The Brooklyn Grange is kicking off its 2013 season – you can stop by the grange, and also sign up for their CSA program to receive fresh produce from them weekly.

Here is more detailed info:

BROOKLYN GRANGE LAUNCHES 2013 SEASON

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY: March 25^st, 2013 – Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm will kick off the season on Saturday, May 4^th with the first weekly open house.   Visitors will be able to shop at the farm’s “rooftop crop shop” farmstand, get their hands dirty by participating in fun farm activities, and enjoy the herb-scented breeze at the flagship location in LIC, Queens.

Brooklyn Grange will also host a farmstand in the forecourt of Building 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Wednesday afternoons from noon till 5pm.

The farm is also now accepting members for its 2013 CSA program.  The 24-week program will run from the first pickup on Saturday, May 18^th through Saturday, October 26^th and will cost $576, or $24 per week.  Members will pick up their shares from the farm’s flagship rooftop at 37-18 Northern Blvd in LIC on Saturdays between 11am and 3pm.   There are a limited number of shares being distributed from the Brooklyn Navy Yard location as well, available for pickup on Wednesday afternoons from 1pm till 5pm, including an optional flower add-on.  More information on registration can be found on the farm’s website at www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/CSA2013.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and is a popular way for farmers to distribute produce directly to their local community.  Members pay a flat fee up front and then collect a share of the farm’s harvest each week throughout the season.  The Brooklyn Grange CSA offers members a unique opportunity to pick up their vegetables from the farm on which they are grown, seeing the operation in action as they do so.

CSA registration will remain open on a first come, first served basis through April, or until membership is filled.  For more information on what is included in our shares, please see the farm’s website, or email info@brooklyngrangefarm.com.

*          *          *

About Brooklyn Grange: Brooklyn Grange is a commercial, sustainable farm located on the rooftops of the Standard Motors building in Long Island City and Building no. 3 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Brooklyn Grange is the largest privately owned and operated rooftop farm in the United States, supplying the local community with high-quality, local food through green markets and a CSA program. While a functioning business, Brooklyn Grange is also proud to fulfill its role as a community center, providing school groups, families and volunteers a forum for learning about and participating in urban farming and the local food supply via our educational non-profit, City Growers.  For more information about the farm, please visit http://brooklyngrangefarm.com or email info@brooklyngrangefarm.com.

Wild Turkey Pub

The place is brand new, so as you can see in the picture, even the awning is currently blank. Unfortunately this also means that their alcohol selection is pretty weak right now. Even though they ostensibly have a full bar, their beer brands are limited to Corona, Bud, Heineken, and Sam Adams. The novice bartender did make a pretty good mixed drink though. On the plus side of it being new, you can find lots of good deals on Groupon an Yelp for discounts.

The food, I am happy to say, was delicious. The menu is just printed out on regular printer paper for now, but their kitchen is clearly professional. There is a wide range of appetizers, comfort food, and burgers. The truffle mac and cheese was really great. The portion sizes are huge – they definitely don’t skimp on anything involving the burgers. Even the sliders are of descent size, and come in platters of three. The only negative were the french fries. Even though they have a selection of regular, sweet potato, and home fries, they are pretty mediocre. The prices are very reasonable though – most appetizers clock in around $5, and entrees at $10 (although there are some more expensive main dishes).

Take a look at some of the food we ate:

Burger wth sweet potato fries

Burger

Chicken sliders

Crab cake burger

Chicken sandwich

Wild Turkey Pub

Truffle mac and cheese

Truffle mac and cheese

Los Verdes

Tonight was the opening of Miami-based Colombian restaurant Los Verdes. This is their first and thus far only location in New York (at the corner of Greenpoing and 46th Street). The restaurant replaces the long-vacant storefront which previously housed Manolos (which specialized in great cocaine and mediocre Mexican food). With the taglines “It’ll blow you away” and “The best food ever made”, Los Verdes’ owners are pretty confident of themselves. The grand opening starts at 9pm tonight, but we were there a bit early for dinner.

Milkshakes

In addition to sodas and juices, the beverage menu also features a few beers , and these – milkshakes! Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry will be available every day, and there is also a “flavor of the month” – this month is Dulce de Leche. They are really good, and only around $3. The light is reflecting very strangely off of the plastic cups in the picture above – the actual drink is solid white as one would expect (the top is just whipped cream).

Corn-based main dish with chicken

I am out of practice and forgot to write down the name of this dish (but then again, I would forget to do this even when I was posting on a regular basis). I know it has corn and chicken in it, and you can top it off with a variety of sauces. There are four sauces to choose from (the waitress explains each of them). It only costs $7.

Chicken Burger with fries

This $8 chicken burger was good and I felt really stuffed after eating it. It’s much bigger than the $5 burgers at Pecas Y Mas nearby. The fries were a bit disappointing though – they just seem like frozen fries bought at the supermarket. Overall we had a good experience and will certainly be back – perhaps even after going out one night, as the place is open till 3am on weeknights and 6am on weekends.

Takesushi

The left side of the building also belongs to the restaurant, so there is actually a lot more seating inside than it seems. The restaurant only opened a few weeks ago, but hasn’t had its official Grand Opening yet, as they don’t have a liquor license yet. This turned out to be a big plus for us, as we were able to bring in our own bottles of sake and beer.

Salad

The first thing that struck me on the menu were the unusually high prices (for the neighborhood). The owner apparently had a restaurant in Manhattan in the past, which probably explains it. Individual sashimi pieces are $3-$4, and special rolls start at $12 – on average twice as much as comparable rolls at TJ Asian Bistro. The best deals are the sushi combos  – a small one for $18 and large for $22. Each comes with a (large) salad and a miso soup.

Miso soup

Your standard miso soup. Also comes with a small side of some vegetables.

Sushi B platter

Here is the large sushi platter. 10 pieces of sashimi (5 are always the same, and 5 are chef’s choice). You also get a choice of a standard roll (tuna in this case). The sashimi pieces are a good size and very good  (highest quality I’ve had in Sunnyside), but the rolls are disappointingly small. Watch out for the squid sashimi – it looks like a regular white fish, but is super-chewy and has an odd texture.

Sushi A platter

This is the smaller sushi platter. I apologize for the poor quality pictures, but  sadly my D5000 camera battery was dead, so I had to resort to my cellphone.

Sushi rolls

The rolls are very good, but a bit on the small side, especially considering the price.

Aji No Tatake

This Aji No Tatake ($12) appetizer is very fishy in taste, but quite good. It’s basically lightly seared mackerel. I prefer the tuna tatake.

Various special rolls

Here is another collection of a few different special rolls. As I already mentioned,  they are all quite good, but not as exciting as at TJ’s, and more expensive. I would stick to TJ’s for the rolls, and Takesushi for sashimi. The menu here also has a lot of Japanese cooked dishes, so we will have to try some of those next time.

La Bella Vita

There are a couple tables inside, but you’re probably much better off just taking your food home or getting delivery. The staff is very nice and the prices are very reasonable, but unfortunately the food – and especially the pizza itself – are average at best.

Pizza with onion and peppers

I ordered the medium onions & peppers pizza for $13. Medium is the smallest of three sizes, and it’s still quite large. Pizzas with meat and more toppings (such as the veggie pizza) cost $16 for the medium pie. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst I’ve had in Sunnyside so far. It seems sloppily made (notice how the toppings don’t even extend to the crust), and the consistency of the dough was sloppy as well. It didn’t taste bad per se, and outside of New York City this pizza might get a pass, but here we have much better alternatives.

Cheese calzone

Luckily the cheese calzone ($5) was tastier than the pizza, but it wasn’t spectacular. I was also disappointed it didn’t come with any marinara sauce. It’s quite large though, and filled to the brim with pretty good cheese. It might be worthwhile trying some of their other dishes (e.g. heros, subs), but I would recommend staying away from the pizza.

Pink Icing

It was reportedly supposed to open at 11am on Saturday, but was delayed by a few hours. We didn’t stop by until Sunday. There are a few tables inside where you can enjoy your sweets right on the spot, but we didn’t see anyone take advantage of that. Overall it’s pretty minimalistic, and almost sterile inside – maybe it’s just the effect of the space being brand new and sparkling clean.

Lemon meringue

All the goods are baked on the spot, so what you see in the display counter is typically at most a few hours old. This lemon meringue was $6, and sufficiently large for a hefty dessert for two.

Inside the lemon meringue

Here is the meringue cut open. It was very good, and pleasantly not as sweet as you would expect – thus really drawing out the true citrusy flavor.

Apple pie

I couldn’t resist getting this huge apple pie, despite it’s $25 price tag. It’s almost as tall as it is wide! However, it’s a little deceptive because inside it was much more flat, and it’s just the crust that formed this large dome.

Inside the apple pie

Here are the insides of the delicious pie. We warmed it up in an oven at home, and I would say it’s worth the $25, as that translates to at least 6 or 7 large servings. Among the other items we saw at the new bake shop were some appetizing cupcakes – small ones for $2 and large for $4 – I will have to try one next time.

Prima Sarabella

The layout isn’t much changed from the way this space looked like when it was the Sunrise Grill. There is plenty of seating, and a bar/counter area (although they don’t have their liquor license yet). There is a full menu, plus some pretty good fixed price dinners (appetizer, entree, and dessert for $20). The host was very jovial and caring.

Bruschetta

In addition to the standard bread platter, we got some complimentary bruschetta. It was very good, and a little garlicy (in a good way). There was also olive oil for dipping the bread in.

Asparagus

I ordered the fixed-price dinner, and for my appetizer chose the asparagus. There are five well-cooked stalks, with delicious melted cheese on top.

Chicken + eggplant rolatini

I always go for the chicken my first time at an Italian restaurant, and this dish definitely did not disappoint. It may not look too appetizing in this photo, but the succulent chicken, topped with eggplant, was great. The sauce really made it special – it really added to the taste and was not overwhelming. I was also glad the chicken wasn’t completely smothered in the sauce, as was the case at Donato’s.

Spaghetti

Each entree comes with a side – in lieu of a salad I went for spaghetti this time. They put fresh Parmesan cheese on top after it arrived at the table. It was clear that meticulous care was put into every dish and side dish that we ordered – even this basic spaghetti was just right.

Salmon

We also decided to try something from the seafood selection. The $15 salmon came unadorned, but was undoubtedly worth the price. The sauce encircling it was unique and again greatly added to the taste – on the citrusy side, but without being overwhelming.

Side veggies

The vegetable side dish was a small serving of carrots, string beans, and potatoes.

Believe it or not, we still had room for dessert despite cleaning out plates of the appetizers and entrees (luckily, I had an early and small lunch today). There are about ten items on the dessert menu, ranging in price from about $5 to $7. This here is a beautiful chocolate mousse for $6.50.

Tiramisu

The dessert selection with the fixed price dinner is limited, but still includes this delicious tiramisu (cheesecake is also available). Overall we had a great dinner and I will definitely be returning here – Prima Sarabella is going to give the nearby Mario’s a run for its money. Hopefully it will survive at this location longer than Sunrise Grill did.

As advertised, single cheese slices are just 99 cents. They are slightly smaller than a typical pizza slice, but it’s still well worth it – they are actually of high quality. There are a few toppings you can add – for 50 cents each. Aside from pizza and sodas, there is nothing else available.

There is no discount for ordering a full pie, but at just $8, it’s still much cheaper than any competition (except, perhaps, chains like Papa John’s). Extra toppings on the full pies are $2 each. You can also get a 2 liter bottle of soda for an extra two bucks. The pizza is definitely worth the price. I didn’t really like the crust though (but my dog did!)

Donato's

There is plenty of nice white-tablecloth seating inside, as well as some outdoor tables (around the corner, which is why you can’t see them here). There is even a parking lot a couple blocks away were patrons can park if there is no street parking nearby. You can also just grab pizza slices and a few other things for take-out.

Complimentary bread

Soon after ordering, the waiters brought a complimentary basket of bread (there was more stuff in there – I just forgot to take a picture initially). We ended up going through most of it as it took quite a long time to get our food. The menu is very extensive, but the waiters were really pushing for the daily specials (which we didn’t end up ordering), so I have a feeling that’s what caused the lengthy cooking time (they had to start from scratch).

Chicken cacciatore

The main entree menu is divided into a few main sections: pasta, poultry, veal, and seafood. The poultry menu is generally the most affordable (even more so than pasta, surprisingly). And yes, it’s also possible to order personal pizzas, large pizzas, and various types of heroes. This chicken cacciatore ($14) comes with a rich sauce filled with peppers, mushrooms, and onions. I was very pleased with this dish – the chicken was succulent, the sauce wasn’t overwhelming, and the portion size was just right. Highly recommended.

Side salad

Each entree comes with a choice of side dish – spaghetti, rice, or salad. I obviously chose the salad. It was good, but nothing to write home about. The spaghetti would have probably been a better choice, but I wanted some greens in my meal.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

This Shrimp Fra Diavolo dish, served over a bed of spaghetti, was tasty but surprisingly expensive at $22. First, note that the prices on Donato’s website are apparently no longer accurate. And it doesn’t even come with a side dish.  The dish is supposed to be somewhat spicy, and when the waitress asked if we did want the spice, we said yes, but then the dish they brought was not spicy at all. My advice is to stick to the traditional poultry dishes, or the pizza.

Tapenade bistro

Run by the former owner of the now defunct Bliss Bistro Tapenade offers dine-in French fare. There is plenty of seating, although some of the 2 person tables are right next to each other, making it feel a little cramped. The TV in the corner also distracts from the ambiance. It’s also a bit dark in there, which is why I must apologize for the low quality of the photos below. One more thing to mention is that the wait staff is excellent!

Lobster bisque

I started off with the lobster bisque ($6.50) It came in a huge bowl, but it was shallow and the amount really wasn’t all that much. It was good, but a bit too fishy. “But lobster is seafood!”, you retort, “it should be fishy!” Well, yes, it’s seafood, but it’s not a fish. There is a distinction. Overall it was still good, but certainly could have been better.

Escargot

The escargot (snails) appetizer ($6.50) was a better choice than the bisque. Still, the snails were a little bland, and not as good as the ones from Bliss 46 Bistro. In general, I think the food at the other new French restaruant is better. They have the head chef from the old Bliss Bistro, whereas Tapenade just has the owner.

Grilled Tuna

The grilled tuna dish ($16) is cooked to order, and although this one looks thoroughly cooked from the outside, it’s deliciously pink on the inside. It came with potatoes (at the bottom) and some green veggies, which definitely complemented the tuna well. The fish itself was good, but again, I’ve had better.

Duck confit

The elegantly arranged duck confit ($14) was cheaper than the tuna, but in my opinion of higher quality overall. Sometime the duck can be gamey, but that wasn’t at all the case here. Would definitely recommend this dish.

Creme Broulle

We opted for the rate dessert tonight, and shared this creme broulle ($6). It was delicious! There are a few other desserts available in this price range as well.