NYC

Cooking with Butter Beans Kitchen in Battery Park City

Last week, I got to join FIDI Families and other NYC Mommy bloggers out for a fun cooking class with Butter Beans Kitchen at their new Battery Park location inside Asphalt Green.  On the Menu: Jeweled Pomegranate Rice Pilaf, Sweet Potato Hummus, Kofta Kebab with Seasonal Market Veggies, and Honey Pistachio Baklava.  The Mediterranean menu sounded exotic and I knew I was in for a fun night out including a complimentary wine tasting by Simply Wine.   I guess Juliet was right.  Moms do drink wine at their “mommy play dates!” 

We all had a bunch of fun thanks to the easygoing and super approachable chef who taught us handy tips along the way including how to best cut an onion, tell if your oil is heated and what not to do to with your knife in order to avoid dulling it.  She was terrific at explaining step-by-step and was unbelievably not phased at all by our social-media obsessed crew who constantly had camera-in-hand documenting each and every instruction, step and photo opp.

These exotic dishes were surprisingly easy to make and tasty too!  My favorite recipes from the night included the pomegranate rice pilaf and the sweet potato hummus.

The sweet and savory flavor combinations of Middle Eastern cuisine made for fresh and elegant meals with a minimum of ingredients–no special equipment required.

I love how Butter Beans demystified this new cuisine for me and helped me feel comfortable cooking up these amazing dishes!

It really was a fun class for people of all skill levels!  Thank you so much to Butter Beans Kitchen, Asphalt Green, Simply Wines and FIDI Families for hosting us!  The candlelit dinner was scrumptious and the cooking class was such a treat!

In addition to their Thursday adult classes, be sure to check out the  farm-to-table kids classes on Wednesdays.  Use code BBFRIENDS to receive $10 off their first class.  Use code BBSIBLING to receive 5% off registration for siblings!

Classes are held at Asphalt Green Battery Park City Culinary Center, 212 North End Ave, New York, NY 10282.

$95 per class, 15% off for Asphalt Green members.

DISCLAIMER.  We received a complimentary class and event experience in exchange for the review but all opinions are my own.

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29 Rooms, a Fab Kids Review With 8 Tips

Juliet is no stranger to art.  Together we spot and admire street art, explore museums as a family, enjoy mommy and me art gallery days and get invited to the coolest pop-ups. Through it all, we’ve really developed a penchant for finding cool art around the world.  But our favorite art experience thus far has been Refinery 29’s 29 rooms.  What is 29 Rooms you ask?  It’s a multi-sensory, “interactive funhouse of style, culture, & technology.”  The masterminds at Refinery 29 have partnered with global artists, corporate brands, and fashion designers to takeover and transform a grungy Brooklyn warehouse into the most magnificent fantasy world where you get to feel, smell, create and sometimes literally, jump into the art segmented and found in 29 spaces.

With only a 3 hour interval to explore 29 rooms, I calculated that left us with just 6 minutes per room including the wait time to get into each room.  Knowing that made my heart race because there were just so many amazing surprises to discover within this cavernous space.  And having seen it all last year (click here for the pictures from 2016), I knew there was something fabulous and exciting waiting for us in each space.  So without further adieu, I’m going to let the pictures do all the talking in this post.  Feast your eyes on this and tell me what your favorite room is!

The 3 hours flew by and we wanted to stay longer!  If you want to see more, check out my Instagram story NOW while it lasts for more video and sneak peeks.

Here are 8 tips for those of you with kids:

1. Only bring kids if you know they enjoy and appreciate art enough to follow directions about when they can or cannot touch artwork.  If they’re the type to run through breaking or tearing everything like a bull in a China store, it’s best to leave them home (obvi).  I only bring Juliet to so many artsy events and galleries because I completely trust and know that she will respect the artist’s (and my) wishes.
2. Yes there are bathrooms on-site so no worries that you will have to hunt one down.
3. No f&b is allowed inside and none is sold at the venue.  We made do by sneaking in some snacks in my purse and by purchasing a $1 bottle of water from the random guy on the street selling to thirsty fashionistas waiting in line
4. The Wall Street ferry from Pier 11 in Manhattan takes you to the N. Williamsburg stop in about 20 minutes (3rd stop).  Tickets are $2.75 each way and kids under a certain height (43″ I think) are free. From the terminal stop at N. Williamsburg take a left on Kent Ave, walk 3 blocks and take a right on N 9th st. and Whythe Ave will be 1 block away but before you get to Whythe, you’ll likely see a line wrapped around the corner at 9th st. anyways.
5. Dress light.  There is limited AC and no windows from which a breeze could relieve you.  We went on a perfect 70degree weather day and still found ourselves thankful we did not show up in pants/jeans.  Some rooms felt like saunas.
6. If you’re a die-hard Instagrammer, bring a change of clothes/accessories and study the hashtag #29rooms beforehand.  By now, plenty of bloggers like me have posted reveals.  Check out their posts for ideas and inspiration and plan accordingly.  (See this post on how to achieve the highly coveted, Instagram-able shot!)
7. Free up space on your phone and bring an extra portable charger.  You don’t want to be stuck missing out on recording these amazing scenes and memories because your phone just died or you’re out of memory!
8. Download the new and free 29Rooms Interactive App which will serve as your personal tour guide for inside and outside the 29 rooms area.

If you’re a follower of my FB page then you’ve likely seen my alert the day Refinery 29’s tickets went on sale.  Tickets have sold out at this point but Refinery 29 was conducting social media giveaways so I’d follow them on IG and check Craig’s list for scalpers if you’re dying to get in but were too late to the game.

Now go ahead, what was your favorite room?

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