My Urban Sherpa

The Bon Appetit Supper Club and Cafe is open for lunch.

The Bon Appetit Supper Club And Café is open for lunch. The café offers soups, salads, sandwiches and sweet treats from $2-$12, and a chance to meet celebrated chefs for samplings and book signings.

The Café is open from 11:00am to 3:00pm weekdays through October 31st, 2008, at 221 West 57th Street.

Monday, October 27th at 12:00pm meet Tyler Florence, Food Network personality and author of Dinner at My Place & Stirring the Pot.

Tuesday October 28th at 12:15pm Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming offers a cooking demonstration.

Followed at 1:15pm by Cat Cora, Bon Appetit Magazine Executive Chef for a cooking demonstration and signing of Cooking from the Hip.

Wednesday, October 29th at 12:15pm meet Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appetit’s Editor-in-Chief
for a cooking demonstration and signing of The Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh Cookbook.

Thursday, October 30th at 12:15pm meet Johnny Iuzzini, Executive Pastry Chef for a cooking demonstration.

Followed at 1:15pm by Chef Charlie Trotter who will sign Home Cooking with Charlie Trotter.

Chefs and schedules are subject to change. For the latest information, please visit BASupperClubandCafe.com.

PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo

(Photograph courtesy of David Robin)

PhotoPlus Expo at the Jacob Javits Center – October 23-25 – is the largest end-user photography event in the world. It’s also listed by Crain’s Business as one of New York City’s largest events of the year. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the show – and 30,000 visitors are expected to attend over the three days.

Travel light and check your coat on arrival – it gets warm inside with the crowd. Also, you’ll want your hands free for testing out all the cool new equipment. Be ready to take copious notes on everything you see and hear. Expect information overload.

Every major camera, equipment, and industry service provider will be at PhotoPlus to showcase their latest wares. New products are launched and innovations are exhibited. Many booths provide elaborate presentations along with tips on using their products. There are also over 100 seminars with in-depth discussions on business strategies, digital tools, photo markets, promotion, technology, and more.

PhotoPlus and the supporting events are a great place to network, meet industry leaders, and expand your knowledge. Check the schedule on-line – and again on arrival – so you don’t miss the astounding array of amazing photographers talking about their work, including keynote and special event speakers: Joyce Tenneson, Phil Borges, Matthew Jodan Smith, Bill Epperidge, Elliot Erwitt, and Alec South.

Take your time touring the floor. Find the booths with photographers signing books or posters, and the many opportunities to bid on or win great stuff.

Keep in mind:
1. The Javits is a bit of a walk from the nearest subways at Port Authority
2. Finding a cab is nearly impossible

On Thursday evening, head straight to Chelsea for these great gallery events:

Lise Sarfati at Yossimilo

Holly Andres: Sparrow Lane at the Robert Mann Gallery

Sharon Core: Early American at Yancey Richardson

After the shows, head to Naima for a delicious Italian meal (I recommend the pasta with white truffle oil). It’s just down the block from Aperture Gallery on 27th St.

And check the photo association web sites for other industry events going on during the week. http://www.apanational.com , http://asmp.org

Of course, the real challenge of the week will be where to drop off that big bag of promos and samples you’ll now be carrying!

Of note: Juliette Wolf-Robin of Printbrat has been attending PhotoPlus Expo for over 20 years, connecting photographers with buyers through her development of sourcebooks, magazines, and on-line community sites. On Friday, October 24, she can be found moderating one of the seminars at the show.

This Banksy never fails

Banksy, the anonymous British street artist, has just opened a little “pet store” at 89 7th Avenue between West 4th and Bleeker Street in the West Village. The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill is actually an astonishing art installation complete with animatronic would-be creatures like fish sticks swimming in a tank and self-dipping chicken nuggets (see photo).

“I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming, but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing,” the mysterious Banksy said (in a statement, of course).

The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill will be open to the public daily through Oct. 31.

Change of Pace

Andrew Weil in his book  Eight Weeks to Optimum Health recommends taking a break from the news. This is perhaps the optimal moment to put the news aside.

The prescription for the day is to enjoy the day. By leaving the Times for later, and taking in the glory of the changing of the seasons.

Climate Change Exhibition, opening today at AMNH

Climate Change: The Threat to Life and a New Energy Future, opens today – Saturday, October 18 – at the American Museum of Natural History.

By exploring the science, history, and impact of climate change, the exhibition illustrates how we as individuals, communities and nations can reduce our carbon footprints.

This must-see exhibit remains on view in New York at AMNH until August 16, 2009, after which it will begin an international tour.

For the Guggenheim, Jenny Holzer

For the Guggenheim, Jenny Holzer’s site specific literary projection in celebration of the completion of the construction at the Guggenheim, will illuminate every Friday from dawn to dusk tonight through December 31st (with the exception of next Friday, October 24th.)

Kind Green Planet

Kind Green Planet is a NYC-based nonprofit organization dedicated to “educating people about healthy, humane, eco-friendly living. Through grassroots film screenings and workshops, activism and lifestyle coaching, and community programs, we empower people to make personal choices that align with their values of justice, peace, respect for the earth, and compassion for all living beings.”

A fine example of Kind Green Planet’s approach is the “Vegan at Heart” program – to help wanna-be vegans make this crucial lifestyle transition.

(Contact info here)

Calder at the Whitney

Alexander “Sandy” Calder was an American sculptor and artist – perhaps best known for inventing the mobile. The Whitney Museum of American Art has the largest body of work by Calder in any museum and is proud to be the exclusive American venue for this landmark exhibition – co-organized with the Centre Pompidou: “The Paris Years: 1926-1933.”

On view October 16, 2008 – February 15, 2009

Vegan & the Limelight

Apropos of the conversation about Proposition 2 on the California Ballot on Election Day is Frank Bruni’s review of Candle 79 – an upscale vegan venue on the Upper East Side.

Given the benefits of a vegan and vegetarian based diet for your health, and the health of the planet – we are thrilled to see this positive review for this sane approach to food.

The benefits of a vegetarian diet are well explored by Andrew Weil in Eating Well for Optimal Health, and Micheal Pollan in the Omnivore’s Dilemma. The challenges for the planet created by the production of meat for consumption were well reported by Mark Bittman in The New York Times.

And if you’d like to try other wonderful vegan and vegetarian restaurants in New York – we hope you’ll visit MyUrbanSherpa.net from your computer, or MyUrbanSherpa.mobi from your handheld.

Proposition 2

Dear Friends,

Today, on the “Oprah” show, I’ll be making the case to millions of people across the country in support of a campaign that, if successful, will end the cruel confinement of 20 million farm animals.

It’s called Proposition 2, a measure on the ballot in California that The New York Times endorsed last week. Prop 2 will end the practice of cramming farm animals into cages and crates so small the animals can’t even turn around, lie down, or extend their limbs. If passed, it will be the biggest victory for farm animals in U.S. history.

Prop 2 is truly a national campaign: While only Californians get to vote on it, its passage will lead to reforms in farming practices nationwide.

But standing in the way is Big Agribusiness, which has poured millions of dollars into a deceptive campaign to defeat Prop 2 and preserve factory farms’ cruel confinement practices. The next 21 days before the election will be pivotal — and we can’t win without you. Here’s the latest news, and a few ways you can help:

Tuesday, October 14, I’ll be going head-to-head with the front men of the agribusiness industry in defense of the 20 million farm animals in California who don’t have room to turn around or stretch their limbs. Click here to find out when the show will air where you live.

Here’s a snippet: “The fact that such fundamental decencies have to be forced upon factory farming says a lot about its horrors. We urge California voters to pass Proposition 2. We urge every state to enact similar laws.” Click here to read the full editorial on my blog.

Here are two ways you can help pass this historic measure right now:

1. Support the YES! on Prop 2 campaign by visiting the campaign website and learning about the many ways you can help.

2. If you haven’t already, watch our animated video and pass it along to friends and family in California.

YES! on Prop 2 is a true grassroots campaign, funded by thousands of small donations from animal lovers like you. By contrast, the deceptive No on Prop 2 campaign is bankrolled by a handful of rich agribusiness corporations from across the nation — with an average donation of more than $40,000.

The factory farm industry is blinded by the bottom line. No matter how much they dump into defeating this measure, they can’t stamp out the truth: Prop 2′s commonsense reforms are long overdue.

Thank you for being a part of this campaign. On November 4, millions of animals will be thanking you, too.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

My Urban Sherpa is proud to support The Humane Society of the United States in this most worthwhile fight.