Scream For This

Who wants ice cream?  I do for sure.  In fact, it is my weakness.  The best ice cream in the USA is made in Cincinnati: Graeter's Ice Cream; even Oprah endorses it.  Recently bestgroceries' significant other brought 12 pints of Graeter's to the freezer of our NYC apartment.  This is really dangerous, since I have to practice great restraint not to eat it all in a week.  So far, so good, I have not even had a taste (but notice how it is still on my mind....)!

So, yes, I am an ice cream expert.  I have tasted it everywhere I go, gelato included.  Recently I discovered a really cool gourmet ice cream truck in SoHo: Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream.  After a visit to the SoHo Apple store, I crossed the street and there was their lovely creamy-yellow-painted ice cream truck.  Not surprisingly, I could not resist - I had to try their wares.

I chose strawberry and it was fresh, creamy, and delicious - just as they say it is.  But something else was different.  Their disposable spoons, bowls, and napkins were intriguing in texture and weight.  When studying their website I learned they are made from renewable resources (sugar cane and corn husks).  The Van Leeuwen enviro-friendliness doesn't stop there, after all, this is intellectual ice cream.  All of the ice cream is made of all natural products, the milk comes from cows who graze on the pastures of the Adirondack Mountains.  Distribution is only through the vintage ice cream trucks that dock in three locations in the city (see below).  The goods are available in pints and/or half gallon sizes, I believe.  Visit the website to learn more.

To find a Van Leeuwen truck, go to SoHo @ Greene & Prince daily between 1 - 8 PM, to University between 11th and 12th daily between 8 - 11 PM, or to the Upper West Side parking spot on Broadway between 74th and 76th daily between 1:30 - 11 PM.

Lula Café is Delicious!

As a continuation of my slacker-hood of grocery shopping, I have been busy traveling and eating in restaurants.  This past weekend I was in Chicago, attending a wedding, riding bicycles along Lake Michigan, meeting up with friends, and eating lots of delicious foods.  It was even more fun than I anticipated!

In Logan Square (a little north and pretty west of downtown, on the blue line) there is supposed to be a giant Farmer's Market on Sundays from 10 am to 3 pm.  Although I was busy wandering Wrigleyville and bicycling during those hours, my posse and I made it to the scene around 8 pm and we were able to partake of the wares of the market at an amazing café in the square: Lula.

The flavor combinations were truly amazing, and I ate way more than I should (3 courses!), but it was worth it and I would do it again.

Here's what I ordered:

lula house salad (v fresh, great dressing, homemade bread slices and herbed butter)

pasta yiayia

vanilla gelato

Check out their menu and check out the Logan Square Farmer's Market site.  I will be back for a market visit.

I'm Nuts for LÄRABAR

It's true. I have been so crazy-busy so far this summer that I have not achieved my goal of visiting all of the green markets here in NYC by any stretch. My new plan is to visit them as soon as I can get to them and then report.

In the meantime, I suggest that any of you who partake of Luna bars or Kind bars or the like, or even if you don't, take a bite (if you haven't already) of the LÄRABAR. That's right.  go to your local Whole Foods or GNC (these are the places I know have them) and get one. There are many flavors to try. That's right - pick up one or twelve.  Keep them in your purse or satchel for when you are so hungry, you're getting grumpy. Just do this.

Here's the deal: these bars are all fruit and nuts, no crazy chemicals or sugar or HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).  Fruit and nuts.  That's all.  And they are good.  Get one.  Check out their website (click on the title of this entry and it will take you there.)  There are new flavors this summer: Coconut Cream Pie and Peanut Butter Cookie.  Plus their logo/label is super-duper-ific, very classic.  Nice, simple website, too.

CENYC Greenmarket 2008

(The Green Market at Union Square - painting  by Hedy Pagremanski)

Someone shared this listing (assembled by the Council on the Environment of NYC - CENYC) of greenmarkets in NYC with me.  From now through the summer months I plan to visit as many of these markets as I can and see how green and good they are.

The information looks amazing - promoting buying local products, listing the chefs who buy from the markets, the farmers who sell, they have gear (t-shirts, etc.), and many markets accept credit cards and food stamps via a swipe for tokens.  Very cool.

The CENYC has all kinds of information about recycling programs: recycle textiles at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, chef tours and tastings, environmental education projects, and film presentations to inspire us to recycle, care for ourselves and the earth.

I know, I know, this sounds so good and green.  So, I'm going to put this market list to the test!

I should mention that my expectations have changed since a group of 10 people (including me) decided that we should submit ourselves to a diet challenge where we earn points for positive behaviors (exercise and fruit & vegetable consumption, drinking water) and lose points for negative behaviors (eating junk food, sweets, & chocolate, drinking soda & alcohol - excluding wine); so far it is going well.  Now I crave more unusual products with natural and organic ingredients and a greater variety of produce, so I think I must check out these markets soon!

Checkout This

For Star Wars fans who love organic foods, this video is for you.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hVrIyEu6h_E

Frenchy Cookbook Writer's Blog

Clotilde Dusoulier has a pleasant and well-mannered site and blog about her eating adventures. More recipe than grocery blog, but I'm sure the connection is recognizable.  

I particularly enjoy her post from April 28 about hotel breakfasts.  It is true, breakfast can be a barefoot and sleepy-headed experience at home.  I have to admit, perhaps shamefully, that I partake in a caffeinated beverage with a bagel, scone, or the like nearly every morning on the way to work, so I don't get the same feeling as Clotilde.  Breakfast, for me is more of a warm up on the go for the day.

However...I have recently been a regular at a hotel in the Princeton, NJ area and the breakfasts are quite questionable: funny looking scrambled eggs, canned fruit, high fructose corn syrup enriched syrup (not maple) for their waffles.  On mornings where they have "omelets" rather than scrambled eggs, I make a decent egg-and-cheese-on a croissant sandwich.

Anyhow - check out the Chocolate and Zucchini website - I want to look into Clotilde's book and even try some of her recipes.

What in the Fishmonger?

Just in case you were wondering...click on the title.

Declining Markets

This article appeared in today's NYTimes.  Scary how the corner grocery is disappearing, even in Queens.  I better go home soon to make sure the markets in my 'hood are still there!

Supermarkets for Design-Minded Folks

This is an article from Dwell - very intriguing design.  I really want to visit MPreis and would love to hear from anyone who has been.  Click on the title of this post to view full article.