LOCAL FOOD News Roundup

© Photo courtesy of Riverpark Farm. See caption at bottom of article.

Farm Table Opens amid Urban Farm Fields

Riverpark Restaurant, a tony new restaurant off the FDR Drive in Midtown Manhattan, added a new twist to urban farming when it unveiled a novel outdoor growing operation that surprised even the most jaded New Yorkers.  Peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and a multitude of other crops grew in thousands of double-stacked milk crates, the urban equivalent of farm fields.

Now diners can enjoy those fields close up.  Riverpark Restaurant set up an outdoor “Farm Table,” which customers can reserve for family-style lunch and dinner celebrations.  The restaurant can host up to 12 people at the outdoor table.  There’s a minimum charge of $1,800 for dinner events.  For lunch, it’s $1,400.

Diners better take advantage of the table soon as the farm will likely move indoors for the winter season, said Arianna Nuzzo, guest relations manager at Riverpark Restaurant.  The move won’t be hard as the farm — built in modular milk crates — can be easily transported.  It will move to a sun-splashed empty floor in the building in which the restaurant is located.  The restaurant plans to build a greenhouse to accommodate the farm during future winter seasons.

Caption for photo above: Riverpark Restaurant’s outdoor “Farm Table” is set in the restaurant’s urban vegetable farm.

© Photo by Margarida Correia. See caption at bottom of article.

Mr. Peanuts Inspires East Village Garden

Mr. Peanuts — the dapper mascot for the peanut products in Kraft Foods’ Planters brand — has inspired the creation of a new garden in the East Village.  The peanut-shaped garden — named Planters Grove — opened last week at the Lillian Wald Houses, a public housing development project. The garden features over 600 native flowers and a good many vegetables and herbs, including sage, rosemary and thyme.

Planters teamed up with the New York City Housing Authority and two nonprofits that train low-income youths in conservation and environmental careers — The Corp Network and Green City Force (GCF) — to develop the garden. GCF program participants will maintain the garden, which is located at Avenue D and 5^th Street.

Caption for photo above: Planters Grove, a peanut-shaped garden that opened last week at the Lillian Wald Houses in the East Village, features over 600 native flowers and many vegetables and herbs, including sage, rosemary and thyme.

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