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Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Matt Newman

This Sunday: Our Family Dinner with Mario Batali’s Chefs!

Posted in Programs and Events on July 24 2013, by Matt Newman

Family Dinner with Mario Batali's ChefsFour days and counting! We’re ticking off the calendar squares ahead of summer’s first Family Dinner with Mario Batali’s Chefs, and with good reason: we’ve had the menu for weeks and it’s making us unbelievably hungry. Simple, right? Of course, the seasonal flavors and aromas are anything but. This Sunday, July 28, Chef Cruz Goler of Lupa Osteria Romana teams with Chef Frank Langello of Babbo, creating a kitchen super group in the NYBG‘s own Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.

If Mozzarella di Bufala, marinated strip steak, pistachio olive oil cake, and the fresh, kaleidoscopic flavors created by two of New York’s best restaurants pique your appetite, this MasterCard® Priceless event isn’t something you’ll settle for missing.

The three-course, family-style meal doesn’t skimp, providing expertly-paired wines, sparkling Italian water, and all the fixings necessary for a picture perfect night around the table. But it wouldn’t be a proper Garden event without some extra variety, so we’ve gone ahead and flushed out the evening with a romp in the Family Garden. Expect plenty of hands-on gardening crafts and activities to keep the little ones occupied, while we encourage adults to get their hands dirty, too. We’re also bookending the dinner service with cooking demonstrations by Mario’s Chefs, giving you a glimpse into the expertise that creates each gourmet recipe. Even better, you’ll be able to ask them questions as they go!

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This Week at the Greenmarket: (Goose)Berry Delicious

Posted in Programs and Events on July 23 2013, by Matt Newman

GreenmarketThe heatwave’s bid us adieu, and just in time for this week’s Greenmarket. That’s good news for everyone who was sweating it out for last week’s event (though judging by the vegetable hauls recorded on Instagram, you weren’t all that bothered by the sun last Wednesday). In any case, our vendors will be keeping up their presentation of the July harvest with even more fresh-picked and delicious goodies to offer.

Last week we saw the arrival of peaches from Migliorelli Farm, accompanied by blueberries, corn, eggs, and all sorts of tomato and apple sauces and juices. From Red Jacket Orchards, the gooseberries were the big surprise, following raspberries, black currants, apricots, sugar plums, and then some. And from Meredith’s Bread (a breakfast favorite around here—be there early or you may miss out on some stuff), cherry, mixed berry, and apple-raspberry crumb pies; cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies, and sweet breads—chocolate cream cheese, carrot cake, and banana nut among them.

What’s new for this week? We don’t know yet! With the vagaries of weather and crops to deal with, harvest times aren’t often set in stone. But we’ll have more news on that come Wednesday.

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This Weekend: Counting Down to Dinner

Posted in Programs and Events on July 19 2013, by Matt Newman

Mario's Kitchen GardensJust over one more week to go! We’re counting off the days until Mario Batali‘s first Family Dinner of the summer, with eminent chefs from both Lupa and Babbo presiding, and already our appetites are piqued. Not that it’s all too surprising—the promise of Mozzarella di Bufala, strip steak with marinated runner beans, pistachio olive oil cake and more would have the gourmand in almost anyone hopping with anticipation.

The event goes well beyond the family-style dinner, too. If you’ve got kids in tow, don’t worry about antsiness playing into it: we’ll have a bunch of hands-on gardening and craft activities to keep the little ones happy. Meanwhile, cooking demonstrations from Mario’s top chefs round out the experience in the Whole Foods Market® Family Garden Kitchen. It’s a lot to pack into one evening, but we’re not shy of saying how proud we are to host it! That said, we only have food for so many guests in the Family Garden at one time, so tickets are limited—better to register now than wait until next weekend! Check out The Edible Garden for more on this MasterCard® event, or head straight over to Priceless NY to get your tickets. Your tastebuds would thank you if they could.

For this weekend’s activities, Wild Medicine is as much the belle of the ball as ever, with horticulturists working each and every day to keep the Conservatory display at its peak. And we’re doing it one better this weekend with Saturday and Sunday gardening demonstrations geared toward the flower arrangers among you (or those who are hopeful of becoming one). Check the rest of the schedule below!

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