Next weekend is the start of the NY Gift Fair! If you are attending, we hope you’ll visit us at NY’s Newest, booth #9921. For those of you who are visiting from out of town, here is:

Seltzer’s Picks- An Abbreviated Guide to Eating Out in New York

August- Rustic Mediterranean with ever-changing regional influences. Has backyard patio. Bleecker Street x West 10th Street. Moderate-Expensive. (212)929-8727. www.augustny.com

Cookshop- Fresh and wonderful American, fabulous salads. In Chelsea on 10th Ave x 20th Street. Moderate-Expensive. (212)924-4440. www.cookshopny.com

Uncle Vanya- Russian blini, borscht, and kasha in a funky atmosphere. Check out the horseradish or red pepper vodka! Smaller dishes are best. West 54th x 8th Ave. Inexpensive-Moderate. (212)262-0542.

Wallse- Upscale, nouveau Austrian- excellent food in a beautiful room. West 11th Street x Washington St. Expensive. (212)352-2300. www.wallserestaurant.com

Sakagura- Offers 200 kinds of sake and an extensive menu of authentic Japanese dishes. Moderate-Expensive. East 43rd Street x 3rd Ave, downstairs in an office building. www.sakagura.com

Turkish Kitchen- Delicious food including salads and stuffed bulgar patties. 3rd Ave x 28th Street. Moderate. (212)679-6633. www.turkishkitchen.com

Soba-Ya - Fresh soba noodles and Japanese small plates- 9th Street x 2nd Ave in the East Village. Moderate. (212)533-6966. www.sobaya-nyc.com

Mary’s Fish Camp/Brooklyn Fish Camp- the best seafood and lobster rolls! Try the Park Slope location in Brooklyn for a better chance at getting in or outdoor seating. Charles Street x 4th Street in West Village. No reservations accepted. Moderate. (646)486-2185 /Bklyn (718)783-3264 www.marysfishcamp.com If you can’t get in, try Pearl Oyster Bar- Cornelia St x Bleecker St. (212)691-8211. www.pearloysterbar.com

Mandoo Bar- Korean Dumplings, including veggie, on West 33rd Street in Koreatown. Casual, Inexpensive. (212)279-3075.

Aquavit- Upscale Scandinavian, in either the more casual front cafe, or formal main room. Extremely modern in design, with artfully presented food and princess cake for dessert. 55th Street x Madison Ave. Expensive. (212)307-7311. www.aquavit.org

The Mermaid Inn- Strictly seafood that is really good. 2nd Ave x 6th in East Village, or new Upper West Side location on Amsterdam x 87th. Moderate. (212)674-5870/(212)799-7400UWS. www.themermaidnyc.com

Geisha- Fancy sushi in a fancy neighborhood. East 61st Street x Madison Ave. Expensive. (212)813-1113.

Tea & Sympathy- Stand in line for a British spread of tea-time cakes and puddings, or a salad and shepherd’s pie. All the food is great in this tiny, fun, place. Greenwich Ave near West 13th Street. Inexpensive. (212)807-8329. www.teaandsympathynewyork.com

Phoenix Garden- Excellent Cantonese, altho not super friendly. Reservation recommended. East 40th x 2nd Ave. Inexpensive. (212)983-6666. www.thephoenixgarden.com

Wu Liang Le- Very good Szechuan, can fit large groups, friendly service, known for its fresh bacon dishes but has a wide menu. FYI, it’s upstairs, on an unattractive block, across from Rockefeller Center. 36 West 48th x 6th Ave. Inexpensive. (212)398-2308.

Otto- Mario Batali’s Pizzeria, with small plates, cheese, and wine. 8th Street x 5th Ave. Inexpensive-Moderate. (212)995-9559. www.ottopizzeria.com

Markt- near Metropolitan Pavilion. Belgian Brasserie, including mussels and frites. 6th Ave x 21st Street. Moderate. (212)807-0615. www.marktrestaurant.com

For Trekkers:

Trattoria L’Incontro- Unbelievable Italian- you won’t be disappointed! Ditmars x 31st Ave in our ‘hood, Astoria, Queens. Take N or W train to Ditmars, the last stop. Moderate-Exp. (718)721-3532. www.trattorialincontro.com

SriPraPhai- Best Thai food in the city, like chili basil fried fish chunks and amazing soft-shell crab. Casual, noisy setting. 39th Ave x 64th Street in Woodside, Queens. 7 Train to 61st Street stop. Inexpensive. (718) 899-9599.

For Vegetarians:

Caravan of Dreams- Raw nachos are the best! 2nd Ave in the East Village. Inexpensive. (212)254-1613. www.caravan of dreams.net

Hangawi- Serene setting for upscale Korean veggie. East 32nd Street x Madison. Moderate-Expensive. (212)213-0077. www.hangawirestaurant.com

Gobo- Chinese-influenced veggie in a sleek setting. 6th Ave x 8th Street. Moderate. (212)255-3242. www.goborestaurant.com

Vegetarian Dim Sum House- All vegan, open for lunch and dinner. Chinatown- Pell Sreet off of Mott. Inexpensive. (212)577-7176.

Blossom- Organic vegan, warm and friendly, organic wines. 9th Ave x 21st Street. Moderate. (212)627-1144. www.blossomnyc.com

Pure Food and Wine- Fancy, delicious and raw, appetizers are tiny, and good desserts. Irving Place x 17th Street in Gramercy. Expensive. (212)477-1010. www.purefoodandwine.com

——————

If you need more recommendations, stop by our booth #9211 in the Metropolitan Pavilion! Happy eating!

Last Monday, I had a really fun experience, seeing the demo at Astor Center by Top Chef’s Marcel Vigneron. A lively and interactive speaker, he created three dishes and two cocktails- and spoke of his food philosophy as it pertained to each dish. His talked about working on a fishing boat in Alaska, which taught him to respect the fisherman, farmer, and everyone who is involved in bringing food to our table. He said that when you respect the food, you will treat it with care.

Marcel is very experimental. He creates his dishes with emphasis on texture as much as on taste, using different techniques of molecular gastronomy. For example, the melting temperatures of gelatin and agar create different sensations in the mouth…Marcel uses one or the other, or a combination of both in his recipes.

1) “inspiration”- Uni with meyer lemon gelatin, fennel cream, caviar, and kalamata oil. Chervil garnish.

2) “seasonality” - “French Kiss” melon gelee with tomato “caviar”, gazpacho aspuma(kind of like whipped cream version of the soup), basil seeds, basil oil. This dish was based on ingredients that grow during the same season, and go well together.

3) “modern global cuisine” - Thai themed: cold vegetable salad with kafir(lime leaf) vinagrette, kona kampachi, peanut bisquocia, tom yum foam.

The final cocktail was a “faux olive” martini- and the olives were made to explode in your mouth! (The first cocktail was hibiscus tea with blood orange vodka). The demos of molecular gastronomy were really interesting, and it’s not the kind of food you’d cook at home everyday. But I did learn a lot!

On a final note, I did notice that creating certain foods creates a lot of waste, as when using only the juice of the melon. Should we eat the whole melon instead? That issue is something that we consumers, and food industry should address- whether the food is an art form, like Marcel’s, or not.

It’s been a little delayed, but here are my highlights from our trip to Maine- including Portsmouth, NH, Kittery, ME, and Portland, ME. We had a fun time visiting friends, shopping at cool independent stores, and eating the best food, either cooked by friends, from a farmer’s market, or in a restaurant.

Portsmouth/Kittery: These neighboring towns have just the right amount of shopping, dining, and relaxation for a long weekend. We had an amazing time at Dunaway Restaurant last trip, but this time we hit Victory. Victory serves their versions of New England cuisine. We tried sunchoke soup, raw oysters with carrot mignonette, golden fried tomato with lobster salad and avocado(yum!), local scallops with mushroom duxelles, english peas, & cob bacon… and a neat cocktail that included saffron, coconut, and orange! http://www.96statestreet.com

On our way to dinner, we found the new-ish Ello Gallery on State Street, featuring local art and design. Very fun selection, eclectic and affordable prices on items like tee shirts, jewelry, and local NH humor postcards. That was a great addition to Portsmouth’s wide array of shops like Nahcotta or Somnia on Congress Street. If you visit the area, don’t miss two chocolate shops: Byrne & Carlson, and my fave, Cacao, on Government Street in Kittery. The owner of cacao is obssesed with making the best chocolates, and her sea salt caramels are unmatched by other brands.

If you want some lobster to take home, or just order online, call Taylor Lobster Comapny in Kittery. We get our meat there and then Becca makes the BEST lobster rolls, followed by Red and Black Raspberry Pudding! www.taylorlobster.com

Taking a day trip to Portland, we saw what all the hub bub was about. Portland is happening! Its independent shopping scene have a “Shop Local” campaign to go with it. On Congress, find famous designer Angela Adams, hipster haven Ferdinand, shop with a gallery vibe Eli-Phant, Filament Gallery for unique art, glass, and objects, and Carlson & Turner antiquarian books- great shopping! And we stopped at two cafes: North Star, and Homebrew, where the owner creates her own blends of teas and serves them in hand-thrown cups. It was a lovely, relaxing place to sit, and the little room separated by beads looked perfect for a group tea time.

All this is near Munjoy Hill, away from the main tourist shopping. But downtown and Old Port have got Four Walls Gallery, Allen & Walker Antiques, and high-end Maine fasion brand Rogues Gallery. Near Rogues Gallery we dinner at Vignola- a warm, inviting place. Other food spots to hit are: Standard Baking- a bakery known for croissants and breads, which is super cute due to its set-back location. At Micucci’s, our tourguide Becca led us straight to the back, where a famous pizza man creates REALLY amazing, squishy, saucy slices. If there are any left when you get there. I was lucky to catch a photo of the last slice. -GWL

Here is some good news- if you are on the “Do Not Call List”, you are no longer required to renew it every five years, thanks to the FCC. That seems reasonable- how many of us don’t want telemarketing calls now, but will want them later?

http://circman.com/viewmedia.asp?prmMID=4060&prmID=1

As for junk mail, I am really happy with the Catalog Choice service! You enter your code from teh back of catalogs that you don’t want- the only sucky thing is, Nashbar refused to take me off their list! I think these companies are really irresposible, if they don’t comply with a consumer’s wishes. I really will not buy bike parts, and notw I won’t buy anything at all from them! I was only on the list becuase I bought Mojo Bars once- they are the delicious, pretzel-y, salty but sweet snack bars from Clif Bar.

http://www.catalogchoice.org/

http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_mojo/1240

On “The Works” on History Channel, they had a good garbage episode. While we at Seltzer are hard at work making 100% post-consumer recycled cards, notebooks, and wrap, the folks at Pratt Industries in Staten Island recycle a barge everyday! They turn Manhattan’s recycling(yes, a barge of it) into pizza boxes!  I think the barge was one day’s worth- I have to double-check. The show reminds viewers that if you don’t recycle, your trash ends up in the landfill!  So, it’s inspiring to see that if you make an effort, pizza boxes will be made and the cycle will go on… They also showed a place that burns trash to make electricity. Four pounds of trash = the energy of one pound of coal!!  The host, Daniel Wilson, was really good, too. He looked like he was really having fun when the recycling plant let him work the giant “grabber” claw- it looked like a jumbo one of the claws in the arcade machines! We love anything jumbo or miniature.

http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=59296&display_order=2&mini_id=59278

As part of the Seltzer Design Team(I mean, Duo), I love seeing cool design. Check out this episode if you can catch it- on National Geographic Channel- Manmade: Living Small in the Big City.  They show incredibly clever and functional design in Tokyo’s small living spaces. Equally important is the shared public spaces- baths, bars, hotels. I think that we Americans are loathe to share a bath or tiny spaces with strangers, but the Japanese look cleaner, whether they are or not. The Japanese baths actually are pretty clean, because you sit and wash yourself first before getting in the large pools to soak. The person interviewed said they didn’t want to dirty the pool water- there is an ingrained politeness and regard for others. I don’t see that in my daily environment, and I wish I did! http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/man-made/3293/Overview

Food is my all-time favorite subjects, but my latest gathering of not-all-tasty news:

A) The NYTimes ran an article titled “Yes, we will have no bananas”. Bananas are going to get more expensive- because of fuel, partially. But it is also because growers use only one variety, the Cavendish, to keep maximum efficiency and profits. The banana companies also exploit people and finance death squads(see CondeNast Portfolio Oct. 07), which sounds worse than factory farming. I love the idea of eating local- I have stopped eating much California produce, and luckily Whole Foods had chard and lettuce from Western Mass last week. However, I still eat frozen organic veggies, because I don’t waste as much, and I think they’re more nutritious than veg that have been trucked 3,000 miles- I guess I should do more research on that. Oh, back on subject- as much as factory farming and wasting fuel sucks, won’t we all pay more for our beloved bananas?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/opinion/18koeppel.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

B) OK- I think many of us have heard that high-fructose corn syrup is bad for you, and bad for the environment(monoculture=bad). Well, I just read this: the FDA is allowing high-fructose corn syrup to be labeled “natural” in food! Yikes! I think I should use the term “food” loosely… keep reading those labels!

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=86396-fda-corn-refiners-association-hfcs-natural

C) I just discovered Wolfgang Puck’s organic soups last week. I have a thing for corn chowder, and I love soup in general(fresh ramen- that is another obsession). I’ve been having soup for lunch at the Seltzer office, and the Wolfgang Puck soup was really good! It’s organic, and I thought it was great to have a new brand to choose from- I didn’t have much selection of good organic soups. Low and behold, this news appears: Wolfgang Puck’s soup company sold to Campbell’s! Nothing good lasts forever… but I am not too upset. I just bought a ton of Bar Harbor soups, made in Maine! So far, I rate the fish chowder(with Alaskan haddock) as best, with corn chowder 2nd and lobster chowder 3rd. It was saltier than the others, and not worth the extra price. My fight for the independent business lives on… http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080701_Campbells_buys_Wolfgang_Puck_soup_business.html

Speaking of Maine, we’re off to visit friends there tomorrow, for the weekend. But I have more info on great Maine products- I’ll get to it soon.

Oh, an last note: for those of you who eat meat. Do you like buffalo? It’s leaner, grass-fed, hormone-free, etc. etc. Check out these great Buffalo Polish Sausages for The Buffalo Guys… they are really tasty. I slice and pan-fry them, or you can microwave for 30 seconds and it tastes like a hot dog. I’ve only had the Polish style, since I rarely eat meat, but they have more variety on their site. http://www.thebuffaloguys.com/

-GWL

Ok, more about TV, but other topics soon.

Living with Ed- Ed Begley visits a modern green house, designed by an Icelandic couple. It had a rubber sink, basically a sheet of black rubber stretched over a long, rectangular frame. Cool. They also had recycled rubber cabinets and chair backs on stools that slid into their giant kitchen island. Giant sliding doors opened to an outdoor bed area for the kids- not a green feature per se, but a nice blend of indoor/outdoor. The rest of the show featured Jay Leno’s workshop with green devices like an old generator and windmill, and a segment on de-cluttering. Not all of the show was riveting, but saw some cool stuff.

G Word- which brings us to this show, which is all about cool green stuff to do. Mostly in LA, which is not as diverse for us East-coast viewers, but had a great segment on converting your car to electric. The “Keep It Green Girls” went to see “Reverend Gadget” at Electric Motors Customs. He explained how oil is refined, using electricity- he said refineries are the 2nd largest use of electricity. But that same electricity used to refine gas can be put in your car and be more efficient! So gasoline is even more wasteful than we thought, compared to electric cars- the electric motors put out 3X the power of gas engines! The elctric cards cost 1cent per mile to drive, and have no noise, or smell. I hate stinky, noisy pollution! (yes, I live in Queens, and there’s lots of honking too). The girls concluded that they could get their cars converted by the Rev in less than a year, when the technology would be cheaply available to us all- I can’t wait.

Other items on GWord included:

Recycled paper insulation that was safe and fire-retardant. I think that it’s less toxic than the denim insulation, but just guessing- old blue jeans have dye in them.

Recycling cow poop into energy(altho eating beef is still really bad for the planet).

Pineapple plantations in Costa Rica- I learned that you could grow a nitrogen-fixing plant to grow food for your pineapple plant! (Pineapples take 14months to grow-who knew?)

Midnight Riders- bicyclists riding en masse, in LA at night. Looks like fun.

Turning human ashes into simulated diamonds, or pencils. That, I had not heard of. I have seen natural cemeteries, where you are put into the ground and marked with a rock, which seem s nice. Not sure I want to be a Cubic Zirconia. If I waited long enough, wouldn’t I possibly become a real diamond? -GWL

This week we saw a bunch of the new green-themed TV shows:

Off the Grid- Brian instantly recognized Les Stroud from Survivorman- by his voice! As you can imagine, Les is pretty hardcore- he moves his family to rural Canada from the city, and they build an off-the-grid house on a low-budget. That made it ultra-hard, but Les survives it, of course. His family skied to the road, got a composting toilet, but he added a wood stove to his outhouse for the kids! Ahh, what a nice dad. (Brian thought they could have gotten pre-fab buildings and been done faster- B is such a fan of pre-fab.)

Alter Eco- It starts off like a bad spoof of Entourage, but then Adrien Grenier and his hip LA crew show some green stores, organic wines, and work on a green mansion-sized playhouse. They showed one of our customers, Reform School, which was really neat to see on TV.

Greensburg- A town in Kansas gets struck by three tornadoes- and 95% of the town is destroyed! This show chronicles the process of trying to rebuild it green. Not everyone in town is sold on it, but the high school kids are intrigued, and four of them get to go the the big city- Chicago- to see the green building expo. I like the modular green roof blocks that were shown. It’s great to see young people excited about green, and hopeful that adults would invite them to participate in the creation of their town.

RenovationNation- This episode showed a green renovation Fishtown, Philly. Nice to see care taken with development, and that the developers lived int eh neighborhood. Also a home in LA that used a lot of salvaged wood- there a nice redwood balcony railing. They did show same scenes over and over, which sucked, but overall showed some neat tricks, like a metal grate over the plants on a roof, so you could place seating on it and enjoy it.

Wasted! - This show basically shows people how wasteful they are, in the style of a makeover show. From the bits I saw, it was pretty hilarious to see how much makeup and shampoo a girl can use!

More soon- I have more shows on my DVR.

-GWL

This summer is gearing up to be one of the hottest and most humid in recent NYC history. If I could actually live inside my A/C unit this summer, I’d do it.

And yet, every time I turn up the A/C, or the leave the apartment without turning off the A/C, my own personal Jiminy Cricket appears on my shoulder to remind me that perhaps that’s not the greenest choice I could make. Especially for a green blog writer.

So….I did a little research. And as it turns out, both Jiminy and I can win. The following is a list of ways to stay green and stay cool this summer:

A/C TIPS

• Open windows and use portable or ceiling fans instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler.

• Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cool air through your home.

• Without blocking air flow, shade your outside compressor. Change air filters monthly during the summer.

• Use a programmable thermostat with your air conditioner to adjust the setting at night or when no one is home.

• Don’t place lamps or TVs near your air conditioning thermostat. The heat from these appliances will cause the air conditioner to run longer.

BODY COOLING TIPS

• Take a cold shower in the morning and in the afternoon.
• Dab water on your wrist or other pulse points to lower your core temperatures.
• Wet the sleeves of your shirt. It will pull the heat from your body.
• Eat spicy! As your pores open and you sweat, you release heat. Also, drinking all that water to cool down your mouth helps your body too.
• Swimming! Fun, relaxing, and cool, swimming is the perfect way to bring down your body temperature and your blood pressure. Stuck in Manhattan with no pool or lake in sight? Pick up a Slip n’ Slide or kiddie pool and let the games begin!
• Don’t let the kids have all the fun. Many NYC playgrounds have a sprinkler-type attraction in the summer. Jump in and play too! Just remember to share.

OTHER TIPS

• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents; they produce the same light but use a fifth the energy and heat

• Air-dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.

• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and VCRs, into power strips, and turn power strips off when equipment is not in use.

• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.                                                                                      -CGE