Long Island Weekly 03-01-2017

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LONG ISLAND WEEKLY LongIslandWeekly.com MARCH 1 - 7, 2017 Vol. 4, No. 7 $1.00

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AN ANTON MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION

PRIME CUTS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH CHEF MICHAEL SYMON

INSIDE TURNPIKE TASTES: PART 1 • BUBBLE SOCCER

SPECIAL SECTION: VACATION & TRAVEL

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See our ad on the back cover.

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• Published By Anton Media Group • To Advertise Call: 516-747-8282

CO E H A L L AT P L A N T I N G F I E L DS A R B O R E T U M

TEA & Splendor ENGLISH ROYAL PALACES, THEIR FABULOUS INTERIORS, AND THEIR GREAT HISTORIC GARDENS ~ Three Lectures followed by English Tea ~

THREE LECTURES

By Henry B. Joyce Executive Director, Planting Fields Foundation

FOLLOWED BY ENGLISH TEA Three Tuesdays: March 7th, 14th, & 21st, 2017 Lectures 2:30 pm followed by English Tea at 3:15 pm around the warmth of the fireplace in the dining room

JOIN, RENEW OR GIVE THE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP! Members receive free and discounted admission to many of our programs and events, exclusive invitations, and discounts at the Garden Gift Shop and local garden centers.

Contact Lilly McGurk, Director of Membership & Development at 516-922-8676

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Mr. Joyce will talk about and illustrate Hampton Court Palace with Henry VIII’s rooms and the later decorations and gardens of William and Mary, which are some of the finest in Europe. Other palaces included in the presentations will be Whitehall, Greenwich, St. James, Kensington, Buckingham and Windsor Castle.

The rooms and gardens span four centuries of design history and many lively stories of monarchs and their patronage. $30 non-members/$25 members RESERVATIONS: Jennifer Lavella 516-922-8678 Jlavella@plantingfields.org

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Heartland

Chef

Michael Symon serves North Coast cuisine

BY STEVE MOSCO smosco@antonmediagroup.com

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nyone that harbors a deeply rooted affinity for all things edible surely knows the name Michael Symon. The Cleveland-based chef is an unabashed carnivore and frequently appears on food-tilted television programs on The Food Network and ABC’s The Chew.

An Iron Chef, James Beard Foundation

Award-winner, author and honorary Long Islander, Symon has seared his grill marks deep into all facets of the food industry.

It’s an industry Symon said he was drawn into while growing up surrounded by boisterous characters bound by the love cooked up in family meals.

“It was loud, very loud,” Symon said of growing up in a Greek and Sicilian household. “When my friends came over they thought everyone was screaming, when everyone was just talking. Food was a huge part of our day-to-day life, and there were always more people at the table than our immediate family.”

The chef with the infectious laugh took that celebration and turned it into a career, netting his first restaurant job at 13, prepping dishes and doing plenty of kitchen grunt work, the types of tasks that build character in a young chef—crucial components that Symon believes are necessary ingredients to success.

“It teaches you the lessons of the kitchen and how you need to respect every person in it, and that’s what makes the kitchen work properly,” he said. “The dishwasher is still the hardest job in the kitchen.”

Symon’s toiling paid off, and the chef now runs an array of

Chef Michael Symon cooks on The Chew (top left, photo by Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC), creates meat dreams at his restaurants including Mabel’s (top right, photo source Facebook) and believes in BlueStar kitchen products (above). restaurants including downtown produce.

Cleveland’s Lola Bistro, B Spot “Outsiders would find it surprising Burgers in Ohio and Michigan, Roast that Cleveland’s been farm-to-table long before farm-to-table was cool,” in Detroit, Bar Symon in Pittsburgh and Washington Dulles International he said.

Airports, Symon’s Burger Joint in At home, Symon is a proponent Austin, TX, the coming-soon Angeline of BlueStar kitchen products (www. in Atlantic City, NJ, and his newest bluestarcooking.com). creation, Mabel’s BBQ in Cleveland.

“It’s the first home-kitchen equipment I’ve ever cooked on that’s exactly “You always love your first-born like cooking at a restaurant, from the and newest best, so currently, my two power to the space in the ovens,” he favorites are Lola and Mabel’s—but said. “I can put a whole sheet tray in a I love them all,” he said. For Symon, home oven—it’s a game changer for Mabel’s is a celebration of the me.”

Cleveland food scene—an all-tooAnd when cooking at home, Symon often overlooked bastion of meat and can’t deny his favorites—burgers, barbecue and Italian food. But if he had to pick a last meal, it’s an easy answer.

“My mom’s lasagna,” he said. “I’ve Chef Michael Symon’s favorite Long Island eateries: eaten a million lasagnas from a million • The Meeting House, Amagansett • Dopo La Spiaggia, Sag Harbor chefs at a million restaurants and none • Grindstone Coffee & Donuts, Sag Harbor are better than my mother’s.”

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LongIslandWeekly.com • March 1 - 7, 2017 • Published By Anton Media Group • To Advertise Call: 516-747-8282

DINING

Hempstead Turnpike Hidden Gems: Part I

BY STEVE MOSCO

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smosco@antonmediagroup.com

empstead Turnpike is Nassau County’s main drag, as it slices through the island’s midsection from the Queens line to Suffolk, with a multitude of storefronts lining it from end to end. Populating these storefronts are great eateries—some more hidden than others.

This first of three installments of “Hempstead Turnpike Hidden Gems” delivers Turkuaz Mediterranean Gourmet (493 Hempstead Tpke.), a small Turkish grocery with a kitchen that churns out some of the best halal meats, falafel, babaganush (as Turkuaz spells the dish on its menu) and savory pies this side of Ankara. The friendly staff warmly welcomes customers at the counter, relaying take-out and eat-in orders to the kitchen staff while offering guests a seat in the quaint dining section.

The staff helps with the menu, pointing out their favorites from the hot/cold appetizers and entrées. To start, order the babaganush, a puree of eggplant flavored with tahini, olive oil and garlic that’s served with light and fluffy Turkish bread.

Smoky with eggplant earthiness, the babaganush

is sharable, yet one hungry eater could polish off a serving, bread and all. Turkuaz also offers stuffed grape leaves, hummus and a mixed appetizer with hummus, eggplant salad, babaganush, labneh (thick homemade yogurt with walnuts, garlic and dill) and slices of eggplant in a moderately spicy sauce of fresh tomatoes, green peppers, onions and garlic.

Entrées include all the classics—lamb chops, doner (lamb gyro), adana (ground lamb or chicken gently spiced and grilled on skewers), kebabs, falafel and more. The mixed grill option loads the chef’s favorites onto one plate, with chicken kebabs, lamb adana and lamp chops, along with special items added on at the behest of the chef including chicken chops, which are impossibly succulent, marinated chicken thighs, perfectly seasoned and grilled. All entrées are served with rice, salad and complimentary bread. Most of the entrée items also appear in pita sandwiches, with the lightly fried falafel standing out thanks to its crisp and bright flavors.

Turkuaz’s brick oven is what sets it apart from most similar eateries, as the oven so crucial to true Turkish delight cooks an array of savory pies

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The Mixed Grill at Turkuaz features succulent meats from across the menu. including lahmacun, a thin, ancient meat pie with ground lamb topped with parsley, fresh tomatoes, red peppers and onion; cheese pie, a thick dough stuffed with fresh Turkish kashari cheese; and sucuklu pie, which adds Turkish sausage to the cheese pie. The warm, supple dough of these pies is a genuine eater’s pleasure and could just as easily be enjoyed plain—the addition of exquisite toppings is a bonus. Dessert is also on the menu—go beyond baklava and order kazan dibi, a Turkish custard pudding with a dark, brûlée-esque caramelized crust.

Turkuaz Mediterranean Gourmet, 493 Hempstead Tpke., West Hempstead, 516-280-2973, www.turkuazmediterraneangourmet.com

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ENTERTAINMENT

Escapism Television

BY JENNIFER FAUCI

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JFauci@antonmediagroup.com

ith the current state of the world making people laugh, cry and then run in circles of panic and fear, we all need an escape from America.

Instead of boarding a plane, get comfy on your couch and tune into these shows that allow your mind to turn off. Put yourself at ease with the comical stylings of these hit television shows that truly make us forget about the world around us.

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The Office Dunder Mifflin. Enough said. Perhaps one of the best shows on television, The Office gave us Steve Carell as Michael Scott, the overly caring and fun loving boss of a paper company. Laugh out loud acting by John Krasinski (Jim Halpert), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute) and Ed Helms (Andy Bernard) made almost everyone at some point want to work in an office. The witty, comical genius of writers and actors Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor) and B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard) helped to pour hilarious, absurd moments into eight years of brilliant television. Watch it on Netflix for some solid laughs.

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Schitt’s Creek It’s a classic fish out of water story.

When a family loses all of their money, they are forced to live in a town that years ago, the father purchased for his son as a joke.

The town is called Schitt’s Creek and it is their new home. The Canadian television sitcom, which was created by Eugene Levy and his son, Daniel Levy, premiered on CBC Television on January 2015. Viewers can now stream it on Netflix.

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It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Five friends with hilarious and selfish antics are delusional and clueless to their own failures.

The characters of Charlie Day, Danny Devito, Kaitlin Olson, Rob McElhenney and Glenn Howerton own Paddy’s Pub, a neighborhood bar in Philadelphia, and constantly find themselves in cringe-worthy situations. Watch it on FX or stream it on Netflix.

and Grandson!

Published by Anton Media Group KARL V. ANTON, JR. Publisher, 1984–2000 ANGELA SUSAN ANTON Editor and Publisher FRANK A. VIRGA President STEVE MOSCO Senior Managing Editor JENNIFER FAUCI Managing Editor DAVE GIL DE RUBIO, CHRISTY HINKO Editors ALEX NUÑEZ Art Director BARBARA BARNETT Assistant Art Director KAREN MENGEL Director of Production IRIS PICONE Director of Operations SHARI EGNASKO Executive Assistant JOY DIDONATO Director of Circulation LINDA BACCOLI Administrative Assistant 132 East Second Street, Mineola, NY 11501 Phone: 516-747- 8282 • Fax: 516-742-5867 advertising inquiries advertising@antonmediagroup.com

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THE SPORTS DESK

Bubble Soccer’s On A Roll

BY BETSY ABRAHAM

BaBraHam@antonmediagroup.com

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Plus, there’s always the chance that the game will turn into human bumper cars, which is surprisingly easy since all your teammates are five feet wider than usual. Fighting for a ball usually ends with at least one player getting knocked down and rolling away. It doesn’t count towards your score, but there is a sense of extra satisfaction if you can roll your opponent out of bounds.

Like any sport, there is a risk of injury, but overall, the game is relatively safe. However, it is intense.

Games are usually three eight-minute periods for leagues, with parties and play sessions going for 10 minute intervals.

There’s a certain level of boldness that comes when you’re wrapped in the safety of a plastic bubble. And

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Bubble soccer is not only a great workout, but a good excuse to hit your coworkers, all while wrapped in the safety of a giant bubble.

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here’s something wonderfully absurd about watching people wearing plastic inflatable bubbles trying to kick a soccer ball into a net.

Especially when the consequence for bumping into each other is both players flying across the field, sometimes rolling away with their legs flailing in the air.

But that’s the fun of bubble soccer, a relatively new trend in recreational sports and party play that is making its way onto Long Island. Bubble soccer combines elements of competition with a heavy dose of silliness, for the perfect mixture of recreation. The game takes the basic elements of soccer and elevates them by having players don an inflatable plastic bubble suit which serves as the vehicle for both protection and absurdity.

LI Bubble Soccer operates out

of two locations in Nassau County: Nxt Gen Fitness in Port Washington and East Coast Sports Academy in Oceanside. My coworkers and I recently took a trip to the Port Washington location to see what the hype was surrounding this growing recreational trend.

The first challenge was getting into the actual bubble, a process that involves a coordinated slide/ shimmy. The 20-pound bubble slips on similarly to a backpack, with your elbows tucked close to your side and hands holding onto handles by your chest. The clear bubble covers everything but your legs, allowing you free rein to run, kick the ball or stand on the sidelines watching the mayhem unfold.

We played on half the field, which proved to be more than sufficient.

Soccer is hard enough, but once you’re carrying 20 pounds of extra weight and your vision is partially obscured, it’s a lot more challenging.

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while the soccer part is fun, to be honest, I found more enjoyment in running around bumping into my coworkers (which they did not appreciate).

All that to say, if you have no sense of humor, bubble soccer is not for you. If you hate being knocked down, you might also want to stick to a strictly vertical activity such as bowling or golf. But, if you like laughing your way through a workout, bubble soccer is worth a try.

LI Bubble Soccer will host a pick-up tournament on March 19 at 2 p.m. Athletes of all experience levels ages 18 and over are invited to try out bubble soccer at East Coast Sports Academy in Oceanside.

Find out more by visiting www. li-bubblesoccer.com.

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