Travels in New York Part 2: The Union Square Green Market

Stepping out of Union Square subway station and finding your self in the middle of the Green Market is like stepping into a little piece of paradise. I have visited many farmers markets but never one quite like this one. It's scale alone like almost everything in America is huge. Imagine every farmers market that you have ever been to in Ireland stuck together and you will get some idea of the size . The choice of stalls was huge, it made me wonder how you could possibly choose which stall to buy from but it soon became apparent that most stalls had a speciality. Some were organic, some had mountains of radishes the size of my fist , some were specialists in garlic, salad leaves, milk, cherries etc. I even found stalls that offered free range eggs which I had been lead to believe were almost impossible to source in the US. In fact the variety of produce was so amazing I started to wonder how the 'Wholefoods Market' on Union square was able to survive. With this amount of locally produced and seasonal produce available why would you want to shop in a supermarket?

There were information stalls scattered around which offered recipes for seasonal produce, and all important maps. One information stall was even cooking up seasonal treats. There were also blackboards and stalls displaying lists of seasonal produce.

Sadly it was my last day in New York so although I walked through the stalls agape and thoroughly excited about what was offer I was unable to purchase anything. I was sad that it would be some time before I would return to New York and be able to shop here.

The Green Market on Union Square is open on Monday's Wednesday's Friday's and Saturdays between 8am and 6pm. I was there on a Saturday. For more information on the other locations of Green Markets in New York look here. 

Travels in New York Part 1: Gusto Organic Restaurant

If I was to open an organic restaurant I would like it to be like Gusto on 6th avenue and 14th. I had been nagging my traveling companion for virtually the whole week to go to this place and it wasn't until the last day that he finally agreed to set foot inside. Part of the reason my companion had been unexcited at the prospect of joining me for a meal here was that I was under the impression that it was a salad bar.

As we were guided to our reclaimed wood table that sadly wobbled quite severely until we stuffed a napkin under one of the legs, it became apparent to our delight that there was more than salad on the menu. We were handed both the brunch and lunch menus and found that alongside the healthy salads there were steak and eggs, grilled pizza, sandwiches, soup and omlettes. I went for the grilled vegetable piadinas mostly because I hadn't got a clue what an pianina was and I like surprises, the description did mention flour tortilla which led me to imagine it would be reasonably healthy.

My companion ordered the steak and eggs. As we waited for our food and made our way through the still warm freshly baked bread that had landed on our table, I studied our recycled paper place mats that listed the restaurants green credentials including it's two organic Certifications: USDA and NOFA and it's green Green Restaurants Association certification.
One of the things I really love about the restaurants in New York was that in the very humid 35 degree heat a tall glass of iced water would arrive at your table as soon as you sat down. Strangely this didn't happen at Gusto and I found myself having to order it along with my other drink of choice lemonade. The lemonade was great, really refreshing but I soon regretted my choice when my companions 'Suave', a peach based blended fruit juice, arrived. I stole a sip when he wasn't looking and it was so divine I ordered one for myself immediately.

When the food arrived I discovered that a Piadina was what a flat kind of toasted tortilla filled with vegetables and cheese. It tasted really good but there was a little too much cheese and not enough veg for my personal taste, the salad was fantastic, a tasty mix of leaves drizzled in a balsmic dressing. My companions steak and eggs looked great. The eggs were the first orange yoked eggs I had seen for my entire trip. You soon get very used to seeing the pale yellow eggs served with every breakfast on offer here. These eggs were the real deal and I was assured by my usually critical companion that both the eggs and steak were as good as they looked. Not only were they really well cooked and full of flavour but the meat itself was melt in the mouth tender.

The most refreshing thing was that the portion sizes were not overwhelming, for the first time since we had arrived in NYC I still had enough room for desert. I was tempted by the handmade Dulce de Leche ice cream. Sadly when I ordered I discovered that they had temporarily sold out. The new batch would be ready in two hours but as my flight out was pending I had to opt for the vanilla ice cream instead. Although I was dissapointed there was something reassuring about knowing that the ice cream was freezing away on premesis as I ate. The vanilla ice cream was sensational, really creamy, really vanillaly (if there is such a word) and really rich.

All in all I really enjoyed Gusto and if I had been staying in New York any longer I'm sure I would become a frequent customer. It seems that they are planning to expand and open in other cities across the states so watch out for a Gusto the next time you take a trip across the pond.

I'm on holiday

I'm writing this post just before I'm due to go on my holiday. I'm feeling pretty guilty because my break is not an eco-holiday at all. As you read this I will be living it up in NYC.

For that reason this will be a short post but I couldn't resist letting you know what a bunch of American's were up to in New York during the build up to the launch of the iPhone 3G.

Waiting for Apples are a group intent on promoting organic farming. They also want to persuade the new president, whomever that may be, to turn the lawn of the Whitehouse into an organic farm. How are they tying this into the launch of the iPhone 3G? It's hard to make the connection but were attempting to break the record for the longest time waiting in line to buy something. Find out more here, and here.

Sadly I'll be missing them by a couple of days.

Free Organic Chocolate!

This week IrishBusinessWomen.com (IBW) celebrates it's second 'Promote Yourself Unashamedly Week'. The week when all IBW website members can advertise their services for free. The members whose posts draw most attention will win a prize at the end of the week.

To help the celebration and to do as much as possible to win the coveted prize, Feelgood Organic Hampers has offered all IBW members free Booja Booja organic Champagne truffles with every purchase until the end of the week.

Irish Business Women is a forum style website which was the brainchild of Frank Fullard at Mayo County Enterprise Board. In spite of the name, the forum is open to members of any sex and is a great resourse to both those in the early stages of business set up and to more experienced business people.

Quite a few eco businesses have joined the fun have a look at these: 

Eco Creations offers Irish designed organic cotton fabrics, read their post here.

Mark Shirley is qualified to energy rate your home.

Baby Slings and Outdoor Things have eco friendly and organic baby clothes, read their post here.

Earth Balance Interiors are offering 40% discount to IBW members. More here.

And if you have a second or two, help me catch the leaders and click through to my shameless promotion! There's still time to get your hands on some free chocolate.

Organic Taste Test - Organic v Conventional Strawberries

I was delighted to discover that the Castleruddery Organic Farm stall at the Naas Farmers Market this week was stocking organic strawberries grown locally in Narraghmore, Co. Kildare.

I immediately purchased a punnet and decided to compare them to the non-organic ones I had bought earlier in the day. Surprisingly there was only 50c difference in the price. The organic ones were packed in a bio degradable tray made from the same material as egg boxes  which gained it some early points.

The conventional strawberries were' Elsanta' strawberries, the most common variety that you will find growing in Ireland.  I have yet to discover what variety the organic ones were but they definitely weren't Elsanta, when I find out I will let you know. Colour wise, the organic ones were deep red with darkish seeds. The conventional berries were shinier and the seeds were golden.

I did a blind taste on a couple of the other stallholders and most of them agreed that the Organic ones were superior in flavour. The conventionally grown ones tasted watery and the amount of flavour decreased as the fruits got larger. The organic ones had a pure and intense strawberry flavour which only got better the bigger the berry. They reminded me of how strawberries tasted when I was a child and it didn't take me long to polish off the whole punnet. I had to go back for two more before the end of the day.

If you would like to taste the difference yourself these exceptional strawberries are available both at the Naas and Athy Farmers Markets.