Although vegan and vegetarian food has become a big part of New York’s culinary world, back when The Butcher’s Daughter opened in Nolita in 2012, plant-based diets were still a novelty. 

Still operating its original cafe at 19 Kenmare Street on the corner of Elizabeth Street, the food empire has now officially expanded down the block. At 1,650 square feet almost double in size, the destination now includes a separate restaurant that features a beautiful cocktail bar, a remarkable pizza oven and a whole lot of sidewalk seating.

“This opening feels very momentous and full circle, especially on the heels of our 11th anniversary,” founder Heather Tierney said in an official statement about the debut. “To think this all started with a small juice bar a decade ago and to now be expanding to a full-scale restaurant, bar and market feels like a homecoming.”

To be clear, the juice bar that once was is still in place, albeit transformed into a plant-based bodega, superette and cafe that will be stocked with healthy snacks by a variety of brands, plus fresh flowers, pantry essentials and the sort of travel items that you’ll probably carry around NYC in your purse for weeks. 

Familiar favorites like the all-vegetable squash carbonara and the avocado toast will now be served at the next door eponymous restaurant alongside a number of other dishes like the pad Thai, a zucchini and pesto pizza, a mushroom “calamari” starter that just begs to be devoured and a very interesting-sounding hearts of palm “ceviche.”

The brunch menu is heavier on the carbs, of course: buckwheat pancakes and the jackfruit “crab” cake Benedict stand out from a pretty full menu that also includes quinoa and acai bowls and bakery items. 

When it comes to the cocktails, the emphasis is also on all things veggie and “fresh.”

The scotch-based Queen Bee, for example, is made with elderflower liqueur, lemon, truffle honey and bee pollen, while the Le Naturel Sangria features berry and citrus-infused pinot noir, tangerine, yuzu and more. You might want to opt for a “booze and juice” order, though: select your spirit and pair it from one of the many cold-pressed juices available. At $17, that’s might be your best best money-wise.

In case you’re a more recent New York transplant or, perhaps, new to the whole plant-based world, and are wondering about the eatery’s moniker: it is a half-joke.

“I created a story in my head […] that if there was an old butcher today, his daughter would probably be a vegetarian because she grew up around all this meat and she’s bored of it,” Tierney said to Venue Report a while back. “She’s really excited about vegetables!”

That concept of a “rebel” daughter is also the focus on the new menu, which features some dishes created by a group of women “with a rebellious spirit and activities in their respective fields,” according to a release. These include James Beard Award-winning chef and activist Sophia Roe and choreographer and dancer Kristin Sudeikis, among others.

Check out some photos from both the market and the new restaurant right here:

* This article was originally published here

New York City is heading toward a warmer, wetter future.

A new report by the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice and the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), an independent board that analyzes local environmental impact, warns that NYC will see an increase in the frequency and duration of hotter-than-average days and overall rainfall. The risk stemming from the latter changes are something to be concerned about as well.

Officials are clearly aware of it all, having recently released their “rainproofing” plan detailing how NYC will deal with the heavy rain problem moving forward. 

What are the climate predictions?

In terms of temperatures, the city will likely get between 2 and 4.7 degrees warmer overall in the next 15 or so years.

According to the latest report, sea levels in the area will continue to rise between half-a-foot and just over a foot all the way through the 2030s. Rain wise, estimates predict annual precipitation to increase by up to 10% until then.

How hot will NYC be in 2050?

Although the latest findings pertain to the next decade more or less, a 2014 report by the New York City Panel on Climate Change noted how NYC’s temperatures will likely resemble those of Birmingham, Alabama (that is: it’ll be scorching hot) by the year 2050.

What are the hottest months in NYC?

According to the National Weather Service, in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the hottest month in New York has been July, so it should be no surprise if this year’s pattern remains the same.

In 2023, in particular, August and June were pretty warm as well, with the average temperature reaching 75 degrees in the former month and 70 degrees in the latter. 

* This article was originally published here

Boerum Hill’s Grand Army Bar is a quintessential Brooklyn drinking den, but for summer 2024, it’s taking on a bit of a Southern twang. The bar has a tradition of regularly switching up its menu themes—previous iterations include a “Summer Camp” motif, a “CATS (not the musical)” concept, a Mean Girls-inspired beverage lineup and the most irreverent bar theme of all, “Nicolas Cage.” And its newest cocktail series for spring and summer will be “Grand Ole Army,” a spirited nod to Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry, the iconic cultural institution that has played host to legendary country stars like Dolly, Garth and Reba. 

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The May menu features 10 brand new drinks—including one shot, one frozen drink and two spirit-free options— collaboratively dreamed up by the Grand Army Bar team, led by head bartender Patty Dennison. Available until early fall (the autumnal menu flip usually takes place around early October), the new drinks include the “Ain’t Woman Enough” (a mezcal highball highlighting woman-made spirits), the “Backwoods Barbie” (a summer martini with notes of cucumber and melon) and “Folsom Prison Blues” (a toasted coconut coffee Old Fashioned).

The shooter option, “Bless Your Heart” is a chilled, dill-infused tequila shot, while the frozen number is the rum and cachaça-based “Rhinestone Cowboy” (sweetened with strawberry and banana, and available with an optional floater). And those who want their cocktails without any alcohol can enjoy the “Highway Man” (an herbaceous, soba tea milk punch with bright pops of lemongrass), and “Kiss An Angel,” an orange passionfruit soda spiced up with ancho chili. 

As is tradition, there’s a custom illustrated menu to highlight the theme, including Mad Libs of classic country songs. In addition to the new menu, Dennison and the bar team has updated the bar’s “greatest hits” menu section, which features a curated selection of the staff’s most popular drinks since the bar opened in May 2015. Making a return this summer are the “Whisper Sweet Words” shaken gin cocktail from the fall 2018 Townes Van Zandt menu, and the “Spring Sazerac #3” from the Pink Drinks menu of 2016. 

* This article was originally published here