The North End Grill

**** BatteryPark.TV has selected this establishment as Best of Downtown for seafood

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The North End Grill

104 North End Avenue (West side of the Conrad Hotel)

T (646) 747-1600

January 23, 2012  By Steven Greer, MD

The North End Grill began its first dinner services for the regular public tonight. As one would expect from a Danny Meyer 4-star striving establishment, the details were well done. As a propitious welcome, the framed photographs at the entrance feature the Irish Memorial across the street (which almost no one will realize). The bar serves individual seltzer and Coke bottles with the drinks, and the glasses are the proper shape. Try the three-glass sampler of whiskeys and the ice cold local beers. The bar menu of $4 tacos, etc. will be a big hit.

Walking to the dining room one sees the open kitchen, which flaunts the fine ingredients and competent crew. There is nothing to hide. The row of seating overlooking the kitchen could be the best seats in the house for the circumspect diner. The dining room looks out onto the peaceful North End Avenue (thanks to BatteryPark.TV evicting the tour buses) and offers a peak of the Hudson River and sunsets.

Chef Floyd Cardoz and his team prepares the wild salmon perfectly, and the Brussels sprouts are creatively chopped and grilled. Other meats and fish are dipped into the unusual wood oven using a Spanish-inspired pair of large steel wheels. The Josper grill allows other meats to be charcoal broiled. Pork chops and steaks are also available.

A separate pastry desert station and a coffee roasting station offer the triptych completion to dinner that will compete the best restaurants. The pecan layer cake portion looks small when it arrives, but is more than enough. But to be honest, many of the southern classic baked deserts around the corner at Blue Smoke can’t be beat.

The best part of North End Grill (and Blue Smoke), is the new demographic that it draws to Battery Park. Although it was a rainy Monday night, the place was almost full. Danny Meyer came over to greet diners in person, and there was no pretentiousness or rudeness that plagues some nearby Tribeca joints like Locanda Verde.

Much as Mr. Meyer’s “Eleven Madison” progressed up to 4-stars, the putative progression of North End Grill should be no different. Hopefully, our idea for a Lincoln Center Jazz style venue will open up next door, and BPC residents will never have to take another depressing New York City cab ride again.

Cheers. Vintry Fine Wines is here! (and high tech too)

**** BatteryPark.TV has selected this store as Best of Downtown for wine and liquor

You can also rate this store here, and please post comments in the section at the bottom.

 January 14, 2012 By Steven Greer, MD

Harry Poulakakos has opened a satellite of his famed Harry’s

Owner Harry Poulakakos

wine cellar in the new Goldman Sachs building on Murray and West Street in Battery Park City. In addition to rare and expensive wines, they are licensed to sell liquors as well. One novel feature of the store is that it incorporates numerous iPads

iPads used to help customers search wines

which allow the customer to search for wines. (Aside, this concept will be coming to dining soon, as an augmentation to the servers who often disappear and neglect tables). For a full discussion with Harry about his wine collection, please see our video below (3-minute-mark) where he gives us a tour of his home base cellar on Pearl Street.

The New York Times wrote this review of Vintry Fine Wines: “A bottle of reasonably priced red to enjoy with dinner is stock-in-trade at most wine shops, including Vintry Fine Winesin Battery Park City. But this sleek, well-lighted new store, with eye-level displays of about 2,500 bottles, including 85 Champagnes and 24 kosher wines, goes well beyond the everyday.

Its well-curated selection includes more than 75 large bottles,

Photo in NY Times review

magnums and up. Among the highlights are a double magnum of 1991 Dominus and a five-liter bottle of 1990 Mayacaymus cabernet sauvignon (third and fourth from left), a double magnum of 1970 Château Mouton-Rothschild (center), and a magnum of 1978 Château Pétrus and one of 1989 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape (far right). Also, a rare magnum of 1981 Château d’Yquem (bottom center). These bottles range from about $1,000 to $7,500.

And those are not the only impressive attractions in the store, which also specializes in California cult wines and French first growths from vintages going back to the 1960s. Some of these, designated Rare Cellar Selections, are from the collection of Harry Poulakakos, who founded the wine-centric restaurant Harry’s Steak, and is a consultant to the store. The shop also carries a small selection of spirits.”

Vintry Fine Wines, 230 Murray Street (West Street), Battery Park City, (212) 240-9553, vintryfinewines.com.

Vintry Fine Wines in the Goldman Sachs building

Goldman Sachs delivers with Shake Shack

June 4, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

Goldman Sachs might be on the road to redemption. After taking away the neighborhood gym, there is finally evidence of betterment to the local community. One of Danny Meyer’s high-end, ultra healthy and natural, Shake Shacks has opened in Battery Park City. It is the first of several new Danny Meyer eateries to open at the ground level of the Goldman-owned hotel by their headquarters on Vesey Street.

Upon first glance, one might be confused at all of the fuss over Shake Shack. It just serves junk food like hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and custard shakes. But after further inspection, one realizes that the ground beef patties are prepared fresh, on site, and come from famed butcher Pat LaFrieda. The meat is antibiotic-free and steroid-free beef. The 100% beef sausages for the Chicago-style hot dogs come from Vienna Beef in Chicago.

The French fries are fried in soy oil, free of trans-fat and animal lard. They are made of Yukon Gold potatoes.

The ice cream is, according to the company, “Made in real custard machines- which spins the custard at ridiculous speeds, into a dense, soft, intensely rich consistency”

Shake Shack also offers its own line of beer and wine. Frog’s Leap collaborates for the wine, and Brooklyn Brewery makes the ShakeMeister Ale.

The Shake Shack staff are American, polite, and competent. This might be the biggest secret to Shake Shack. Restaurants are all about the employees. This one store alone has hired more than 80 American employees, doing their part to reduce the high unemployment in the city and country.

The end result is a noticeably different Classic American cuisine. The fries are uniquely crispy and not greasy. The hamburgers and hotdogs are also not too greasy and heavy. Try the ice cream and drinks for yourself.

If the rest of the Goldman-Sachs-Danny-Meyer restaurants, to open in the Fall, are equally as good, BatteryPark.TV will start a petition to make Lloyd Blankfein the next Treasury Secretary and Danny Meyer the head of the USDA.

A tour of the new BLT Bar & Grill at the W Hotel Downtown

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Regional Director of the BLT restaurants, Pamela Friedl, takes us on a tour of the new Bar & grill at the W Hotel Downtown. For reservations, visit http://www.bltbarandgrill.com

The Steakhouse Tour: Palm Restaurant

You can now rate this restaurant here, and provide comments at the bottom of this section.

By Steven Greer, MD

September 29, 2010: Update

We visited the Palm restaurant on West Street across from Goldman Sachs. The hickory smoked, medium-rare, steak was exceptionally juicy with great taste. The hubcap sized chicken Parmesan, one of their classics, was outstanding. To cap it off, we had the “death by chocolate” style cake. This is definitely a desert for two (or three). Palm is also featuring a pre-fix deal for a steak and lobster 4-course meal at $49. Mention to GM Scott Young that you saw this review on BatteryPark.TV for special treatment.

The Steakhouse Tour: Palm Restaurant

BatteryPark.TV embarked on a tour of nearby steakhouses. We began with the closest one to Battery Park City: Palm Restaurant on the West Side Highway. Executive Chef Luis Nieto and GM Scott Young showed us around. First, the new building is very convenient for the Wall Street crowd of Goldman Sachs, American Express, BofA, etc. and has several ideal private rooms for business meetings. The Palm restaurants began as Italian restaurants and morphed into a fusion of Italian cuisine and American steakhouse. In addition to excellent beef and side dishes, try the chicken parmesan.

Palm Restaurant Tribeca, 206 West Street  http://www.thepalm.com/

(646) 395-6393

Pop culture people who need to go away in 2012

December 31, 2011

If you have found yourself yelling at the TV due to the bad content, or avoiding the movie theaters, you are not alone. It’s not you. The content providers are flailing, desperately and pumping out the worst shows ever.

As fewer people watch free broadcast TV, and even fewer people under the age of 35 pay $150 per month for cable TV, the TV executives have been scrambling to stop the ratings declines. Situation comedies rule the waves, as do multiple versions of the same show, such as the CSI related series. TV news has been the worst hit, and what passes for news now would make Edward R. Murrow gasp if he were alive.

In Hollywood, it is no better. The bad economy, combined with more convenient home theaters and iPads, have caused the box office revenue to decline 11% since 2009. As a result, just as we saw in the music industry, the films are playing it safe, going after the sequel, remake, and family markets.

As a result of these factors, some really annoying people keep showing up on our screens, despite the public not liking them. The following is meant to be constructive for the TV or Hollywood executive. We made a list of the most egregious pop culture faces who need to retire in 2012.

Film Actors

Shia LaBeouf is the product of Steven Spielberg’s hubris. The master of formulaic blockbusters, Spielberg thinks that Shia is someone who females or wimpy males can view and identify with, as he struggles through action packed situations. That might work for films where the special effect robots and Megan Fox are the main attractions, but it does not work in real films. The remakes of “Wall Street” and “Indiana Jones” that starred Mr. LaBeouf were, quite literally, examples of some of the worst casting in the history of modern Hollywood filmmaking. Shia single handedly ruined those films.

January Jones, for those of you who do not know, is the pretty blond who gained fame in the AMC show “Mad Men”. In that limited role, she is sufferable. But placed in larger roles, her lack of acting skills is astonishing. Moreover, she is almost anorexic and simply not appealing as the eye candy that the casting directors seem to think. Her role in “X-men: First Class” was painful to watch. She needs to stick to just the Mad Men series and eat some Big Macs.

Ryan Reynolds began his career in comedic roles. He has a funny looking face with his eyes a bit too close together. He then developed an HGH-like physique, took off his shirt, and casting directors tried to transform into a leading man, to much failure. “Green Lantern” was a bomb. He needs to take 2012 off and try to come back as the principle in the remake of “Saved by the Bell”.

Katherine Heigl was clearly told that she was special by her mother, and seems to have made some good friends in Hollywood. Despite box office bombs one after the other, she keeps getting the leading roles in big budget movies. Maybe Hollywood is finally getting smart and targeting smaller niche markets and that is why they give her the roles? Who knows, but this is certainly an enigma.

Jack Black is clearly the experiment of some Hollywood executives who think that if they push him into the theaters often enough we will like him. It’s not working. “The Big Year” and “Gulliver’s Travels” were money-losers for Hollywood.

Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, and other “Bro Film” genre actors who are oblivious to their nerdiness have worn out their welcome. The sequel to “Hangover” was hated by most fans who loved the original. That’s a really bad sign when fans turn on a cast so swiftly. Zach’s HBO show “Bored to Death” apparently bored everyone to death, and was cancelled. Zach needs to retire and possibly try some directing or producing, or anything behind the camera.

Broadcast Television

Ryan Seacrest is everyone’s favorite person to hate on TV. He sticks around thanks to the ratings of American Idol. Not well known, however, is that he is the evil mind behind those Kardashian talentless sisters, producing their reality TV schlock. The geniuses at NBC floated a trial balloon rumor of him becoming the new Today Show host, which was popped instantly. Ryan Seacrest needs to stay on American Idol and punish the viewers for being so stupid as to watch.

Ashton Kutcher took over for Charlie Sheen on CBS’s “Two and a Half Men”, and his lack of charisma is glaring. He could never do 7-gram rocks of crack like Charlie. Also, his stupid hair hats are annoying people. Ashton needs to go away for 2012 and reinvent himself, which will be to do for a former male model with no acting skills.

Seth Meyers somehow kissed Lorne Michaels’ butt enough to become “Lead Writer” for the rarely funny Saturday Night Live. His smarmy act is very uncreative, as are most of his jokes. Seth needs to go away in 2012 mainly because of his annoying “Really?” shtick that he started. Enough!

Conan O’Brien was a ratings disaster when he was handed the Tonight Show job, as the idiots at NBC demoted the #1 viewed Jay Leno. When NBC then, in turn, demoted Conan to 12:00, the arrogant Harvard grad refused, quit, Fox did not bite, and he ended up on basic cable floundering with less than a million viewers at times. Conan is too old and wrinkled now to be doing his Harvard-dorm-room-style pranks. It is so sad to watch that Conan needs to take himself out to the woodshed in 2012.

Television News

Nancy Synderman, MD has done more to mislead and endanger the American public than anyone else, given her large platform as medical news reporter on NBC Nightly News. She seems to have been demoted recently, with most stories being handled by Robert Bazell or more qualified breast cancer surgeons. Dr. Synderman needs to go away in 2012 and try being a real doctor again.

Christiane Amanpour is one of numerous broadcast TV news anchors who benefited from some executive somewhere thinking that her snooty British accent would fool dumb Americans. ABC’s “This Week” was one of the best Sunday morning shows when George Stephanopoulos hosted it. But ratings tanked after they made Ms. Amanpour the host, and Stephanopoulos is back. Ms. Amanpour needs to move to London and bother the Brits in 2012.

Katie Couric was another disaster as a TV news anchor. After being replaced as anchor of the CBS Evening News, and sparing the public for a while, she is planning to resurface in 2012. Ms. Couric needs to cancel those plans and stay in retirement.

Josh Elliott is ABC’s most recent brilliant idea as a TV news anchor. Within months, he has moved from ESPN, to reading the short news segments on ABC’s Good Morning America, to now being the full anchor on many occasions, leaping over the normal anchor Dan Harris. Likely, the ABC executives mistakenly think that the large ratings and revenue of ESPN had something to do with Mr. Elliott and that he can bring some charm to the shrinking ratings of GMA. Mr. Elliott needs to go back to the cheesy low brow too-costly ESPN in 2012.

Jeff Glor is an unknown Wall-Street-investment-banker-look-alike who recently was given some fill-in work as anchor on the CBS Evening News. He rapidly made this “Go away in 2012″ list of ours due to his bizarre speech. He seems to have his lower jaw wired shut. Make no mistake. This is not an impediment that he had to overcome. This is something that was deemed an asset by CBS and allowed him rise to the crème of the top at CBS. As TV news tanks, no gimmick seems out of line. CBS likely conducted small focus groups and saw that the audience zoomed in on Mr. Glor, like passerby’s rubbernecking a motor vehicle accident.

Trish Regan, the former CNBC “business” anchor, demoted by CNBC, then let go, is reportedly going to be resurfacing on Bloomberg TV in 2012. Ms. Regan made this list because she epitomizes the maddening barrage of clueless business anchors chosen for their looks. Her shtick is wearing skin tight dresses that accentuate her legs and breast augmentations. Enough! Business people need competent business stories, produced by people with Wall Street experience (such, as Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg).

Jim Cramer on CNBC has been wrong on major stock calls so often (ala the infamous Bear Stearns calls that got him dragged before the viewers of the Daily Show for a berating), that people are numb to him. He likely has too many crony friends in TV now to be fired by the new owners of CNBC. Mr. Cramer needs to do the country a favor and retire himself in 2012.

Jon Stewart…Wait, this is a mistake. Jon Stewart is great. He is one of the few things to look forward to on TV for 2012.

“Music”

We placed music in quotes. There really is no true music industry any longer. We could have selected almost any pop music performer for this list, but settled on these celebrities who “need to go away in 2012″.

Taylor Swift is not as egregious as some, since she supposedly writes her own songs (with lots of production help), but this act has been bled dry. Enough is enough. Taylor Swift needs to retire and come back as an old lady when she is 24 years old.

Rihanna is attractive, but that synthesized monotonous electronic voice of hers has to go away for a while. Maybe she could try acting and be a robot in a new Transformers movie.

Kanye never had telent and never will. Take a nap in 2012 Kanye. Come on man. You know its the right thing to do.

All American Idol and X Factor contestants need to disappear from the media forever, not just for 2012.

If you find that the offering of content in 2012 is unacceptable, then express your views with your checkbook. Cancel your cable service.

Caravelli’s Pizzeria in WFC

December 28, 2011

Since our initial review, Caravelli’s has added a lunch special. Every Monday and Wednesday they offer two slices, with toppings and soda, for $7.50.  There are non-pizza specials the other days of the week.

August 12, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

There is a nice new casual by-the-slice pizzeria to choose from in Battery Park: Caravelli’s Pizzeria located in World Financial Center by Vesey Street. It is owned by the same group as Ed’s (McFarland) Lobster Bar kiosk outside. The Brookfield Properties people asked them to open Caravelli’s to take over for the evicted Donald Sacks. It is unclear to anyone, even the owners, how long Caravelli’s will remain, but it is safe to assume that it will be in place for the next 12 month, until the renovations to the Winter Garden take place.

We found the pizza to have a nice crispy crust and not be too greasy or floppy. The cheese and toppings seem to be of adequate genuiness, as opposed to some places with mystery cheese and meats. The price is steep, however. At more than $4 for a slice with toppings, and a whopping $2.25 for a can of coke, and no lunch specials, it might annoy many people.

There is also a deli. To place orders, call (212) 323-6920 or email info@caravellis.com

Quality toppings, not too greesy

sturdy crust, not too floppy

Nice oven char, crispy underside

New designer Randi Spoon

July 30, 2011

Harry’s of Hanover Square and the wine cellar

Harry Poulakakos is a legend of the Financial District in Manhattan. His first restaurant, Harry’s of Hanover Square was featured in the Academy Award winning film “Wall Street”. Harry and his son, Peter, helped developed Stone Street into a popular café district and have opened up several successful pubs and restaurants in the area.

Harry took us one an extensive tour of his flagship restaurant and its extensive wine cellar.

http://www.harrysnyc.com/

212 785-9200

The Battery Place Market

June 9, 2011

(Viewable in full-screen 1080iHD)

Kaijou Japanese

Post your opinions and experiences with this business in the comments section

(This shop is not rated)

Liberty View Chinese

Post your opinions and experiences with this business in the comments section

(This shop is not rated)

21 South End Avenue

New York, NY 10280

TV “News” hits a new low with the 60 Minutes Madoff family interview

October 30, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

CBS’s “60 Minutes” has long been one of the most respected and trusted “TV News” sources. Now, even that bastion is crumbling as the old media world slowly becomes more obsolete and viewers switch off.

The interview with the Madoff family tonight has generated plenty of outrage. But the bigger story is how poorly CBS and 60 Minutes handled the opportunity.

CBS gave two con artists, Ruth and son Andrew, the biggest forum of its kind in the world to spew poorly told lies and distortions in an attempt for Andrew to regain some form of a normal life. Andrew is clearly peddling a book that his bizarre “fiancé” will profit from, as she serves as a money laundering mule and shield from the bankruptcy lawyers.

Morley Safer and the 60 Minutes producers made very little attempt to question the accuracy of any of the Madoff claims. Ruth claims that she was never the bookkeeper of the Ponzi scheme after 1960, for example. There are plenty of experts who could offer evidence refuting that. The son claims he knew nothing about the Ponzi scheme, a virtually impossible reality, and Morley Safer barely questioned him.

There were no experts, like Harry Markopolos or the bankruptcy lawyers, to offer a counterpoint and blow the Madoff lies out of the water. This would have been like shooting fish in a barrel for Markopolos.

60 Minutes clearly lowered their standards and cut some form of a deal to get the exclusive for interview with the Madoff’s. As rating in TV slip, the networks are lowering their standards.

Another “Authority” bungles a construction project in Battery Park City

September 24, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The much anticipated opening of the new artificial turf ball fields north of Goldman Sachs on Murray Street finally happened, more than two weeks behind schedule. Heavy rain was cited by the BPCA as the reason, even though “Hurricane” Irene was only a tropical storm when it hit Manhattan leaving only sprinkles.

The Downtown Soccer League (DSL) will be the first group to use the new field. On September 15, the delay was announced in a blast email by DSL President Bill Bialosky, “concerns over the quality of the installation and the weather sensitive process involved in adhering the turf to the foam underlayment triggered the BPCA decision given today’s rain…it is the BPCA’s desire to provide a lasting, state of the art turf field for the community that led to delaying our activities at the ball field until next week.” A parent of a DSL child told BatteryPark.TV that the scheduled games for the league will be pushed into December now.

Upon closer inspection of the fields, The installation clearly seems “out of spec”. Obvious open seams and creases protrude in the field creating tripping hazards and sources for the field to be torn up over time.

The fields are owned and operated by The Battery Park City Authority and the project was overseen by the CEO of the BPCA, Gayle Horwitz. The BPCA refused to reply to our emails and calls. It is unknown how much was paid to the construction company, how the contract was won, etc.

Other recent construction projects in or adjacent to Battery Park City that were bungled with major cost overruns include the Port Authority’s 9/11 Memorial that triggered near-100% increases in bridge and tunnel tolls, the West Thames Park and the re-sodding of the grass field, and the dog park by North Cove Marina.

(Click images to enlarge)

Diagonal folds and creases from improper installation

Wide creases between rolls of turf

BPCA CEO Gayle Horwitz

Barnes & Noble buries a book negative to Obama

September 24, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The current most-promoted book in America is “Confidence Men” by Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Suskind. It details the infighting of the Obama administration over the first two years and makes president Obama seem like an indecisive, inexperienced, and ineffective leader. Mr. Suskind has been on every major news and media channel. Therefore, it was quite surprising to not find “Confidence Men” prominently displayed on the “New Arrivals” counter seen as one walks into the Tribeca Barnes & Noble store. Nor is it on display in other areas of the store (see photos and video).

Not only is the book not displayed, but the managers seemingly went to great lengths to literally bury the book. The book is in the center pit of the book display, impossible to see, and serves as the pedestal for a book sign.

A person wearing a name tag “Steve”, responding to our request to speak with the manager, denied burying the book and seemed defensive when we asked him why the book was not on display. He said, “It’s right there guy”, and walked away.

In the past, numerous conservative authors have complained about similar such marketing ploys by liberal book store managers in urban areas like Manhattan. The problem is a moot one, however, given that Barnes & Noble will likely go bankrupt as the Borders book chain did.

(Disclaimer: BatteryPark.TV is a non-partisan venue that opposes corruption perpetrated by any person or group)

(Click images to enlarge)

Confidence Men buried under a book sign

Confidence Men not on display in New Arrivals section of Tribeca Barnes & Noble

Survey: Your opinion of the 9/11 memorial ceremonies

September 11, 2011

Please take our survey on the 9/11 memorial ceremonies. We will post the results on Monday.

September 12, 2011

The results of our survey were:

76% of the responders were from Battery Park

100% liked the design of the 9/11 Memorial. 34% strongly approved.

76% thought that the tight security measures were appropriate

74% agreed with Mayor Bloomberg in not allowing various religious leaders to make speeches

However, 76% disagreed with the Mayor’s decision to not allow living firefighters and policemen to make official speeches.

HBO films at nearby Duane Park

September 6, 2011

HBO filmed a promotion for the new season of Boardwalk Empire at nearby Tribeca’s Duane Park cabaret.

Tiny’s angers patrons

August 7, 2011

There is a new lounge/restaurant in Tribeca called Tiny’s and The Bar Upstairs, located at West Broadway and Duane Streets. It is owned by the same people who own “Warren 77″ (New York Rangers hockey players Henrik Lundquivst, Sean Avery et al), but it is not doing nearly as well. This might be why.

On Saturday, August 6th at 12:23 AM, the downstairs was totally empty, but there was one group of patrons upstairs. There were approximately five of them: middle aged professionals and artists, male and female. Two male bartenders were already preparing to close, even though they are allowed to stay open until 2:00 AM, when one of them extremely rudely turned up the lights to give the group the hint that it was time to go.

A man in the group said, “Excuse me, I just paid $100 for these drinks. Could you please turn down the lights?” A bartender explained that it was last call but the man justifiably continued to express his displeasure. The entire group left shortly after: convenient for the bartenders but not good for the reputation of the bar.

Neighboring bars, such as the Odeon, have employees who confidentially explained that they have heard of similar complaints about the management practices of Tiny’s. BatteryPark.TV does not recommend this establishment.

More nastiness from Bubby’s

July 26, 2011

The Tribeca Bubby’s Pie Company was in the news for smelling up North Moore Street. Apparently, some neighbors say it smells of a butcher shop.

According to The Gothamist, “Owner Ron Silver blamed the stink on the garbage truck, which “leaks liquid out into the street when it compresses our garbage.” He says they’re storing their trash in rubber totes to avoid leakage, and that they’re “battling the best we can on our own.” ….Earlier this month, the Bubby’s in Dumbo was shuttered by the DOH due to flies and roaches, and in 2007, the Tribeca Bubby’s was shut down thanks to a “biblical swarm” of roaches. But perhaps the biggest issue that Silver has to contend with right now is customer complaints about the food, of all things; like this one, from Citizen commentor Tania: “I just wanted to say how disappointed I was with the quality of the food at Bubby’s lately. I had dinner and lunch there very recently, and both times I left feeling completely robbed,” which is the sort of complaint that not even a Lysol-lined sidewalk can fix.”

Bubby’s Tribeca has experienced high turnover in the staff with a new manager within the last 12 months.

The bar area was recently remodeled to include a more elaborate coffee offering. The goal was to hand French press each cup to order, somewhat like Kaffe 1668 whose owners advised Bubby’s owner on the new coffee layout, but that single-brew idea has evolved into one large brew to serve many.

Scammers at the Farmers’ Market?

Update: June 30, 2011 A more genuine farmer’s market already

The farmer’s market at the WFC seems more authentic already, since our first story. Gone are the corn and watermelon in June that were  clearly imported from thousands of miles away rather than from an “organic local farm”.  All that we saw today was genuine locally grown vegetables.

(click images to expand)

June 10, 2011

How to Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Be educated, be vigilant, know what’s in season!
By Colleen Vanderlinden of Planetgreen.com

Apparently, the popularity of farmers’ markets is just too much temptation for some unscrupulous vendors.

NBC Los Angeles’ news team decided to do some checking around at local farmer’s markets, and paid visits to the farms where the vendors claimed they grew the food they were selling. In some cases, they found fields full of weeds or dry, empty fields. The vendors were selling vegetables and fruit they had bought wholesale, and were selling it at premium prices at local farmer’s markets, claiming it was locally grown and organic.

As to the “organic” claim, NBCLA also sent several items purchased from vendors who claimed not to use pesticides to labs for testing, and the results came back positive for pesticides. One of the “farmers” claimed that the pesticides found on their produce was the result of overspray from nearby farms, but the levels found on the tested produce were too high for it have been mere “drift.”

This particular story was reported in California, but there’s no doubt that it’s happening all over the country. Near my home, for example, there is a “farmer’s market” in a church parking lot every weekend during the summer. How they managed to have perfect-looking “locally grown” watermelons in early May in Detroit is beyond me. Needless to say, I don’t shop there.

How To Make Sure You’re Supporting Local Farmers Rather than Slimy Opportunists

· Research, research, research. Try to get to know a few vendors really well. Ask where their farm is located, how long they’ve been farming, how they handle pest and disease issues. See if they’re listed on sites like LocalHarvest — not all farmers are, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Ask them the specific variety of whatever produce they’re selling. If they really grew it, they should be able to tell you that those are ‘Emerite’ filet beans, not just “green beans.”
· Look over the display. Really look. This is a great tip from Homegrown Evolution. Are all of the tomatoes the exact same shape and size? Do the apples have that waxy supermarket look? Are the cucumbers all perfectly uniform? Are they selling “local” watermelon in Detroit during the first week of May? If so, they probably went to the warehouse club and bought produce to sell at a premium at the farmer’s market. Steer clear.
· Know what’s in season! If you see watermelon in April or peppers in December in Minnesota or Michigan, chances are good that they have not been grown locally. While some farmers have large heated greenhouses to grow produce year-round, not all do, and it pays to ask questions if the vendor is displaying a lot of out-of-season produce.

As with many things when you’re trying to live a more sustainable life, we need to be vigilant and educated. Don’t trust that just because the sign says “farmers’ market,” you’re supporting nothing but local farmers. While the majority of vendors are legitimate, it’s unfortunately up to us to make sure that we’re buying from them, and not some crook who’s trying to take advantage of the situation.