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Source: September 20 Weekend Wall Street Journal / Greater New York Section
City Harvest's Bow Ties & Burgers Event
By REBECCA BRATBURD
Sept. 19, 2014 10:34 p.m. ET
Felipe López, a former NBA player, tries on a bow tie during City Harvest's Bow Ties & Burgers event.
Just when we thought summer was over, City Harvest hosted a rooftop party in Chelsea on Thursday night. The party, the theme of which was Bow Ties & Burgers, successfully raised over $100,000 for the nonprofit.
This was the kind of party you could get ready for after you arrived. At the DKNY Bow Tie Bar, there were complimentary bow ties and people to show you how to properly tie one. And there was a makeup counter for a quick touch-up before heading up to the roof. Up there, there was a sunset to enjoy, a live band crooning Motown hits and all kinds of juicy sliders.
The restaurant Emily served a miniature version of its signature burger with BBQ aioli and charred onion cooked into the beef. Ed's Chowder House went fishy with salmon burgers topped with garlic aioli and pickle pepper relish.
Hill Country Barbecue Market served sides of macaroni and cheese. For vegetarians, Bareburger offered a veggie slider with cauliflower hummus and alfalfa sprouts.
Brindle Room's spread was deceptively simple: burgers with American cheese and nothing else except a few drops of house-made, habañero-based hot sauce.
"We're taking something that's really simple and we're serving it simply," said Jeremy Spector, one of the chefs. "We're achieving the complexity of the flavor through the aging process and the execution of the burger."
That's chef talk for an absolutely perfect burger.
The Brindle Room Steak House chefs, Dean Piccolo, center, and Jeremy Spector, right, with one of their employees and their contribution to the event. Lori Cannava
Felipe López, a former NBA player, manned the fancy make-your-own-s'mores bar sponsored by Voilà Chocolat. It had marshmallow truffles, chocolate fondue and dainty toppings like shaved coconut and heart sprinkles.
If that wasn't your thing, Doughnuttery, New York Cake Pops and an ice cream truck were on hand.
"I know how much City Harvest means to the folks in New York City," Mr. López said. "I really know how much it means to the people because I see them line up at 6 in the morning just trying to get to the pantry."
Mr. López volunteers at Bronx Spanish Evangelical Church, which is one of City Harvest's food-pantry hubs and serves 800 families a week.
"The trucks, plenty of trucks, it seems like every day, they just drop tons of meat, dry food, cans, rice—every single kind of need for our church. From there, we provide to smaller churches," Mr. López said.
Seven days a week, City Harvest's 21 trucks deliver food to the five boroughs' 1.7 million people living below the poverty line.
"We have a big goal," Jilly Stephens, the nonprofit's executive director said. "We approved a strategic plan nearly three years ago and the plan was to double the amount of food we move each year from 30 million pounds to 60 million pounds of food. We have to raise money in order to do that. Everything we raise will be converted into pounds of food."
City Harvest's Bow Ties & Burgers Event
By REBECCA BRATBURD
Sept. 19, 2014 10:34 p.m. ET
Felipe López, a former NBA player, tries on a bow tie during City Harvest's Bow Ties & Burgers event.
Just when we thought summer was over, City Harvest hosted a rooftop party in Chelsea on Thursday night. The party, the theme of which was Bow Ties & Burgers, successfully raised over $100,000 for the nonprofit.
This was the kind of party you could get ready for after you arrived. At the DKNY Bow Tie Bar, there were complimentary bow ties and people to show you how to properly tie one. And there was a makeup counter for a quick touch-up before heading up to the roof. Up there, there was a sunset to enjoy, a live band crooning Motown hits and all kinds of juicy sliders.
The restaurant Emily served a miniature version of its signature burger with BBQ aioli and charred onion cooked into the beef. Ed's Chowder House went fishy with salmon burgers topped with garlic aioli and pickle pepper relish.
Hill Country Barbecue Market served sides of macaroni and cheese. For vegetarians, Bareburger offered a veggie slider with cauliflower hummus and alfalfa sprouts.
Brindle Room's spread was deceptively simple: burgers with American cheese and nothing else except a few drops of house-made, habañero-based hot sauce.
"We're taking something that's really simple and we're serving it simply," said Jeremy Spector, one of the chefs. "We're achieving the complexity of the flavor through the aging process and the execution of the burger."
That's chef talk for an absolutely perfect burger.
The Brindle Room Steak House chefs, Dean Piccolo, center, and Jeremy Spector, right, with one of their employees and their contribution to the event. Lori Cannava
Felipe López, a former NBA player, manned the fancy make-your-own-s'mores bar sponsored by Voilà Chocolat. It had marshmallow truffles, chocolate fondue and dainty toppings like shaved coconut and heart sprinkles.
If that wasn't your thing, Doughnuttery, New York Cake Pops and an ice cream truck were on hand.
"I know how much City Harvest means to the folks in New York City," Mr. López said. "I really know how much it means to the people because I see them line up at 6 in the morning just trying to get to the pantry."
Mr. López volunteers at Bronx Spanish Evangelical Church, which is one of City Harvest's food-pantry hubs and serves 800 families a week.
"The trucks, plenty of trucks, it seems like every day, they just drop tons of meat, dry food, cans, rice—every single kind of need for our church. From there, we provide to smaller churches," Mr. López said.
Seven days a week, City Harvest's 21 trucks deliver food to the five boroughs' 1.7 million people living below the poverty line.
"We have a big goal," Jilly Stephens, the nonprofit's executive director said. "We approved a strategic plan nearly three years ago and the plan was to double the amount of food we move each year from 30 million pounds to 60 million pounds of food. We have to raise money in order to do that. Everything we raise will be converted into pounds of food."