York Grill is located at 1690 York Avenue, New York, NY 10128. Reservations can be made over the phone (212)722-0261. For more information, visit their website, find them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

Applications are available here and the submission deadline is June 1st. If you know of any non-profit organization that can benefit from this opportunity, please spread the word. For more information, visit their website or send them an message.

McDonald’s shared two of their berry-inspired menu items – the Blueberry Banana Nut Oatmeal and the McCafe Cherry Berry Chiller.

The Blueberry Banana Nut Oatmeal has two full servings of whole grain oats, fresh blueberries, hint of banana and crunchy walnuts. One serving of the oatmeal with all toppings has 290 calories, 6g Protein, 8g Fat, 49g Carbs, and 180mg Sodium. The banana oatmeal is mainly flavored with brown sugar and dried crushed banana. The banana flavor is very light. The texture of the oatmeal resembles that of instant oatmeal. I liked the combination of the blueberry and walnuts toppings. The blueberries are fresh and plump and adds a natural sweetness. The walnuts give a crunch to the mealy texture of the oatmeal. I would suggest enjoying it soon after ordering, because like instant oatmeal, it does thicken up a lot after sitting around for a bit. I would definitely prefer rolled oats or steel cut over instant. Overall, this blueberry banana nut oatmeal was quite satisfying and filling with a reasonable amount of calories.

The McCafe Cherry Berry Chiller is a blended-ice drink made with fruit juice and accented with cherry and raspberry flavors. It says it’s made with 100% fruit juices and naturally flavored. The ingredients are water, apple juice concentrate, grape juice concentrate, natural flavor (botanical source), colored with fruit and vegetable juice, cherry puree, raspberry juice concentrate, citric acid, xanthan gum. When I took a sip of the beverage, it reminded me of a slushee, but a fruity slushee. Although it was cold and refreshing, I found it to be too sweet and fruity. I was curious and decided to checked out the nutrition profile. A 12 ounce cup has 200 Calories, 1g Protein, 0g Fat, 49g Carbs, 25mg Sodium… and 49g sugar! That’s a lot of sugar for 12 ounces in my opinion. To my surprise, there’s also no vitamins in the beverage.

Along with the tastings, McDonald’s representatives and registered dieticians were present to answer any questions and provide nutrition information about the McDonald’s menu items. Lifestyle expert Bobbie Thomas was there sharing her thoughts on summer trends and colors.

She showed us how simple items like a colored scarf or belt can make a plain outfit look more fun. She demonstrated a few ways to wear a scarf, each surprisingly easy to do and very neat. At the far end of the terrace, guests could also sign up for summer-inspired manicures as well as professional massages.

It was a fun event on the rooftop terrace and a pleasant distraction from the rainy weather outside. In addition to sampling the seasonal items, I discovered a couple neat ways to tie a scarf, got my nails done, and had some great conversations. The Blueberry Banana Nut Oatmeal and Very Berry Chiller are slowly appearing on menus at McDonald’s across the states.

In addition, they are holding a photo challenge. Tag your photos on Twitter with #frappuccinohappyhour. There will be a different challenge every day until May 13th. Each day, 10 cool and inspired photos will be selected and posted on the Starbucks Frappuccino Facebook page. Selected winners will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card and also be eligible for the drawing of three grand prize packages.

What does the role of event director entail?

As the event director, my job is to make sure the event happens & happens right! From planning out the location and set up, to looking after all the food choices & trucks to making sure our attendees are happy, my job is to plan, produce and oversee the event.

What are biggest challenges in putting together an event like Choice Streets?

There are different challenges for every event we take on. Choice Streets’ biggest challenge was the weather since it was outdoors on Pier 86 of the Intrepid. Coming up with a Rain Date and back up plans help make challenges like this easier!

What’s the difference, if any, between organizing Choice Streets compared to other events like Choice Eats?

The events are quite similar to each other! Choice Eats hosts 50 restaurants from all five boroughs and sets them up for one night of sampling to our guests. Choice Streets challenges us to scour the Food Truck NYC landscape and find 20 of the most sought after trucks, with a variety of food and cuisines for all. With the help of our amazing food edit team here at the Village Voice, we are able to offer our attendees great varieties, hidden gems and fun events both at Streets and Eats.

The event will take place on Pier 86 at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Complex. How was the location chosen?

When looking into a location to place Food Trucks which isn’t an easy task when you are hoping to have over 20 participants. We wanted to find a location with an amazing landscape. After some research, we went on board the Intrepid and were in love with the look and feel of how amazing this landscape could enhance Choice Streets.

How are the participating food trucks selected?

We work with our food edit team and our Ford in the Road blog to help select our lineup.

Are there any food trucks in particular that you’re most excited about? and why?

We are excited for all of them! Its such a wide variety – from Coolhaus and their Ice Cream Sandwich’s to Solber Pupusas famous Pupusa’s to New York’s famous boys at Korilla BBQ – there are so many different types of cuisines to be excited about!

It seems like there’s always new food trucks popping up. What would be the next kind of food truck you’d like to see in NYC and what will they serve?

A Pancake truck in the morning would make my day!

This was my first encounter with the Green Pirate Juice Truck, a Brooklyn-based company that brings healthy foods and drinks to the community while promoting environmental friendliness and sustainability. I tried “The Green Pirate” which consisted of spinach, celery, lemon, cucumber, ginger and apple. A veggie-based green beverage? Sure it might look a bit funky, but it was very refreshing and the apples add a hint of sweetness.

Next, I grabbed a plate of green falafels with hummus from The Taim Mobile. Their menu is all vegetarian featuring falafel platters, hummus plates, salads, and they also make smoothies.

I passed by the Coolhaus truck. It was still early in the evening and since there wasn’t much of a crowd at that moment, I figured it wasn’t a bad time for a quick dessert. They had six choices of cookies along with eight choices of fillings. For my sandwich, I picked their carrot cake cookie with a scoop of berry sorbet. Yum. Glad I sneaked in an early dessert because the line got much longer later during the night.

Astoria’s King of Falafel & Shawarma served up their vegan falafels with lots of enthusiasm, cheerfulness and some dance. Their falafels are made with chickpeas, onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro and a blend of spices giving it great flavor with a nice kick.

NYC Healthy Bites offers healthy, organic food on-the-go. They were serving samples of their organic hot dogs. Their beef are 100% organic grass-fed beef. Their chicken is USDA certified organic. They also have a vegan sausage that’s made from organic tofu. I tried their vegan Italian sausage with sun dried tomatoes and basil and a dollop of spicy cilantro sauce.

A lobster roll would have been great for the evening. Too bad, when I arrived at the Red Hook Lobster Pound, they were already out.

Next, I made my way to Kelvin Natural Slush Co. You pick your base slush, ginger, citrus, or tea, followed by a mix-in. I went with a ginger slush with basil. Light, refreshing, and thirst-quenching.

Lastly, I stopped by the Solber Pupusas truck. Pupusa is a dish from El Salvador. Pupusas are grilled corn patties stuffed with cheese and various fillings and served with toppings like pickled cabbage, red onion, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, and tomato sauce.

It was too bad that The Cinnamon Snail had to cancel due to truck issues. Their vegan sandwiches are amazing. They’ve got great baked goods too from donuts to cookies to cinnamon snails (cinnamon rolls). Guess will just have to follow them around.

And that concludes my evening at Choice Streets! Look forward to next year’s event. I wonder what new food trucks might appear.

Dinner starts with selected Amuse Bouche.

Followed by choice of Appetizer.

• Savory Tuscan White Bean Soup
  With julienne Spanish chorizo finished with crème fraîche and fried kale garnish
• York Organic Field Green Salad
  Tossed with sundried cherries and toasted pumpkin seeds in brown sugar-sherry vinaigrette with choice of crumbled Gorgonzola, shaved pecorino or Hudson Valley goat cheese
• Greek Muscat and Star Anise Poached Pear with Baby Red Romaine Salad
  Tossed with candied walnuts and red onion in a merlot vinaigrette with a Maytag bleu cheese crumble
• Big Eye Tuna Sashimi
  With segmented pink grapefruit and Valencia orange, pickled jalapeño with extra virgin olive oil and cilantro
• Crispy Virginia Tidewater Crab Cake
  Served over York coleslaw with spiced rémoulade and mache greens dressed in sherry vinaigrette
• Nola Calamari
  Cajun spiced calamari served with York dipping sauce and lemon wedge

Brunch Entrée (available from noon to 2:30pm)

• Eggs Benedict 39.95
• Three Egg Omelet Your Way 39.95
• Cast Iron Waffle du Jour 39.95
• Skirt Steak and Eggs 55.95

Entrée (after 2:30pm)

• Baby Bay Scallop and Rock Shrimp Risotto 39.95
  Mounted with parsley salsa verde, blistered grape tomatoes and fin herbs
• Pan Seared Chatham Day Boat Cod 49.95
  Over black quinoa with braised baby bok choy and blood orange white ginger sauce
• Grilled Outerbanks Red Grouper 49.95
  Over a bed of roasted garlic mashed potatoes topped with a carciofi (seared artichoke hearts) with capers and diced Roma tomatoes in a lemon butter sauce
• Grilled Achiote Marinated Rack of Lamb 59.95
  With Maytag bleu cheese potatoes au gratin, grilled asparagus spears and rosemary demi
• Grilled Marinated Skirt Steak 55.95
  Served with caramelized onions, chef’s vegetables and roasted garlic whipped potatoes
• Burgundy Braised Beef Short Ribs 52.95
  Over roasted garlic whipped potatoes with caramelized cipollini onions and braising jus
• Japanese Panko and Filbert Crusted Chicken Milanese 39.95
  With baby arugula, Roma tomato and red onion in brown sugar sherry vinaigrette with crown of pecorino Romano cheese and lemon wedge
• Grilled Center Cut Berkshire Pork Chop 42.95
  Over honey and lavender sweet potatoes with okra and Roma tomatoes in a stone ground mustard and balsamic stew finished with pork au jus

Lastly, conclude the dinner with their House Made Desserts.

York Grill is located at 1690 York Avenue, New York, NY 10128. The Mother’s Day dinner will be available on May 13th from 12pm to 1am. Reservations can be made over the phone (212)722-0261. For more information, visit their website and find them on Facebook.

Village Voice’s First Annual Choice Streets
When? Tuesday, April 24th from 7:00-10:00pm
Where? Pier 86 of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex

Participating food trucks include: Chinese Mirch, Coolhaus, The Cinnamon Snail, Frites ‘N’ Meats, Green Pirate Juice Truck, Kelvin Natural Slush Co., King of Falafel & Shawarma, Korilla BBQ, Mexicue, Morris Grilled Cheese Truck, NYC Healthy Bites, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Souvlaki GR, The Taim Mobile, Wafels & Dinges, along with the recent additions Bongo Brothers, Cupcake Crew, Mexico Blvd, Phil’s Steaks, Solber Pupusas, and Valducci’s Original Pizza.

Sponsors for this event include Shock Top Beer, Zagat, Pisco Porton, New York City Food Truck Association, Southern Wines and Spirits, Jameson, Sidney Frank Importers, Svedka, Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Veev, Green Mountain Energy, Hot 97, smartwater, Wetpaint, Foodtoeat.com, Kind Bars, Frames, Zipcar, Nice Work If You Can Get It and Laser Cosmetica.

Tickets for the event went on sale early March and was sold out in just 5 days. Luckily, I will be attending the event Tuesday evening and I’m definitely looking forward to it. Hope to see you there too!

Ingredients: (About 4 servings)

• 1 cup green split peas
• 4 cups water
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ~ 1/2 cup diced carrots
• ~ 1/2 cup peas
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp ginger powder
• 3 tsp minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Place the split peas and water into a large pot and bring to a simmer.
2. Cover and cook the peas until soft, stirring occasionally. About 30 minutes.
3. In a skillet, heat the oil and add onion, cumin, mustard seeds.
4. Cook for 5 minutes, until onion is soft and slightly dark brown.
5. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
6. Turn off heat.
7. Stir in turmeric, coriander, cayenne, and salt.
8. Add tomato paste to the split peas. Stir well.
9. Add onion and spice mixture to the split peas and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
10. Add carrots and peas.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste.
12. Remove from heat.
13. Serve with some chopped cilantro leaves on top.

I had a great time there. I learned about the different types of lentils and their health benefits from Canadian Lentils. Lentils are pulses and technically not beans. They are classified by color and size and colors range from yellow to orange to green to black. They are a great source of protein. The representatives of Canadian Lentils served lentil and cheese quesadillas and gave out The Big Book of Lentils, a collection of recipes to challenge you to incorporate lentils into any dish or meal you like.

Over at Melissa’s Farm Fresh Produce I discovered baby kiwis. They look like grapes from the outside, but once you bite into it, you’ll see the resemblance to the kiwi. The skin is edible. The fruit has a very delicate sweet flavor, unlike the regular kiwi fruit which can be a bit tangy. These baby kiwis are only available during certain months of the year – February through April, September through November.

I was quite interested in the line of gluten-free products from King Arthur Flour. They have flours as well as mixes for bread, brownies, pancakes, cookies, muffins, cake, and more. They also provided some recipe suggestions. I haven’t really tried gluten-free baking products before, so this might be somewhere to start. Runa tea shared samples of their tea which is brewed from guayusa, a native Amazonian tree leaf. It provides balanced energy and antioxidants. It contains more caffeine than other teas but less than coffee. So it’s good for an energy boost that’s gentle for the stomach. I love coffee, but the acidity can sometimes be harsh on the stomach. Their tea bags are available in traditional, spice, peppermint, and ginger citrus. They also shared their bottled teas that are very refreshing to drink chilled. The bottles are available in traditional, lemon-lemongrass, mint, and hibiscus-berry. I really liked the mint one.

I’m not sure if it was just me, but I noticed there was a lot of cheese at the expo. In addition to the samples of cheese and cheese dishes from Wisconsin Cheese, Lucy’s Whey, and Murray’s Cheese, it felt like cheese was an ingredient for many exhibitors.

In the other side of the room, I found tables and tables of sweets and baked goods. Artopolis Bakery Patisserie of Astoria, Queens, had a full table of Greek pastries like baklava (sweet pastry with layers of filo pastry), melomakarouna (egg shaped desserts filled with ground nuts), and kourabiedes (walnut sugar cookies).

The Rescue Baker shared samples of her Campfire Cookies, Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes, Lemon Poundcake, and her fantastic Boozy Chocolate Caramel Pecan Bars, which uses Godiva liquor. Mm. My eyes were drawn to Sweet Loren’s table of cookie samples. Sweet Loren’s produces all-natural, ready-to-bake cookie dough and brownie batter. They are made with 100% whole grains and only uses natural sweeteners. There’s no preservatives. They are also dairy-free! Sweet Loren’s was the winner of The Next Big Small Brand in 2011. She provides you the cookie dough and all you have to do is heat up the oven and bake the cookies. There’s heavenly chocolate chunk, chewy oatmeal cranberry, bold espresso chunk, and nutty peanut butter oatmeal. All the cookies were great, but found the Dark Double Fudge Brownie to be very nifty. Not only is the packaging neat looking, it comes in a disposable pan that can go directly in the oven. If you like fudgy brownies, choose a shorter baking time. If you prefer cakey brownies, bake it a bit longer.

I had quite a feast at the expo sampling so much food, but definitely overdosed a bit on the sweets by the end of the afternoon. Thanks Wisconsin Cheese for inviting me to the expo. Here are some more pictures from the event. Enjoy!