Give back with the press of a button by using City Harvest’s mobile restaurant guide, Great Food, Good Hearts, available for free download starting Tuesday, October 18th at www.cityharvest.org. The release of the digital compilation, which will feature more than 150 restaurants, bakeries and cafes that support City Harvest, coincides with City Harvest’s annual Bid Against Hunger, a walk-around restaurant tasting, auction and benefit at Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18th Street). Both the event and the guide play a key role in raising funds and awareness for the organization.
The guide lets diners be socially conscious at their convenience. Eateries are searchable via name and cuisine type, while directions can be generated by most phones’ navigation systems. The app is compatible with the iPhone and Android. And those planning ahead can use Great Food, Good Hearts to link to OpenTable to make restaurant reservations. There is also a donation function so users can give directly to City Harvest.
Bid Against Hunger takes place Tuesday, October 18th, the same day that the app becomes available. The 17th annual event provides guests with the opportunity to see New York City’s top chefs in action and enjoy their heralded food. Participating restaurants include Blue Hill, Le Bernardin, Craft, and Gramercy Tavern, and their big-name executive chefs will be on to support a great cause and delight the foodie guests. For instance, Le Bernardin Executive Chef Eric Ripert will prepare an ethereal Warm Crab “Cake,” with a few unexpected, yet lovely, Latin American accoutrements: Tequila guacamole and potato crisps, as well as an Aji Pepper-Lime Emulsion. Gramercy Tavern Chef Michael Anthony will also cook with a Mexican flair, crafting a Pickled Peppers and Chorizo dish that’s a bite-sized kick to your tastebuds. Chris Santos, whose Beauty & Essex restaurant is a hit amongst both foodies and downtown scenesters, will also elevate comfort food by serving delectable bites of Oven-Braised Chicken Meatballs with sheep’s milk ricotta, wild mushroom and truffle. In addition, the premier Italian chef Cesare Casella, will offer a trio of pork preparations — Prosciutto di Parma, Parmacotto Ham & Porchetta – that are delicious enough to make vegetarians reconsider their lifestyles. Also not to be outdone is Marc Murphy of Landmarc, who will serve Orecchiette alla Norcina, a sausage and pasta dish that’s a favorite in Umbria, Italy. Asian cuisine will also be represented thanks to Chef Zak Pelaccio, founder of Fatty Crab and Fatty ‘Cue, plates of Trippa Malaysia, while Dinosaur Bar-b-que co-founder John Stage will be dishing out his famous Pulled Pork Sliders. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid on exclusive prizes, such as exclusive dinners in starred restaurants and vacation packages, in both live and silent auctions. VIP Room guests will enjoy an exclusive tasting of regional purveyors’ foods, hors d’oeuvres and an eclectic selection of wines.
Now serving New York City for more than 25 years, City Harvest is the world’s first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women, and children. This year, City Harvest will collect over 25 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is then delivered free of charge to nearly 600 community food programs throughout New York City using a fleet of trucks and bikes as well as volunteers on foot. Each week, City Harvest helps over 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their next meal.
