Out & About
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On a warm summer evening, nothing is as refreshing as a dip in a pool. Sadly, the reflecting pool at Lincoln Center was just a tease last Thursday at the second annual Taste of Summer, which raised $200,000.
Fifty restaurants – including some of the city’s choicest venues – served from tables under a tent, right alongside the pool with Henry Moore’s “Reclining Figure” wading inside. It’s a great spot for a feast, and one is slated to be built there as part of Lincoln Center’s redevelopment plan.
Wylie Dufresne, of wd-50 and 71 Clinton, himself handed me a bite-size square of watermelon, boquerones, cashew, and lovage. Next door, Bill Peet of Cafe des Artistes served more watermelon, but in a salad with proscuitto. Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market and 66 were featuring a dessert of jasmine rice pudding with orange and almonds.
Whim and opportunity determined the order of the meal. Two women sent me on toward the sweet and spicy ceviche at Manhattan Ocean Club. Next, the pasta with pesto at San Domenico NY caught my attention.
Elizabeth Pforzheimer liked the lobster ravioli at Ian. She also touted the October 18 gala for New Alternatives for Children, which helps find homes for physically disabled and chronically ill children. The chief executive of Time Warner, Richard Parsons, will be the celebrity auctioneer.
Jordan Mandel of CB Richard Ellis Real Estate was at his company’s designated picnic table. He mentioned an event he helped run just a few weeks ago, a wine tasting for the Israel Humanitarian Foundation, which raised $10,000. Mr. Mandel is the president of the foundation’s Young Leadership Executive Cabinet.
The head of Snap Public Relations, Amy McFarland, introduced me to Jane Emerson, who plans the fund-raising events for American Ballet Theatre. The company’s next gala is October 19, coinciding with the opening night of its fall season at City Center.
Snap put together a goody bag for the event that weighed 10.7 pounds and had $1,000 worth of merchandise, Ms. McFarland said. Items included a new variety of Pepperidge Farm cookie called Whims, a Tupperware container, and a spatula.
“It’s easy to get companies to contribute because Lincoln Center is a great organization. People want to be a part of it,” Ms. McFarland said.
The food professionals ventured into the crowd as well. The owner of Tocqueville, Marco Moreira, told me how he selected the name for his Union Square boite. “I had tired my friends out testing names. I had maybe 2,000 on my list,” Mr. Moreira said. One weekend in the Hamptons, his host, a dentist, asked if he’d ever read Alexis de Tocqueville. He read five pages and decided on naming the restaurant after the author of “Democracy in America.”
The new pastry chef at Picholine, Zachary Miller, was serving mission fig clafoutis with rosemary cream at the tasting. Ice cream, though, is his dessert choice. “I’m kind of like an ice-cream freak,” Mr. Miller said. His favorites? Two Ben & Jerry’s flavors: “It’s a tie between Chubby Hubby and Coffee Toffee Crunch.”
The ice cream on offer at the tasting was fancier than what one finds in a pint. Toqueville served cherry granita in a chocolate cone. Rain offered Thai coffee ice cream in mini cones.
Only a few participating restaurants offered comfort food. Xing served cold sesame noodles out of a takeout container, and Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter served macaroni and cheese.