On Saturday afternoon, Kendrick and I had the pleasure of attending an event organized by Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert at the New York Botanical Gardens (a talk by Dan Barber of Blue Hill followed by lunch at the NYBG cafe).
Lessons Learned at Dan Barber Chat:
– Use grapeseed oil for grilling and for making mayonnaise.
– The best olive oils are those sold in small, dark glass containers or tins.
– Something called “curly-leaf basil” exists, and I want to eat it.
– The best food contains both great ingredients and a great story (love this!).
– There’s really no great grilling option for those of us who live in apartments without balconies, because the point of grilling is pretty much the charcoal flavor that’s tough to come by without…charcoal. Sigh.
– 90% of vegetable diversity has been lost over the last 50 years; we’ve created a homogenized food system and effectively “taken ourselves out of our gardens.”
– I want to go to Blue Hill.
I’ve never been to the NYBG before, but this summer is the perfect time to go if you’re at all a foodie. They’ve put together a “celebration of growing and preparing good food” called The Edible Garden, and there are tons of fabulous events: talks and cooking demonstrations by everyone from Mario Batali to Rick Bayless, wonderful tasting stands everywhere you look, tours, and apparently an appearance by a Yankee, which doesn’t really get me going, but might be your kind of thing – I dunno.
My favorite finds on the “Tasting Terrace”:
– Lighthouse Ale, from the Fire Island Beer Company. I’m not usually a craft beer girl (I’m wary of bitterness), but Lighthouse Ale is sweet, clean-tasting, and, as per the name, light.
– Ojai Pixie Tangerines, a collaboration between 40 family-scale tangerine farmers in California’s Ojai Valley. If you sign up on their site, they’ll send you an email when the tangerine season starts, and deliver their (verrrrrry delicious) product straight to your door.
– Fresh Ginger by Bruce Cost ginger ale (pictured below, center). I hate ginger ale with a passion, but Kendrick loves it, and he says that this stuff – which you have to shake to stir up the unfiltered ginger particles that settle to the bottom – is as good as it gets. Kendrick likes the Original Ginger flavor the best, but it also comes in Pomegranate and Jasmine Green Tea.
