NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Food/Wine

Published on Thursday, 28 January 2010 02:23

Written by L E Shannon

NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010 is being held from January 25 to February 2, 2010 in Manhattan. NYC Restaurant Week® is New York City’s original dining celebration.

As the country’s first-ever restaurant week, NYC Restaurant Week debuted in 1992 when it was developed as a one-time culinary event to welcome the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to the City. Though created to appeal to delegates and other DNC attendees, the program also found a strong following among residents excited to dine at some of the City’s top restaurants for a fraction of the usual cost—$19.92 for three courses—and who wanted NYC Restaurant Week to be a recurring event.

Read more: NYC Restaurant Week Winter 2010

Winter Wine Festival 2010

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Food/Wine

Published on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 07:53

Written by Lynne Shannon

The 6th Annual Winter Wine Festival is being held at the at the Wentworth by the Sea Hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire from January 15 through February 27, 2010. What better way to cope with New England winter than a month of toasting and tippling. Local hotshot chefs, like Gregg Sessler, executive chef/owner of Cava Tapas Restaurant, and national winemakers, like Ted Seghesio, will be given the spotlight.

Now in its 6th year, the festival has grown by leaps and bounds, offering wine enthusiasts and gourmands the ultimate experience in entertainment and education alongside the beauty of a luxurious historic grand hotel. On the picturesque Great Island of New Castle, New Hampshire, just 1 hour north of Boston and 1 hour south of Portland, the location couldn’t be more perfect. This is a great opportunity to enjoy some of the most exquisite wining and dining in all New England.

This event caters to connoisseurs and novices alike, as guests enjoy the opportunity to meet renowned national and international luminaries in the culinary and wine worlds. Events include:

Wine Makers
Celebrity Chefs
Grand Vintners Dinners, which are Four Course Meals
Tasting Seminars
Grand Tasting Event
Bubbles and Jazz Brunches
Flight Nights
Wine Fair and Sale

In short, there is something for everyone.

The Festival kicks off with the signature Grand Tasting Reception featuring Taste Magazine Top 20 Restaurants. This is a unique opportunity to sample hundreds of wines from around the world, accompanied by hors d’oeuvres prepared by some of the talented chefs that will be featured in the coming weeks at the Grand Vintner’s dinners. Music is provided by Ben Baldwin and the Big Notes.

A special Grand Vintner’s Dinner offered especially for Valentine’s Day is Veuve Clicquot Champagne Grand Vintner's Dinner with Chef Pierre Gignac of 98 Provence
Champagne is the instinctive choice for a romantic celebration. Award winning Chef Pierre Gignac brings the south of France to the Wentworth as he creates a lovers’ meal of a lifetime, orchestrating an intimate evening alongside Geraud Lerclercq, Brand Director of Veuve Cliquot, with a one-of-a-kind Sweetheart menu, created by blending his reverence for tradition with his special flare for creativity.

Some other Grand Vintner’s Dinners are:

Grand Vintner's Dinner featuring Kendall Jackson, Certified Master Chef Ken Arnone and Susan Rice's Truffles.
Only 61 chefs in America have the distinction of saying that they are a Certified Master Chef.  The almost 10 day long grueling exam ensures that only the best of the best can earn the distinction.

As if having one prepare a four course dinner wasn’t remarkable in itself, Master Chef Ken Arnone will be focusing the dinner around one of the world’s most highly prized delicacies, the truffle. Susan Rice, owner of Black Diamond French Truffles Inc., expects her lands in North Carolina to become the largest truffle producing lands in North America.

Louis Jadot Winery Grand Vintner's Dinner with Executive Chef Jason Johnson of Jumpin' Jay's Fish Café
Louis Jadot Winery covers approximately 380 acres in Burgundy, France. Since 1859, Maison Louis Jadot has accorded equal importance to each of Burgundy’s appellations, from Grand Crus right through to regional wines.

Pairing his savory cuisine with this legendary wine is Jason Johnson, the face behind Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café, which is now in its tenth year. This Dinner pairs fresh seafood with some of the world’s most sought after wine.  

Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards Grand Vintner's Dinner with
Chef Gregg Sessler of Cava Tapas & Wine Bar
Brook Williams, CEO and winegrower for Zaca Mesa Winery, specializes in crafting Rhone varietal wines with character and integrity from grapes sustainably grown in their own Santa Barbara County vineyard. All of his wines are 100% estate grown and bottled, a quality shared by less than 1% of today’s wines.  

Chef Greg Sessler, co-owner/chef of CAVA Tapas and Wine Bar, has returned to the New Hampshire seacoast after spending 5 years in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Wine Country. Greg has made a name for himself as one of the most talented and creative up and coming chefs in the area.

Casa Lapostolle Grand Vintner's Dinner with
Chef Jonathan Cartwright of The White Barn Inn
Guest Chef Jonathon Cartwright of the White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine has earned the Inn its share of honors, including hospitality’s highest honor, a 5-Star rating from Mobil Travel Guide, as well as the AAA 5 Diamond Award, making the White Barn Inn only one of twelve restaurants/inns in the US to share both of these honors at once.

Casa Lapostolle Winery of Chile has received Wine Spectators number one wine of 2008 for their flagship wine, ‘Clos Apalta’. Casa Lapostolle has earned recognition for their expertise in French style wine making, as well as their organic horticultural practices.

The final dinner of the Winter Wine Festival is a more casual affair, at Bogle in Blue Jeans & Rockin' Rombauer "Not So Grand" Grand Vintner's Dinner.
Robbie LaBlanc of Bogle Vineyards, Clarksville California, Jim Teegan of Rombauer Vineyards, Napa Valley, and Wentworth By The Sea Executive Sous Chef Matthew Louis are teaming up to rock the NH Sea-Coast

Bogle and Rombauer Vineyards are unique in that they are still family owned and operated wineries, producing very high quality, great value California varietals.  

Chef Matthew Louis brings his uniqueness through his inventive culinary talent and cutting edge presentations that have helped make The Wentworth and The Winter Wine Festival synonymous with world-class cuisine.  

Recording artist Robbie LaBlanc has sung and performed with many Rock & Roll legends such as Toto, The Rascals and Paul Shafer to name a few. This evening Robbie will be accompanied by Jim’s brother Tom Teegan on bass, who currently plays the Portland night club scene.  Who said Wine Dinners need to be formal and stuffy? Attendees are sure to be entertained by two of the most fun wine guys in the business.

Piper Heidsieck Bubbles and Jazz Brunches and
Domaine Chandon Bubbles and Jazz Brunch
Even more reason to drink Champagne are these bountiful brunches with chef-attended action stations, oysters on the half shell, sides of smoked salmon, rich carving stations, savory seafood dishes, mounds of fresh berries, tropical fruits, chilled shrimp, fresh pastas, seasonal vegetables, a pasty buffet and much more are presented against a backdrop of ice sculptures and a live jazz duo.

Other events:

Wine Tasting Seminar

Renaissance of Italian Wines with Philippo DiBelardino of Banfi Vintners
Philip di Belardino, Vice President of fine wines at Banfi, one of the largest suppliers of Italian wines in the world, is often described as a stand-up comedian passing himself off as a wine connoisseur. Everywhere he goes, he is revered and loved for his sense of humor, his insights, and his deep passion for wine and life. Philippo teaches about Italy, while tasting through six classic Italian wines.

2nd Annual Winter Wine Fair and Sale with
The New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets
Now an annual festival tradition, the Winter Wine Festival has paired with the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlets for an afternoon with wine brokers pouring roughly 150 premium wines.  Wines featured at the event will be on sale, at exceptional Wine Fair Only pricing.  

Flight Nights
Every Tuesday-Thursday evening
In the cozy Roosevelt’s Lounge, featured flights of wine are paired with complimentary hors d’ouevres and guest wine professionals throughout the entire event, with live entertainment.  

For further information, visit WinterWineFestival.com.

6th Annual Winter Wine Festival
January 15 through February 27, 2010

Wentworth by the Sea Hotel
588 Wentworth Road
New Castle, New Hampshire

Transform your Tree at MulchFest 2010

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Parent Category: Other Festivals

Category: Food/Wine

Published on Sunday, 06 December 2009 02:05

Written by FFTraveler Staff

Though it's questionable why you needed to chop down  a tree in the first place to celebrate a religious holiday through what is really a pagan ritual, you can help the environment and community by recycling your Christmas tree by attending MulchFest, the 2010 edition.

So when you consider the holiday season is over,be redeemed and see your former friendly conifer reduced to wood chips and sawdust to be used for tree pits and gardens. The New York City Parks and Recreation Department hold this celebration of ecological awareness for two days - January 9 and 10, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at several sites around the five boroughs.

For your tree to qualify for this honor, remove all lights, ornaments, and decorations from it prior to drop-off.

Said Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, "Providing collection and recycling options for residents is environmentally valuable and benefits our neighborhoods. Working in conjunction with the city's Parks and Recreation Department allows residents to take part in the recycling process and permits them to even reuse their composted Christmas trees to fertilize for the spring. Compost is a natural fertilizer and is an excellent soil enrichment that promotes the healthy growth of plants and grass."

But given the likely frigid conditions, you may not want to hightail it anywhere depending on where the tree is lodged so there are other options. The Sanitation Department will collect clean, non-bagged Christmas trees that are left at the curb between Monday, January 4 and Friday, January 15, 2010. Again, remove all lights, tinsel, ornaments and stands before setting trees at the curb. If you placed the dried tree in a bag to prevent needles from getting all over--take it out of the bag when leaving it outside.

Those trees will be chipped and made into compost as well. The compost will be processed and subsequently spread upon parks, ball fields, and community gardens throughout the city.

You'll be able to take wood chips and/or mulch from designated chipping sites. Mulch will not be available at "Drop-off Only" sites. Sring a bag so you can grab some free mulch for your own use.

For more information and site locations see MulchFest 2010: http://www.nycgovparks.org/services/mulchfest/mulchfest.html

MulchFest 2010
Jan. 9 -10, 2010 from 10 am - 2 pm
Various Locations throughout NYC