Schwartz To Create New “Stony Brook” Cocktail At Event; Also Team Up Noted NY Food With Favorite NY Drink
Stony Brook University’s Center for Wine, Food and Culture, the first of its kind in New York State, will welcome “Food Maven” Arthur Schwartz for an evening dedicated to “The History of Drinking in New York” on Tuesday, January 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Stony Brook-Manhattan, 401 Park Avenue South (at 28th St.).
Schwartz, author of the new book Arthur Schwartz’s New York City Food and host of a radio show straight from his kitchen on WWRL, will share his expertise on the origin of Manhattan’s specialty drinks from the Bloody Mary to the Cosmopolitan, as well as his favorite wine offerings from around the state.
With each drink, Schwartz will also match up some thoroughly New York foods, from the common to the sublime, including Nathan’s hotdogs, a Second Avenue Deli sandwich, and spectacular local cheeses and smoked seafoods, finishing up with the world-famous Junior’s cheesecake.
“I am thrilled and flattered to be among the first programs offered by this new division of Stony Brook University,” Schwartz said. “We will partake of drinks from Bloody Marys to my favorite Long Island wines to leaven my theoretically scholarly discussion of New York’s drinking habits and creations. This starts with the Dutch, who corrupted the Lenape Indians, through the golden era of cocktails, Prohibition, the pioneers of Long Island wine, and the Cosmopolitan, a cocktail perfected in New York City and courtesy of ‘Sex and the City’—in any case associated with it.”
As a special treat, Schwartz will team up with New York wine industry pioneer Louisa Hargrave, Interim Director of the Center for Wine, Food and Culture, to invent a new cocktail called “The Stony Brook” in tribute to the crown jewel of the SUNY system.
Speaking of the new “Stony Brook” cocktail which she and Schwartz will invent for the occasion, Hargrave explained that, “As a tribute to Stony Brook University’s role in fostering the continued growth of its vibrant food and wine industries, we thought it would be fun to create the new beverage with the participation of our live audience. It will be an adventure for us all that will be both educational and delicious.”
Participants must be 21 or over to take part in the January 25th event with Arthur Schwartz. Space is limited. The fee of $85 will include the lecture, food and wine tasting, and an autographed copy of Schwartz’s new book. To register, call 631-632-9404.
Schwartz, also known as “The Schwartz Who Ate New York,” was one of the first male newspaper food editors in the country and is now a cookbook author, cooking teacher, and host of a daily program heard on WWRL radio (1600 AM). Starting out as an assistant food editor at Long Island’s Newsday, he eventually moved on to create the “Good Living” section of the New York Daily News and publish several books. For many years, he hosted a hugely popular radio show “Arthur Schwartz With Food Talk” on WOR radio. Listed in the Who’s Who of America, Schwartz now divides his time between his new radio show, teaching at major cooking schools in the metro New York area, and lecturing and conducting seminars.
The Center for Wine, Food, and Culture at Stony Brook University is a tribute to the maturity and economic strength of New York’s wine industry. With almost 1,000 vineyards, 200 wineries, and a harvest worth $40 million, New York is now the third-largest producer of wine in the nation. The Finger Lakes and Lake Erie regions, the Hudson River Valley, and Long Island produce world-class wines with unique characteristics.
Wine tastings, appreciation classes, investigations of the place of wine in cuisine and culture, and more technical studies of commercial regulations, marketing, and wine in the restaurant business are just some of the programs offered at the Stony Brook University center.