the weekend buzz

“Free Wine, Brunch at Pera, James Beard Sunday Supper, TIme Out for Hunger, Dinner at Brooklyn Laundry”

Saturday: Calling All Oenophiles in Jersey
 
If you love wine and free events, here's one for you this weekend. At “The Power of Positive Drinking,” join authors and wine afficianados Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (who run becomingachef.com), Gary Vaynerchuk and Michael J. Gelb for an afternoon of wine education and wine drinking. The tastings, which are complimentary, are taking place this Saturday in Springfield, New Jersey, at The Wine Library (586 Morris Avenue) from 1 to 4 p.m. that’s worth checking out. For more information check out http://winelibrary.com/Wiz_booksigning.asp. Cheers!
 
— Bao Ong

Sunday: New Brunch Starts at Pera

Midtown doesn’t exactly provide a buffet of brunch options, leaving those few who live in Tudor City and that surrounding areas few choices for weekend dining. This weekend, the popular midtown Turkish spot, Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, enters the brunch wars from noon to 3 p.m. with a new menu that presents a deal of a prix- fixe menu ($17 includes a cocktail, an entrée and coffee or tea), along with a la carte offerings and some compelling cocktails, all incorporating the Mediterranean ingredients.  

The menu includes dishes like Lamb French Dip sandwich with feta cheese fondue with lamb au jus and Turkish-beer battered onion rings, a Vegetable Feta Frittata, Manti & Meatballs (mini Turkish meat dumplings, mini beef meatballs with garlic yoghurt, melted Marash butter) and cocktails like Sumac Bloody Marys and Sour Cherry Mimosas.  

Brunch starts on Sunday, March 28th from noon to 3 p.m. in honor of the Annual Time Out for Hunger (see below for more on this event), so that 10 percent of each check will be donated to the Food Bank of NYC.  Thereafter brunch will be served Saturdays and Sundays.

Sunday: James Beard's Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market

Chelsea Market is a foodie’s heaven. Artisan cheeses, crusty breads from Amy’s, fresh seafood, Jacques Torres chocolates, locavore-minded eateries and more exist under one roof. For the second year in a row, however, Chelsea Market essentially transforms into one big restaurant (are you salivating yet?).

Along the grand concourse, a 240-foot-long supper table will be the centerpiece of the Sunday Supper at Chelsea Market on March 28, a fundraiser that brings together some of the country’s best chefs. A reception begins at 6 p.m. and the multi-course gourmet, family-style dinner starts at 7 p.m. A throng of guest chefs (Brian Bistrong of Braeburn, Alex Raij of Txikito, Masahura Morimoto, Marc Vetri of Vetri, Sue Torres of Suenos, Dan Silverman of Standard Grill, Craig Koketsu of Park Avenue) will cook dishes such as cider-braised Mangalitsa prime pork belly with a shallot-parsley salad, tequila-flamed rock shrimp tostadas with black beans, oxtail shepherd’s pie with farmers’ market root vegetables, stuffed guinea hen with mushrooms, assorted L’Arte del Gelato gelati and chocolate petits fours.

Tickets are $180 for James Beard Foundation members and $220 for the general public (although includes a free JBF friend membership and $50 dining certificate). Proceeds benefit the James Beard Foundation and the Fulton Youth of the Future Culinary Scholarships, which helps students living in the Fulton Houses, an affordable housing complex in Chelsea, find summer jobs and educational opportunities. For more details, check out www.jamesbeard.org/chelseamarket.

Chelsea Market is located at 75 Ninth Ave. (between 15th and 16th Streets), www.chelseamarket.com.

—Bao Ong

Sunday: Time Out for Hunger

It’s that time of year again, your chance to dine out at one of your favorite restaurants and help feed your fellow New Yorkers in need. On Sunday join in for Time Out For Hunger, when more than 130 of Time Out New York's favorite restaurants will donate 10 percent of a day's proceeds to the Food Bank For New York City.

At last year’s event more than 100 restaurants helped raise funds for over 165,000 free meals for New Yorkers. This year can be even better than last. Just browse the list of participating restaurants—including Buttermilk Channel, Motorino, Porchetta and Locanda Verde—and make reservations today!

For more details and a full list of participating restaurants, head to: http://www.foodbanknyc.org/go/events/time-out-for-hunger

Sunday: Brooklyn Laundry’s Dinner Club

Brooklyn Laundry is a private dinner club that aims to create dinner parties in the spirit of a meal, a city, or a some kind of culinary experience they've stumbled across. They are committed to using local, seasonal grown & foraged produce, sustainably raised animals, and the freshest caught fish as the foundations for each meal.

Their next dinner takes place this Sunday night and the menu is drawn from the cookbook known as the bible of Italian cooking, "The Silver Spoon." The five-course tasting menu with wine pairings will be a spirited celebration of the menu created by Giorgio Locatelli of Locanda Locatelli in London. His menu includes dishes like Cappesante All’Aspretto Di Zafferano (Pan-Fried Scallops with Saffron Vinaigrette), Ravioli Di Fagiano Pheasant (Ravioli with Rosemary Jus), and Coniglio Al Forno Con Prosciutto (Rabbit with Prosciutto and Polenta).

The dinner ($85 pp) will be served in two seatings, at 6 and 9pm at the Toren Building (penthouse) in Brooklyn.  Reserve online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1051.  

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