind the Gears

If you’re looking for an excellent rock-n-roll t-shirt, Grind the Gears, recently at the Spring BUST Craftacular in Brooklyn, has some very original ones. Is that David Bowie? Nope, it’s Miss Piggy. Or should I say, Piggy Stardust. Badass Muppets: Fozzy Osbourne, Burt Cobain, and Tickle Me EMO, not to mention Spongebob Leatherpants and more. They strike the balance between sweet and ironic – in other words, tee-shirt Nirvana.