Great Googa Music

So it's all in.  The wine, the food, the fame, and now the music has been revealed that will soundtrack the two day food festival May 19th and 20th in Prospect Park.  The news comes to us after some anticipation, and with a few exceptions, i.e. The Roots, Charles Bradley, and Hall and Oats (!), hands are left palms down and wiggling back and forth.

Performances start at noon both days and end at 8:30 Saturday and 7:30 Sunday.  Two stages will host the bands and there are still artists to be announced.  Did someone say Paul Simon?

Get 'Em While They're Cold

Maialino has introduced fresh juice mixes to their breakfast menu.  Sous Chefs Jonah Miller and Jason Pfeifer have been experimenting with the juice blends and they're likely to be pretty good.  Pfeifer spent some time in Copenhagen, working at Noma, where he assisted with the restaurant's juice program.

The drinks are also available to-go from the coffee counter and will change with the season's availability.  "We're really excited for summer berries, peaches, and tomatoes later in the season."  Pineapple with mint and ginger, apple with fennel and spinach, and carrot and pear are all served over ice.

Batali's Vespa 86'd

According to the New York Post, Mario Batali's vespa was damaged last week near Lincoln Center while he was shooting an episode of The Chew.  Apparently someone bumped into it while it was parked, dented it, and drove off.

Atera and the Forest Have a Lot in Common

While Erik Torkell waits to review Atera, the new, wildly popular Tribeca restaurant from chef Matt Lightner, the guys at immaculateinfatuation think it's best to save your money for Brooklyn Fare.  "For that much money, we need every bite to be an out of the park home run, and there are some singles and doubles on this menu that had us wishing we could order a la carte."

Green is the New Orange this Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day and to help raise awareness, all of Batali and Bastianich's restaurants will be offering dishes that help to maintain a low carbon footprint.

Carbon footprints are an estimate of how much carbon dioxide, or green house gas (GHG), is produced to support a lifestyle.  Raising and slaughtering livestock, growing and harvesting grains, fruits, and vegetables, and transporting these foods (over 800 million tons anually) to the global marketplace expends a tremendous amount of energy.  Attempts to cut back on this energy expenditure is why words like "local" and "sustainable" have become commonplace on today's restaurant menus.  Once the food arrives at its destination, whether it is a home or restaurant, the preparation has further effects on carbon output.  This understanding is why B&B leads a company-wide effort to reduce their footprint.

Earth Day is a chance to shine a light on the green sensibilities that run rampant in B&B restaurants on a daily basis.  Each restaurant in the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group is a Green Certified restaurant, a certification that comes from earning points in seven environmental categories, including water conservation, food sustainability, and chemical waste and pollution reduction.  To further reduce their carbon footprint, B&B chefs are competing amongst themselves to see who can come up with the best Earth Day dish, considering products that are pesticide free, local, and use minimal packaging.

Check out any of their restaurants Sunday, Vegas and L.A. locations included, to see what the chefs come up with.  If you do, B&BHG will throw in a custom packet of organic Cherry Belle radish seeds that double as a two for one promo to visit The New York Botanical Garden this summer.

Pete Wells Needs a Little Lumbar Lovin'

In a recent post on dinersjournal, Times restaurant critic Pete Wells notes no-reservations policies, communal tables, loud music, and uncomfortable chairs are the trends that have defined restaurant openings in the past 10 years. He asks, "Do restaurants do these things on purpose to keep older customers away?"

Wells explains that from a business perspective age doesn't matter when it comes to the value of money. But, "restaurants that make you wait for the chance to sit on an uncomfortable seat at a shared table where you will have to scream above the music — or eat in silence — are not doing all they could to make customers of a certain age feel welcome."

The Gowanus Yacht Sets Sail

The Gowanus Yacht Club has opened today for the season.  Boo-yah.  A few new tap lines have been added and in the upcoming weeks $1 oysters (on Tuesday's) and grilled clams will work there way onto the Yacht Club's I-got-a-pocketful-of-singles-where-should-I-eat menu.

Kickstart Your Way to Dinner

Eater reported yesterday that Erik Torkells, the man behind the Tribecacitizen blog, was trying to raise $300 on kickstarter so he could dine at the new Tribeca hot spot Atera.  Dinner at Atera runs $150 for the prix-fixe and another $90 for the wine pairing.  It turns out he's hit his goal, he's raised $315, so it looks like there's squab claw in Erik's future.