At Le Verdure: blistered shishito peppers with sea salt, kale bruschetta, Tuscan tomato soap, farro salad with mache, frito misto (fried vegetables), pinzimonio (raw vegetables with olive oil and salt).
The beer garden on the roof, Birreria is also worth going to.
The government must have read Chip and Dan Heath's stellar book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard as they have finally moved away from the terribly unhelpful food pyramid. However, they came up with a new plate image, which includes a round blob of dairy. The plate is decent (although vegetables and grains often have protein, so that's confusing). Why include the silly dairy? It's certainly not needed.
Counterpunch has a good story critiquing the new plate and calling out lobbyist groups' work on influencing the outcome.
update: The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has a much better plate they call The Power Plate.
Stokes Farm Aunt Ruby’s German Green $4.75/lb. Our judges declared this green-when-ripe heirloom New York’s number-one tomato for its “bright acidity,” “excellent sugar-acid balance,” and “incredible juiciness.” “Love it. Love it. I love it,” cooed a smitten Goldman. Score: 8.83 
- Norwich Meadows Farm
- TIE
- Striped German $4/lb.
- Judge Kluger praised it for an “almost candylike flavor.” Anthony liked its “beautiful” red-yellow color, and Goldman called it “excellent if soft.”
- 8.33
- Sycamore Farms
- Cherokee Purple $3.75/lb.
- Neck and neck with Norwich’s Striped German thanks to a “concentrated flavor,” “silky flesh,” and a “long, aromatic finish.”
- 8.33
NY Mag has a great piece on tasting heirloom tomatoes. I was totally overwhelmed by the farmers' market's varieties last week, so this should help me this week. I wonder if they'll let me try the heirloom ones, they do with the beefsteaks (which have been great!).
