Cherry Blossoms

This weekend is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Cherry Blossom Festival, "Sakura Matsuri". The festival is on May 3rd & 4th from 10am-6pm. schedule here. See a time lapse of the 2008 blossoming here. Here's the blossom status map... as you can see, most of the trees are in peak bloom!

Tribeca Film Festival

I'm a little late with this one, but tickets for the Tribeca Film Festival are on sale. There's always a great selection of indie movies and documentaries and commercial films yet to hit the theaters. Filmmakers are often on hand for Q&A after the film screening as well. Film guide and tickets here.

As part of the festival there is also the Drive-In the outdoor screening series. Schedule here. I recommend arriving early for that because as with all free outdoor film screenings in nyc, they get crowded.

New York Comedy Festival

I'm a little late on this one, but the New York Comedy Festival is going on through Nov. 11. Performances include Denis Leary, Louis CK, Damon Wayans, and Damon Wayans (sorry I missed Sarah Silverman).

Chocolate Week!

Apparently I missed the full extent of chocolateyness this week. Gothamist points out that its Chocolate Week and fills in the details. The events I missed are copied below:

Alice's Tea Cup
156 East 64th Street
Ph: 212-486-9200
Tea and Chocolate Pairing on Wednesday, November 7, 2007 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.
Chocolate Expert Clay Gordon will lead participants through a chocolate and tea pairing and give a talk about chocolate varieties and production. $35 price includes tea, chocolate scone, chocolate cupcake, chocolate tasting samples, and a signed copy of Gordon's book, DISCOVER CHOCOLATE. Reservations are required.

Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro
2 Park Avenue
Ph: 212-725-8585
Lillie Belle Farms Blue Smoked Truffles, special dessert, possible wine pairing.

Brasserie 8½
9 West 57th Street
Ph: 212-829-0812
Chocolate cocktail: Hot Chocolatina. Hot chocolate spiked with Godiva Liqueur and Chambord, topped with pink spun sugar bouffant and chocolate accessories. 57th Street Chocolate Catwalk: Chanel frozen hot chocolate popsicle, Dior Devil's Food cupcake and Louis Vuitton warm chocolate purse.

Chocolat Michel Cluizel@ABC Carpet & Home
888 Broadway, 1st Floor
Ph: 212- 477-7335
Nightly Sommelier-guided chocolate tastings from Nov. 4th to Nov. 8th. Daily chocolate happy hour featuring an array of Choctail specials and promotions. Passport holders will receive a free "hit" of hot chocolate, reduced prices on tastings and a 10% discount on any purchases made in the shop between Nov. 4th and Nov. 11th.

Per Se
10 Columbus Circle
Ph: (212) 823-9335
Signature Chocolate Dessert- Tentation- Milk Chocolate Cremeux with Praline Crunch

Chocolat Moderne
15% discount off of the merchandise total of orders placed on our website with a minimum merchandise total of $30. Customer has to mention code: CSCM091107 (This promo will last through the end of December 2007.)

Country NYC
90 Madison Avenue
Ph: 212-889-7100
Chocolate tasting of pastry chef Hsing Chen's handcrafted bonbons with hot and cold chocolate drinks in the champagne lounge for $30/person.

Crema Restaurante
Cocina Mexicana Refinada
111 West 17th Street
Ph: 212-691-4477
Chocolate Cocktail- Tequila Anejo, Mexican Chocolate, Kahlua, touch of Espresso, and cappuccino foam. Chocolate Entrée- Pulled Pork Tamale cooked in Tomatillo served with chocolate Habanero sauce.

Institute for Culinary Education
50 West 23rd Street
Ph: 800-543-2433
Classes:Monday, November 5, 2007 from 6:00pm to 11:00pm: Old Fashioned Chocolate DessertsThursday, November 8, 2007 from 10:00am to 3:00pm: Chocolate GaloreFriday, November 9, 2007 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm: Chocolate Charity Event- Participants will make chocolates that will then be donated to a children's charity tbd.

James Beard House
167 West 12th Street
Ph: 212-627-2308
Ultimate Chocolate Lover's Brunch with renowned chocolatier Andrew Shotts on November 11, 2007. Open to the general pubic for $90 per person or join the James Beard Foundation and receive the member's price of $75. Reservations required. Limited seating.

Jer's Handmade Chocolates
800-540-7265
Visit us online at Jers.com or call 800-540-7265, give us the event code "CSNY7" and we will give you 10% off your order.

P*Ong
150 West 10th Street
Ph: 212-929-0898
Duck braised in Pinot Noir and chocolate with Kabocha squash tapioca. Foie gras pastrami, ginger, concord grape, and cocoa caramel. Smoked trout caviar, white chocolate-miso parfait, lemon & chive biscuit. Chocolate marquis with shaved melons, Aleppo pepper, hazelnuts, and honey.

Peanut Butter & Co
240 Sullivan Street
Ph: 212- 677-3995
Special Menu Item: Chocolate fluffernutter sandwich featuring Peanut Butter & Co's all-natural, gourmet Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter with Marshmallow Fluff.

Rickshaw Dumpling Bar
61 West 23rd Street & 53 East 8th Street
Ph: 212-924-9220, 212-461-1750
Chocolate Soup Dumplings

Sweetriot, Inc
Ph: 914-304-8991
Hit www.sweetriot.com for chocolate covered cacao! 10% off online. Use discount code: rioting

Chocolate Show Coming This Weekend

Just a reminder, this weekend is the annual Chocolate Show in New York. While the ticket prices have been going up and free samples going down over the last 3 years that I've been, this event is always fun and always leaves me with a satisfying stomach ache. The "Chocolate Fashion" show is Thursday night and the show goes all weekend with the list of culinary demos here, events here and exhibitors here. Be sure to buy your tickets in advance since the line is often a few hours long.

Shacktoberfest!

The Shake Shack’s Shacktoberfest is back! Friday Oct. 5th-14th. There will be a special menu featuring a selection of brats and sausages, Bavarian-inspired concretes and German-style beers.

Gothamist reported that beers would be $4 each including brews from artisanal American breweries such as Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest, Otter Creek Oktoberfest, Weyerbacher Autumnfest, Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale and Victory Prima Pils. Gothamist coverage

Eater has more details: Live music with accordionist Al Zimmermann playing, from 1:00 – 2:30 PM and 5:30 – 7:30 PM on Friday, 10/5, to toast the beginning of the celebration. (though I don’t know if that’s a selling point or not).

A selection of Usinger’s brats and sausages – Andouille with red pepper relish, Stuttgarter Knackwurst with cranberry horseradish relish and Italian sausage with pumpkin mostarda.

Custard Calendar here including the special Oktoberfest concrete blends.

Upcoming Events

Open House New York comes this weekend opening the city's architectural treasures to the public, including some that are forbidden the rest of the time (such as the highline, though I believe that tour has already filled up). Flavorpill breakdown here. Gothamist coverage here. If you miss the event and are a lunatic criminal check out some urban exploration resources to make your own forbidden place adventure and go places you're not supposed to go.



The New Yorker Festival, also this weekend, "brings together some of the brightest and most inventive minds, across disciplines and from around the wall." The opening page has announced Parkour New York: David Belle (founder of parkour) talks with Alec Wilkinson. Parkour is the extremely (practically ninja) style of getting from point A to B as efficiently and quickly as humanly possible. Other talks include Fiona Apple, Susan Orlean, Yo La Tengo, Jonathan Safran Foer, Ian McEwan, Steve Martin, and Werner Herzog. As the festival puts it, "this year's participants include an urban planner who is making cities safe for bicyclists, the woman who outfitted Carrie Bradshaw, the creator of "Hellboy," and a man who can leap over anything in his path." Check the schedule here.