Wednesday night after work, I finally had the chance to attend a meeting of the Beam Green Social Club at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. I made my way down from East Harlem and walked across town through the park. I knew I was nearing my destination when the lanterns made their appearance:
Closer …
Ahhhhh ha!
I looooooooove Tavern on the Green, but it’s normally WAY out of my price range. I’ve only been there once before — for a semiformal my junior year at NYU — and I remember that night as being one of the best food nights of my life:
(Though I also distinctly remember having to sleep with a bowl because I was sooooooo full after plates and plates of pesto chicken bowtie pasta, mousse pies, fruit tarts, chocolate layer cakes, and so on. Siiiiiiiigh, youth …)
Anyway, Wednesday night was on the other end of the food-perfection spectrum … as in the food was still perfect but just more selectively chosen (aka all vegan and raw) to be in line with the Beam Green philosophy. (Side note: In case you haven’t heard of Beam Green yet, it’s an organization created to support the “Green Baby Movement” and to help individuals make changes toward a healthier and “greener” lifestyle.)
Diana, a full-fledged member, invited Vani, Olga, and me to come as her guests (yayyyy Diana!). We ran into many other bloggers there, including Missy and Dori:
Obviously, with all of the focus on green, green juice was bound to make an appearance, courtesy of Liquiteria! I started with a glass of All Greens with kale, spinach, romaine, parsley, celery, and cucumber:
This flavor was cool and refreshing and invigorating, and I downed it in two seconds because I was parched. Next, I moved onto Mr. Green with carrot, apple, beets, ginger, and “Super Green Food & Liver Kidney Lymph Detox,” which was perhaps even better:
Mmmmmmmmm. Let’s add a juicer to my list of necessary kitchen appliances!
We spent time milling around in the lap of luxury …
… though at times like this, I can’t help wondering how I manage to have access to events like this for free while people who can’t even afford a bag of apples do not. Anyway, I’ll skip my own philosophical debate because this is a food blog and move right onto the main event:
(Whole Foods brown rice avocado rolls!)
(lightly steamed veggies)
(cookies from Babycakes, including amaaaaaazing macarooons, YUMMMMM)
Here’s my plate with a mountain of veggies, sushi rolls (and lots of ginger!), and a slice of raw zucchini lasagna from Three Wishes:
And some zucchini noodle salad from Three Wishes (also adding spiralizer to the must-have kitchen appliances list!):
For dessert, I filled one plate with fruit:
And another with cookies:
Vani reminded me (and good thing she did!) that there was more dessert coming later, so I just had a bite of each cookie (plus a whole macaroon, obviously) along side a bottomless teacup of earl grey:
Mmmmmmm, this macaroon!
Then, the actual main event of the evening began: the speakers! We listened to Beam Green’s founder (Mary Boehmer), the founder of Stogo dairy-free ice cream, Gil Jacobs, and a kabbalah expert:
At the break, we had the chance to sample some of Stogo’s coconut milk-based ice cream in chocolate and vanilla:
Yummmmmmmmmmm again!!
With tummies satisfied (and minds in an overloaded state of health “information” worthy of further research), we made our wait out through the hall of mirrors:
At which point, my plans separated from those of the girls and included a lovely stroll back through Central Park:
And an impromptu midnight stop at a dinner in the Village for, errrrr, an ice cream sundae?
In all fairness, the goal was Stogo, but the entrance to Stogo was hidden somewhere, and it was hot, and we were tired, and Moonstruck was just so available.
And no chocolate syrup drips went untasted:
So, I had a lovely night part one at Beam Green (thanks, Diana!) that gave me lots to think about followed by a lovely night part two eating ice cream and riding on the subway … an excellent evening all around I would say!
I’m off to Buffalo this weekend with Erin Gunn and Mike to visit Erin’s sister Siobhan and work on some wedding planning, so I’ll probably be MIA until early next week … but I’ll be back with updates!
Clearly, I have no problem enjoying a full-blown vegan and raw feast … and following it right up with something decidedly NOT vegan and NOT raw. What foods do you eat that are at odds with each other?
Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition 
what a fun event! i totally agree about needing a juicer + spiralizer in the kitchen. those are on my wish list.
um, i always think it’s funny when we work out or run and then go eat burgers and onion rings 🙂
have a safe and fun trip!
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Love the recap – and I felt quite at odds last night with fresh raw zucchini pasta + green juice followed up with macaroons and ice cream!
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What a fabulous event! (Jealous – as usual!) 😉
Love the midnight ice cream – that’s my idea of a snack done RIGHT! have fun this weekend!
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I swear, you get to do the coolest stuff!!!
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Wow, what an awesome event! Yeah, I’m jealous of all your food experiences 🙂 I would say I often eat foods that are at odds with each other, for example, everynight I eat a bowl of ice cream (not healthy) with fruit on top (healthy). And at one of the restaurants that Nick and I love to go to I often order 6 fried hot wings, and a side salad, DEFINITELY at odds with each other!
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Ha, I had no idea you went on such a scrumptious adventure after Beam Green! The sundae looked divine… even if it doesn’t exactly follow the high-raw, vegan diet ;). I’m sure Stogo will have their chance eventually.
Nice seeing you again last night, have a great weekend!
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So jealous that you got to sample babycakes fare! The fact that you eat so green and ealth but also enjoyncopious amounts of ice cream and tres leches cake is what I love about your blog! Your approach to eating is very conscious but very real.
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I love the lanterns in the trees! SO PRETTY!
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Oh my goodness Sarah that looks amazing!!! I am so jealous of your foodie event! 🙂
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Dying when you got the ice cream sundae. 😀
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I’m so jealous of you Sarah, that place seems so cool! juicer will be my next (soon) kitchen gadget.
Love how you ended up your night with that gigantic beautiful bowl of ice cream!!!
I often do light salad with 1/2 bar of chocolate thing. hahhaa……
Have fun with Erin and Mike! wedding planning ? More fun!! 😀
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I loved meeting you, Sarah! And have loved your blog for a while. xo
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1. YAY! It was so good to see you 🙂
2. I’m stealing that picture of us…
3. I’m emailing you about borsch
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So lucky! I wish I lived in NYC – or at least could visit.
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YAY glad you enjoyed yourself (or at least the food, either way!). Definitely a thought-provoking experience, no? I totally chuckled when I saw the sundae at the end. 🙂 I’m with Vani – it feels weird to eat vegan and/or raw while feasting on most of that spread, only to dessert upon the cookies (even if they are agave sweetened!). I’m sure Gil was having a heart attack. Actually, he wasn’t, since his bowels probably contain Scrubbing Bubbles and he will never again be ill because of it. 😉
Bummer that we can’t repeat it!
PS Loved your post about your CSA – so fun to actually see where the stuff comes from!
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Glad you explained what it was, I saw it on another blog and was like, what?
What a fancy place! Glad you had fun and hope you have a safe trip – see you when you get back!
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I order diet coke with everything, so when I order something really unhealthy waiters seem very confused! Glad you enjoyed Beam Green!
http://eatventures.wordpress.com
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I just had to leave you a comment that I am TRYING to learn the ways of the expansion . . . I am usually not a leftovers fan (I know, gasp, the horror) but for dinner tonight I mixed some weekend cookout leftover quinoa, pine nut and feta salad with last night’s leftover Chipolte rice and beans, topped with some pineapple salsa. It was great and I thought you would approve!! 🙂
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Great recap and of course your pictures put all others to shame. You should be a professional photographer! You have an eye for it.
So glad I got to see you, sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk more. Get a juicer, it is the best kitchen purchase I ever made! Next time you must try the Grasshoper juice! Heaven!
Love your ice cream sundae at the end of the night. I don’t know how you stayed up late enough to even get that!
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That event looks great, I can’t believe they served green drinks – thats awesome! And that zucchini noodle salad is just another reason I need a spiralizer – it looks delicious!
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I don’t necessarily eat foods that are at odds with each other but we just inherited a painting from my late grandmother… of a rooster… that we put in our kitchen. So sometimes I have to chop up a dead chicken in front of another chicken. My vegetarian friend claims she is going to make the rooster an eye mask so he doesn’t have to watch.
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i have so badly wanted to go to one of those meetings, you lucky duck the food looks amazing…but ohh the ice cream
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wow, what a great event and delicious food! endless platters of sushi?!? mmmm! but i have to say, i am happiest about your ice cream sundae ending. definitely the way to go!!!
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i still consider myself a NY-er (even though I live in LA now) but I’ve never been to Tavern on the Green. I guess I will have to go as a tourist one day!
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