From l to r: Janet (Crave Caterers), Daniella (Liberty House) and Millie (Crave Caterers)
Look at that view from The Valiant!
If you're interested in booking your own party aboard our yacht, please visit the Valiant site.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Employee appreciation on the water
Still tempting 70 degrees in late October, on Monday we celebrated what really makes this company work: our employees. With the sun setting against lower Manhattan, the Landmark Hospitality family embarked on a harbor cruise. It's times like these where we get to give thanks to our team of Memory Makers, a term that embodies Landmark's commitment to creating life's great memorable moments.
From l to r: Janet (Crave Caterers), Daniella (Liberty House) and Millie (Crave Caterers)
Look at that view from The Valiant!
If you're interested in booking your own party aboard our yacht, please visit the Valiant site.
From l to r: Janet (Crave Caterers), Daniella (Liberty House) and Millie (Crave Caterers)
Look at that view from The Valiant!
If you're interested in booking your own party aboard our yacht, please visit the Valiant site.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Stone House Tasting at Bloomingdale's
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Explore the new Tuscan garden at ExpoItalia
ExpoItalia will showcase food, wine, crafts, art and music of Italy, Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Richmond County Savings Foundation Tuscan Garden and the South Meadow of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.
Entrance is $8 for adults; $6 for seniors and children ages 5 through 18. Kids younger enter for free.
The new 1-acre garden is modeled after the Villa Gamberaia, a 16th-century garden outside Florence, Italy. It features terraces, pools, fountains, topiary, statuary and citrus trees in pots, and was designed by the Milan-based landscape architect Enrica Buccioni.
Though the $1.5 million garden, in the planning stages since 2002, has been used for by-invitation fundraisers over the last year, ExpoItalia will mark the first time the public can explore the grounds.
"This is in celebration of October being Italian heritage month," said JoAnn Mardikos, interim president of Snug Harbor.
The Tuscan garden, is slated to officially open with regular hours -- 10 a.m. to dusk -- and an admission fee of less than $5, next month. It will offer four seasons of programming throughout the year.
"It's a major attraction because you have a very large Italian community Staten Island," said Ms. Mardikos. "If you can't get to Tuscany, this is just about the next best thing."
The 13th Congressional District, which encompasses Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, has more Italian-American residents than any congressional district in the country.
But the Tuscan garden unveiling is only a small part of the ExpoItalia, said Ms. Mardikos. Most of it will unfold on the South Meadow.
"It's like a San Gennaro festival for Staten Island," said John Sollazo, honorary chairman of the event.
Aside from food such as calzones, sausage and peppers and pastries, the event will serve up cooking demonstrations and tastings by the Port Richmond High School culinary department and the cultural center's caterer, Celebrate at Snug Harbor.
Children will be able to craft their own Leaning Tower of Pisa from pasta; bounce around in an inflatable giant blow-up coliseum, fashioned after the Coliseum in Rome; have their faces painted and take in a puppet show courtesy of the Rosebank-based Garibaldi-Meucci Museum.
Among the entertainers will be a saxophone quartet from the province of Bari, Puglia, Italy, performing music by Italian and American composers such as Bernstein, Copland, Nicolau, Annunziata, Zannoni. Tres Bella, who sing three-party harmonies, will deliver classic ballads in Italian and English such as "Mala Femmina," "Sorrento" and "Io Che Non Vivo (You Don't Have To Say You Love Me)," along with Rat Pack standards and doo-wop.
Source: SILive.com
Restaurant Review: Stone House at Stirling Ridge
The best part about moving? New restaurant choices. Last week, we decided to visit the Stone House Restaurant at Stirling Ridge. I had seen this advertised in NJ Monthly, and the venue looked gorgeous. The reviews on Yelp were pretty good, so we took a little drive over.
The pictures don’t lie. The venue is absolutely beautiful. The Stone House Restaurant is managed by Landmark Hospitality. The Web site isn’t very clear about this, but I’m guessing Stirling Ridge is the events section, as they do have a Grand Ballroom and wedding options. There was also a beautiful outdoor patio that would probably be very lovely when it’s not 50 degrees out. I’m sure having an event there is expensive, but it really is beautiful.
Now, on to the actual restaurant, which was also very elegant without being stuffy. The kitchen is open, and the whole interior features natural stone, as well as a beautiful floor to ceiling wine cellar. We sat in a booth close to the door, which I was worried about at first with noise and drafts, but it actually proved to be quiet and comfortable. Table seating was a bit cramped, so I’m glad we had the opportunity to sit alone instead of on top of other patrons.
The wait staff seemed young, but exceptionally knowledgeable. The wines by the glass list was pretty versatile, considering it seemed like a place where they would push the bottles. I started with a cheese platter, and Jared had an antipasta-type appetizer. Our server gave us a selection of cheeses that complemented one another very well. While the platter was a bit much for a one person starter, he was kind enough to wrap it up for us to take home. Honey, fruit and bread made nice additions to the platter.
Dinner was absolutely phenomenal, and well timed. The Stone House prides itself on creating meals based around local, market driven food buys. The wait staff does an excellent job pointing out which dishes feature local vegetables, meat, etc. Even though the kitchen seemed busy, the pace of the meal moved at very comfortable rate. I had the pork chops with maple glazed sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Pork chops are my usual, since they often come in a fabulous glaze with sweet potatoes. Can I just say that these sweet potatoes were to die for? And the brussel sprouts were fantastic-usually I’m not a huge fan, but these were like little baby ones that complemented the dish very well. Overall, a fabulous presentation that matched the taste.
The dessert menu actually proved to be better than we thought. Sometimes at restaurants like this, they only feature the usuals, with some seasonal fruit dessert that doesn’t appeal to us. However, there was no way we were passing up the S’mores Brownie with ice cream. A rich, chocolate brownie topped with some kind of marshmallow hardened glaze? To die for. And the tea and coffee list did not dissapoint either.
While the Stone House ended up becoming more crowded towards the end of our dinner, our server and the wait staff in general did not seem to ignore anyone to the point of annoyance. It’s nice to go to a restaurant that takes care of your needs from start to finish, keeping things moving, while also giving you time to relax and enjoy a lovely Friday evening.
My Rating: 10/10
Stone House at Stirling Ridge
50 Stirling Road
Warren, NJ 07060
908-754-1222
http://www.stonehouseatstirlingridge.com
The pictures don’t lie. The venue is absolutely beautiful. The Stone House Restaurant is managed by Landmark Hospitality. The Web site isn’t very clear about this, but I’m guessing Stirling Ridge is the events section, as they do have a Grand Ballroom and wedding options. There was also a beautiful outdoor patio that would probably be very lovely when it’s not 50 degrees out. I’m sure having an event there is expensive, but it really is beautiful.
Now, on to the actual restaurant, which was also very elegant without being stuffy. The kitchen is open, and the whole interior features natural stone, as well as a beautiful floor to ceiling wine cellar. We sat in a booth close to the door, which I was worried about at first with noise and drafts, but it actually proved to be quiet and comfortable. Table seating was a bit cramped, so I’m glad we had the opportunity to sit alone instead of on top of other patrons.
The wait staff seemed young, but exceptionally knowledgeable. The wines by the glass list was pretty versatile, considering it seemed like a place where they would push the bottles. I started with a cheese platter, and Jared had an antipasta-type appetizer. Our server gave us a selection of cheeses that complemented one another very well. While the platter was a bit much for a one person starter, he was kind enough to wrap it up for us to take home. Honey, fruit and bread made nice additions to the platter.
Dinner was absolutely phenomenal, and well timed. The Stone House prides itself on creating meals based around local, market driven food buys. The wait staff does an excellent job pointing out which dishes feature local vegetables, meat, etc. Even though the kitchen seemed busy, the pace of the meal moved at very comfortable rate. I had the pork chops with maple glazed sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Pork chops are my usual, since they often come in a fabulous glaze with sweet potatoes. Can I just say that these sweet potatoes were to die for? And the brussel sprouts were fantastic-usually I’m not a huge fan, but these were like little baby ones that complemented the dish very well. Overall, a fabulous presentation that matched the taste.
The dessert menu actually proved to be better than we thought. Sometimes at restaurants like this, they only feature the usuals, with some seasonal fruit dessert that doesn’t appeal to us. However, there was no way we were passing up the S’mores Brownie with ice cream. A rich, chocolate brownie topped with some kind of marshmallow hardened glaze? To die for. And the tea and coffee list did not dissapoint either.
While the Stone House ended up becoming more crowded towards the end of our dinner, our server and the wait staff in general did not seem to ignore anyone to the point of annoyance. It’s nice to go to a restaurant that takes care of your needs from start to finish, keeping things moving, while also giving you time to relax and enjoy a lovely Friday evening.
My Rating: 10/10
Stone House at Stirling Ridge
50 Stirling Road
Warren, NJ 07060
908-754-1222
http://www.stonehouseatstirlingridge.com
Monday, October 18, 2010
Top 10 Marriage Proposal Spots In New York City
Thinking about popping the question in New York City? Make it a romantic proposal to remember at one of these New York City locations, selected by Brides New York as the top ten proposal spots in NYC.
1. Central Park Boathouse
Enjoy a romantic dinner by the lake and then spring for a gondola ride so you can propose the the sounds of a warbling gondolier.
...
7. Staten Island Botanical Garden's Chinese Scholars Garden
Who knew Staten Island could be romantic? This tranquil Asian garden offers a very Zen atmosphere for your marriage proposal.
...
See the rest of the list at: http://bit.ly/9OV1fs
1. Central Park Boathouse
Enjoy a romantic dinner by the lake and then spring for a gondola ride so you can propose the the sounds of a warbling gondolier.
...
7. Staten Island Botanical Garden's Chinese Scholars Garden
Who knew Staten Island could be romantic? This tranquil Asian garden offers a very Zen atmosphere for your marriage proposal.
...
See the rest of the list at: http://bit.ly/9OV1fs
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