the weekend buzz

“Celebrating Julia, Beard on Film, NYC Food and Film Festival, Brunch at Irving Mill”

Thursday (AS IN TONIGHT): Celebrating Julia

Long before “Bam!” and “Please pack your knives and go,” America was captivated by a different type of culinary charm, by a woman whose unassuming sincerity and candidness helped demystify the intricacies of French cooking: Julia Child. Even after her death in 2004, her passion for cooking continues to be celebrated by those who experienced her influence in American culinary arts. Come to the New School tonight and engage yourself in a panel discussion highlighting the legacy our beloved Julia Child.

You might recognize some familiar faces partaking in the dialogue: Judith Jones, Julia Child's editor at Knopf and author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food; Molly O'Neill, former New York Times Magazine food columnist; Joan Reardon, author of M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child and Alice Waters: Celebrating the Pleasures of the Table; and Laura Shapiro, author of the Penguin Lives book Julia Child. Moderating the talk will be Andrew F. Smith, editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink.

The panel discussion is $8 (free to all students and New School faculty, staff, and alumni with ID) and will begin at 6pm, held at 66th Fifth Ave in the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium (Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at the New School). Tickets can be purchased in person at The New School Box Office at 66 West 12th Street, main floor. The box office will open one hour before the event. For reservations email boxoffice@newschool.edu or call 212-229-5488. For more information about event visit http://www.newschool.edu/generalstudies/events.aspx?id=16060.
—Grace Nguyen

Friday: Beard on Film Lunch at The James Beard House, 167 West 12th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues, 212.627.2308 or 1.800.36.BEARD.

In celebration of the NYC Food and Film Festival (See Saturday, below), the James Beard Foundation is combining two of our favorite pastimes (eating and movies) and hosting their annual Beard on Film lunch. You’ll be welcomed with a spread of the food and drinks inspired by the NYC Food and Film Festival movies, while watching the trailers—mini cheesesteaks, baby lamb chops, mini butter burgers, sautéed fennel and goat cheese, bluejinn cocktails and draft root beer – prepared by chef Harry Hawk, chef of WaterTaxi Beach. After the trailers – “La Roccolta,” “This is My Cheesesteak,” and “Brooklyn Pizza,” you’ll hear a discussion by each movie’s directors. Get ready to eat with your eyes. Lunch is $30 (JBF members), $35 (non-members), and $10 (students) and begins at 12pm, ending at 2pm.
—Grace Nguyen

Saturday: The NYC Food and Film Festival

The New York City Food Film Festival is back for the second year from June 14-20th at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City, Queens. A $20 day pass and you're off on a windswept water taxi ride towards a multiple sensory experience. Relax on the beach while viewing films and sampling the food featured in each film. Wednesday, June 18th debuts "The Mighty Humble Blueberry"—while learning about the cultivation of the blueberry join Donna Lennard of Il Bucco for an olive oil tasting and blueberry drinks and cultivate your own journey towards summer love. The festival moves from the beach to the parking lot of Grimaldi's (also reachable via NYC water taxi) for "Pizza Night" when three short films on pizza and its presence in NYC are shown and Grimaldi's offers up free samples. If that's not enough, you can create your signature Grimaldi’s pizza pie—prices starting at $12. As an added bonus, burgers, deep-fried hotdogs, French fries and a full bar are available each night. Entrance to the film festival is free, but food is for purchase. For a full list of screenings, food and water taxi schedule, visit
www.nycfoodfilmfestival.com
—Jessica Areman

Saturday or Sunday—Brunch at Irving Mill (116 East 16th St., NYC 212-254-1600, www.irvingmill.com)

Brunch is often about two things—eating and drinking. In the summertime, it’s also about doing both of these things outside. At Irving Mill, you’ll find all three. The eating part features a prix fixe three course menu ($21) that starts out with an oversized bread basket stocked with freshly baked morning goodies—banana bread, lemon poppy seed scones, biscuits, country white and multi grain bread. For brunch, chef John Schaefer is serving appetizers like a Greek yogurt parfait with granola, apricots, cranberries and dates, a chilled pea soup with ricotta bruschetta, or a golden beet salad with
fennel, fava beans, and a garlic crouton. Entrees are heartier, with choices like an organic egg omelette with fingerling potatoes, wild leeks, roasted tomatoes and Manchego cheese, French toast with smoked bacon, strawberries and cream, baked eggs with
tomatoes, sopressata and black olives, and a burger on roasted garlic English muffin crowned with mushrooms, sherried onions, and cheddar cheese with fried fingerling potatoes.

To drink, they’ve opened up their very own (alcoholic) lemonade bar called The Stand that features summer-fruit infused boozy lemonades ($10 each) like the Fizzy Lemon with vodka, lemoncello, Aperol and soda, the Barbed—gin, rhubarb and lemon, and Miller’s Lemonade—a mix of rye whiskey, mint, and lemon.

Irving Mill fulfills the al fresco requirement providing a wide tree-lined front patio, with teak seating and canvas umbrellas in case the sun is too strong.

And that's your Strong (weekend) Buzz for this week! Don't forget to visit the Strong Buzz every day now for cutting edge news, reviews and events!

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