Eat First

New York Locavore Challenge: Get on board!

Farmers markets and farm stands are bursting with fresh, local produce right now and through September.  There is no better time to be a locavore – and to sign up for the NY Locavore Challenge.

The New York Locavore Challenge is a monthlong campaign sponsored by the Northeast Farming Association of New York. It’s free, it’s flexible and it’s designed to engage consumers across the state and encourage them to support the local organic food movement – for the month of September and hopefully well beyond.

New this year is “30 Challenges in 30 Days’’ – a challenge for each day of the month. Challenges range from the simple – visit a local farmers market, farm stand or U-pick operation; dine at a restaurant that sources food locally – to the more dedicated, like join a local food co-op or sign up for a winter CSA share.

CLICK HERE to view and download the calendar.

The calendar offers lots of great ideas for those who are curious about eating more seasonal and local, but don’t know where to begin and more “experienced” locavores looking for new ideas.

Worth sharing again is the advice that Marty Butts, Community Education and Outreach Coordinator for NOFA-NY (and founder of Small Potatoes Sales and Marketing), shared with me for a story I wrote for the Syracuse New Times earlier this summer (Homegrown Is Hot):

Tip for eating local: “One of the things I always advise people getting started to do, is to pick one item in their pantry and commit to going local all the time with that product. Eggs, as an example, or locally roasted coffee.”

But back to the Locavore Challenge: Won’t you join me? I signed up and am going to do my best to eat and/or drink local every day of the month. I'll Tweet about it, to be sure. What an adventure and pleasure eating local will be when we travel to Long Island wine country after Labor Day. 

I’m thinking about hosting small, at-home Potluck Across New York get-together on Sept. 30 – or angling for an invitation to one. Because who doesn't like a potluck? A local one is even better yet.

Who's in? Leave a comment here!

Out and about: Gentile’s Pasta and Pizza Cafe

Figs on pizza? Oh, yeah! The Versace pizza.

It has been a busy year for Syracuse Chef Kevin Gentile.

Last fall, he diversified his “eclectic Italian’’ brand with the addition of Gentile’s Pasta and Pizza Cafe in Liverpool (Route 370, corner of Longbranch Road; site of the former Zorba’s Pizzeria).  And this spring, he moved his Syracuse restaurant across town – from its small spot on Burnet Avenue to bigger digs at 313 N. Geddes St., once home to the Park Circle and other restaurants.

Starved after a steamy Saturday afternoon spent strolling through the Great American AntiqueFest at Long Branch Park last month, we stopped at Gentile’s Pasta and Pizza Cafe for a bite before heading home.

THE VIBE: Casual, comfortable and family friendly, with an open prep area and kitchen and easy to read menu boards on he walls. It’s a quick-bite neighborhood restaurant, but cloth napkins on the tables let you know they take food and dining seriously.

THE MENU: Gourmet pizzas, pastas, salads, sandwiches and starters. The restaurant also features a $9.95 lunch buffet with pasta, pizza and dessert.

CHOWING DOWN: We love Utica Greens, so sharing a plate of Greens Gentile was a no-brainer. Amidst the escarole, we found broccoli – surprise! – along with prosciutto and plenty of garlic. The greens retained some of their integrity – they weren’t cooked to death, in other words. We would have liked them a little less wet and cut in more uniformly bite-size pieces.

From the list of “designer” pizzas with names like Armani, Fendi and Gucci, we chose the Versace ($12), a thin-crust pie topped with prosciutto, figs, arugula and goat cheese and drizzled with truffle oil. The combination of the sweet figs, salty prosciutto and slightly peppery arugula is a wonderful marriage of flavors and the goat cheese gave the pizza interesting texture without overwhelming the flavors of the other ingredients. We left with a couple slices in a take-out container, and it was just as delicious a couple days later.

WHAT’S A VEGETARIAN GOING TO FIND? Design-your-own pizzas with a variety of interesting toppings, including sundried tomatoes, pine nuts, pesto, artichoke hearts; pasta specialties like gnocchi tossed with spinach, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms & pistachio pesto cream sauce; sandwiches like grilled zucchini, squash, roasted peppers, tomatoes and basil with a avocado aioli; and interesting salads, like a spinach salad with pine nuts, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, capers, dried cranberries; orange vinaigrette dressing and grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese ($7.95).

DESSERT: A selection of gourmet cupcakes baked for the restaurant was offered, but we were too full to indulge.

LIQUID ASSETS: The cafe has a small beer and wine list, in addition to soft drinks, bottled water, etc. 

DAMAGES: $40, including tax and tip, for one shared order of greens and one shared pizza, plus 3 beers.

NEXT TIME: Maybe we’ll share an order of char-grilled sambuca orange wings or “Banged Up’’ shrimp and the Gucci pizza (topped with steak, caramelized onions, basil, spinach, gorgonzola cheese and balsamic reduction). Yum.

THE DETAILS: 1349 Cold Springs Road (Route 370), Liverpool. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Information: 315-457-3333.