pittsford-restaurants-and-wineries

An Appeal from the Chairpersons......

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 01:55:23 +0100

To all Pittsford Rotarians: The Taste of Pittsford is our largest Fundraiser and many of the charities we support depend on the funds raised. A few requests: Please be sure to purchase your tickets….and SELL TICKETS to those you know (we want to raise $$$ from non-Rotarians as well).

-We will have a sign-up sheet to circulate at the next two meetings; we do need Rotarian participation for a smooth running event---please volunteer for one of the time slots.

-I expect we will have more restaurants than ever, more wineries and our distiller is back…it should be a GREAT EVENT.

-Tickets will also be available at the next two meetings…credit is OK. -We will be running a few ads this year, so be sure to get your tickets before the ads hit; we do expect a large crowd. A special thank you to all who are helping with this event….. Jim and Grace

Owner of Max Market Cafe, Opens Ducke Soupe in Rochester

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:47:31 +0100

At the 2011 Taste of Pittsford event, Max Market Cafe offered delicious servings of award-winning fare. Owner, Tony Gullace, just opened his seventh restaurant, Duck Soupe, located near the center of downtown Rochester. Patrons can come in and sit in the dining area or buy a la carte items for on the go. Mr. Gullace is thinking of expanding the restaurant into a mini market as well and has considered selling eggs, yogurt and salads for take out. He believes that students, residents and office workers will bring in the most business. He is also counting on the heavy foot traffic in downtown because the restaurant is only a block from the Eastman School of Music and is surrounded by businesses and residential apartments.

Mr. Gullace has Max of Eastman Place on Gibbs Street and a cafe inside the Eastman Theatre; Max at the Gallery at the Memorial Art Gallery; Max Chophouse and Max Market in Brighton; and Max at High Falls. Instead of slapping on another Max title for this upscale diner, Gullace waxed nostalgic over his favorite Marx Brothers movie and called it Duck Soupe.

Max chef Jill Doebler is in the kitchen, making duck soup and duck confit. The menu is a comfortable cross-breeding of Euro-peasant with Jewish deli such as pastrami sandwiches without home made chips ($10), a cheesy Tuscan pork loin with rosemary and garlic on rapini ($8) and mussels and frites ($13).

Cheaper breakfast options include a small stack of buttermilk pancakes or an egg and cheese sandwich (both $4) or a bowl of polenta and cheddar ($6).

Duck Soupe's higher price dishes ($11 for penne Alfredo), are reasonable for the downtown working crowd, the lower price dishes are accessible for community college and Eastman School music students.

The space feels promising, with stark, modern metal chairs, a tiger-striped upholstered bench, an antique hutch, and a coffee-table tome of the Marx Brothers at the counter. Duck Soupe is open for breakfast and lunch during the work week and dinner Wednesday through Friday.

Come to our annual Taste of Pittsford event on Monday, March 12, 2012 and sample dishes prepared by Max Market Cafe; and Duck Soupe at Shults Center in Nazareth College. Tickets are $45 per person and are NOT sold at the door. Purchase your ticket online or make your check out to Rotary Club of Pittsford Foundation and mail to: Rotary Club of Pittsford, Po Box 161, Pittsford, NY 14534. Your participation will make our community better, safer and more enjoyable to live in!

Seneca Lake Wine Trails Video on Picking Pinot Grapes

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:33:52 +0100

This video was made in 2007 and shows the Executive Director of Seneca Lake Wine Trails demonstrating how to pick Pinot grapes. However, from what I've seen, it's more apt to title it: How NOT to pick up Pinot grapes in October. The video tells you to not cut the stems, which the instructor did several times. The video is only 33 seconds and is really too short for a "How To", video. It is, however, an amusing short video.

The Rotary Club of Pittsford is organizing a wine and gourmet food tasting function called "A Taste of Pittsford" on March 12, 2012. The event features wine tastings from Finger Lakes area wineries and food tasting from Rochester area restaurants and cafes,. A silent auction and a raffle will be added to supplement the fund raising. All proceeds raised will go to all the charitable projects supported by the Rotary Club of Pittsford.

Three Trade Agreements Expected to Boost NY State Exports

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:16:35 +0100

The Senate ratified three trade agreements that many supporters claim will boost New York farmers, manufacturers and service industry organizations. An estimated 192,000 jobs around the state are supported by exports, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Using a private database that tracks exports via ocean containers, the chamber identified 1,482 companies based in New York that ship $55.6 billion in goods every year and doesn't include air freight shipments or trucking of New York-produced goods across the Mexican and Canadian borders.

EFCO Products of Poughkeepsie expects to ship more bakery mixes to Korea. EFCO ships several ocean liner containers of bakery mixes and fruit fillings to bakeries in South Korea every year. "We have a very good trading partner in South Korea," says Steve Effron, EFCO's president and CEO. His 70-employee family-owned business also exports to the Taiwan and the Philippines. ECFO currently faces Korean tariffs ranging from 8 to 40 percent on its bakery mixes, depending on the content of sugar, flour and fruit fillings. Those tariffs will be lowered under the new trade deal.

Peter Saltonstall, owner of King Ferry Winery in the Finger Lakes, says the Korea trade deal has spurred him to consider exporting his sweet-tasting dessert wine and ice wine. Tariffs on wine exported to South Korea will immediately vanish. Grape juice produced by upstate grape growers will benefit from immediate elimination of a 45 percent Korean tariff. Fruit producers will have to wait up to 10 years for 45 percent tariffs on cherries and strawberries to gradually disappear.

"Everyone is always looking for new markets for their products," Saltonstall said. "I've been tempted to try one of these markets, just to see." Koreans favor the kind of sweet-tasting fruit wines and rice wine produced by many New York wineries, according to Susan Spence of New York's Wine and Grape Foundation in Canandaigua.

Western New York is a major growing area for Concord and Niagara grapes. Welch's Food Inc., sells more than 2,000 tons of grape concentrate in Korea annually. Eliminating the 45 percent tariff on U.S. grape juice will make it more competitive with juice from Chile, which is imported to Korea duty-free under a Korea-Chile free trade agreement.

The big beneficiaries of the agreement with Korea include express delivery firms such as FedEx and United Parcel Service, telecommunications firms such as Verizon and AT&T, cable t.v. channels, insurance companies and advertisers.

Taste the best of what Finger Lakes wines can offer. Savor the flavors of Pittsford's finest gourmet creations. Listen to live jazz, country and rock and roll music. All these for only $45. But that's not all, because 100% of your entrance fee goes to Pittsford Rotary's charitable efforts. Participating wineries, Rochester restaurants and musicians offer their services for free.

Two Women in Pittsford Honored for Community Service

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:13:11 +0100

Marguerite Rose received the “Wanda Ward Lifetime Achievement Award”. Marguerite has been involved in numerous projects and committees and served in many leadership positions including President of the Women's Club of Pittsford. For over 8 years she served as co-chair of the St. Pauly’s shed, a major fund raiser for the club. She has been the leader of the Women’s Club knitting group which provides over one thousand hand-knitted items to hospitals, charitable agencies and our service men and women. Marguerite’s involvement includes the Women’s Council of the Rochester Museum and Science Center, One World Goods and a library in Long Lake, NY.

Barbara Kotalik also received the “Woman of the Year” award. Barbara is an unsung hero tirelessly working behind the scenes. She sometimes acts as a chairperson but many times as a worker or committee member. She twice co-chaired the Home and Kitchen Tour and has served on the Board of the Women’s Club in a variety of roles. She currently serves as secretary. As an avid volunteer she has assisted in sorting out Coats for Kids and served at holiday luncheons and strawberry festivals for seniors. Barbara is an veteran at fund raising in Pittsford. When serves in the position of cashier at club fundraisers, she challenges customers to “round it up a bit as the money goes to charity”. She also helped raise $2000 for Operation Firefighter in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster.

A Taste of Pittsford is scheduled on March 12, 2012 at Schults Center in Nazareth College. Pittsford Rotary Club is asking for your participation if you are a cafe or restaurant owner in Rochester, Pittsford or Fairport to assist us by providing food to this worthwhile event. Area wineries can also help by providing spirits for the wine tastings.

A Comprehensive Study Reports that Fast-food Companies Aggressively Target Kids

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:36:50 +0100

Teenagers and children view significantly more ads for fast food than same-aged children did in 2003. This is based on a year-long study which analyzed data on the nutritional value of food and the media exposure conducted by members of the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

Findings of the research are available online at Fast Food FACTS. The report suggests that fast-food companies are increasing efforts to market unhealthy meal options to children, without equally promoting healthy choices.

Jennifer Harris, the lead study author says, "What we found in the marketing data is a staggering amount of fast-food advertising that starts when children are as young as two years old," She noted that the fast-food industry spent $4.2 billion on advertising in 2009. According to their study, 40% of preschoolers ask to go to McDonald's weekly, and 15% ask to go daily which demonstrates that the increase in those numbers from 2003 indicates a correlation between fast-food marketing efforts and the attitudes of children towards this type of food.

According to the researchers, 1/3 of American children eat fast food every day. This makes up approximately 17% of their daily calorie intake.

Marlene Schwartz, one of the study's co-authors said, "Eating at fast food restaurants is ingrained in our culture. That's why the nutritional quality of these meals is so important."

According to Harris, children believe that fast-food is "normal and expected." she also pointed out that aggressive marketing is the reason for this behavior.

Fast-food companies that were analyzed for this study did have healthier options. However, these are not promoted to children even inside the store. The researchers sent "mystery diners" into the restaurants, and in 80% of cases the diners were automatically given fries and soda to go with meals, whereas, healthier choices were not offered.

Schwartz also noted that today's parents are the first to have been raised with fast-food advertisements. This exposure has led parents to believe that fast-food is normal.

Another disturbing item from the study is that fast-food marketing targets minorities. African American teens and children, for instance, saw 50% more fast-food T.V. ads and more internet and website ads in 2009 than did their white counterparts.

Authors of the study hope that these studies will provoke new strategies for the restaurants, rather than just promoting education which "does not seem to be working".

Harris advises parents how to handle this alarming increase by "...control(ing) what kids are seeing...turn off the TV. No matter what's on, you're going to see a lot of fast food ads."

Better yet, save up you fast-food dollars and attend "A Taste of Pittsford's" fund raising event on March 12, 2012.; Not only will your $45 allow you to sample gourmet dishes from the top chefs in Rochester, but you'll also get to taste wine and spirits from the best wineries in the Finger Lakes. You'll also have the satisfaction that your contribution will help put dictionaries in 3rd grader's back-packs this year.