Sara Pepitone

Preakness Stakes and much more: Visit Baltimore

The Preakness Stakes takes places this Saturday at Baltimore’s Pimlico Racetrack. If you’re one of the 6,000 people inside the Corporate Village and Turfside Terrace, you’ll be part of the world’s largest farm-to-table event yet: Besides the traditional crab cakes and Chesapeake Gold Oysters, this year the Maryland Jockey Club asked chef Mike Isabella to create a menu with other state products like sheep’s milk and lemon thyme.
And overall, Baltimore has upped its game — from food to fun. So whether your money is on Orb or Oxbow, a trip here is a safe bet.

Read complete story on NYPost.com: Baltimore ravin': Charm City lives up to its name in these two neighborhoods

Here are some more photos by me...

DIY Bloody Mary Bars in NYC

Saxon & Parole's DIY Bloody Mary Bar

Like the drink itself, the history of the Bloody Mary is opaque. Was it created at Harry's NY in Paris and imported by the Astors to the St. Regis? Was it named for a girl in Chicago or for Queen Mary I, the traumatized Tudor (her dad, Henry VIII, dumped Roman Catholicism to dump her mom, deeming her a bastard) who avengingly burned some 300 protestants at the stake?

Wherever it came from, it’s back and it’s here to stay. Forever in a popularity contest with the mimosa, the Bloody Mary is emerging as brunch’s favorite drink. “It’s part of the green market movement,” says Ryan Mills Knapp, beverage director at Colicchio and Sons. “It’s like an alcoholic salad for breakfast.” And nothing goes better with a salad than a bar, the DIY kind. Bloody Mary Bars are popping up all over town, offering everyone the chance to be bartender, without the inconvenience of pesky customers.

Read complete story on NYPost.com for three DIY bars and three Bloodys you could never DY: Bloody Brilliant!

I ♥ NY: Ingredients and Recipes by chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara

Love food and love New York road trips? Your greatest inspiration yet hits bookstores nationwide Tuesday.

I ♥ NY: Ingredients and Recipes by chef Daniel Humm and Will Guidara of Eleven Madison Park and the NoMad, is a 511-page ode to more than 50 local ingredients (from apples to scallops to walnuts) and their respective producers, all within easy driving distance from New York City. It’s part cookbook, too (completely doable). Pick a recipe, grab a map and fill your reusable shopping bag.

NYC Bars for Fans of Non-NY MLB Teams

Given the number of games (ten times as many) baseball doesn’t draw regular season crowds like football. But that doesn’t mean you gotta sit alone on your couch in your jersey to root for your favorite team, even if that team resides outside the five boroughs. If you’re looking for your kind, a good rule of thumb is to check out your usual NFL (or even NCAA) spot because often the affiliation is based on owner homesickness. Otherwise, check out the list below and be thankful you live in a city unafraid of opposing cheers, though we do not recommend, say, parading into Stan’s (836 River Ave., Bronx) in anything but pinstripes. Ditto for orange and blue (and black) at McFadden’s (36-2 126th Street, Flushing).

Read complete story on NYPost.com: NYC is FAN-tastic

'cause you surely don't have good enough eyes to de-blur this:

Dublin down: Ireland wants to welcome you home

Worldwide, some 80 million people claim Irish ancestry. And this year the motherland is calling everyone home. “The Gathering” is a yearlong tourism promotion launched to encourage everyone of Irish descent to congregate with their kin.

Gatherings can be created and hosted by all kinds of folks, from corporations to McCarthys to red heads. Non-Irish welcome too, of course. But while you can go from coast to coast, my recent trip focused on gatherings (and more) that were city-based.

Established as a Viking settlement more than 1000 years ago, Dublin is home to 1.2-million of Ireland’s 6.4-million population. And if a few days of guided tours are any representation, just about all of them are entertaining. Subtle, dry humor reigns but there’s plenty of outright hilarity too, and it rounds out a travel itinerary like nothing else. Just don’t expect any story to be short.

If you missed it in print, read full story on NYPost.com: Dublin down: Ireland wants to welcome you home

Cooking Classes with NYC Restaurant Chefs

Another great perk of living in NYC is the chance to learn from the best. Here's a round-up of some restaurants that offer cooking (and related) classes taught by their chefs and owners:

EDU dining at Del Posto, 85 10th Ave.; 212-497-8090 (unbeatable overall deal)
Rana Pastificio & Cucina, 75 9th Ave., 212-370-0975 (kids classes too)
Bouley Test Kitchen, 88 West Broadway; 212-964-2525 (many options)

Read the story on NYPost.com: Class Acts
And here are a couple other options...

**Morning Market Meetings @ Union Square Café, 21 E 16th St.; 212-243-4020
For 20 years (that’s way, way before “farm to table”) restaurateur Danny Meyer and Union Square Café’s Chef have hosted quarterly Morning Market Meetings. Start with coffee, baked goods, and a talk by Danny. Then a guest farmer explains a seasonal ingredient, and Executive Chef Carmen Quagliata demonstrates a preparation. Try the dish before following Carmen on a tour of the Union Square Greenmarket. $60. Next up: Patrick Martins, founder of Heritage Foods USA, April 17th. To sign up: email mplotkin@unionsquarecafe.com with a phone number, requested number of seats and "Morning Market Meeting" in the subject line.

**Intro to Thai Food @ Ngam, 99 3rd Ave; 212-777-8424
As if Saturdays aren’t busy enough for chefs, one Saturday a month for two hours Chef Chef Hong Thaimee teaches groups of 10 how to navigate Thai ingredients, appreciation of food in Thai culture, and how to make Pad Thai and Green Curry. You don’t need a lesson in how to enjoy, but you do get to sit and eat after classes. $70. Next up: April 13th. And look for more advanced subjects this summer. Sign up by calling the restaurant.

Tour Cincinnati with The Mayor

This is what happens when I get to have coffee with the excellent Mayor of Cincinnati - Mark Mallory - and his city is cool:

Maybe you only think of Cincinnati on baseball’s Opening Day (the Reds are the only MLB team that always starts the season at home), or maybe you haven’t thought of the Queen City since Andy Travis tried to save the failing WKRP. Well, it’s time to start thinking.

The Cincinnati region, from southeast Indiana to northern Kentucky (the airport is there), and situated on the Ohio River, includes 2.1 million people. The Ohio city itself is properly home to about 300,000 (it’s Ohio’s third largest). And it’s invested $200 million (with some private help) in a revitalization that’s aimed to mirror its pre-WWI vitality.

Read complete story on NYPost.com: Exploring Cincinnati, mayoral-style: Mark Mallory shows off the city’s revival by taking us to his fave spots

Yankees Spring Training in Tampa

Spring! Training! I am delighted to be an expert in this field (pun!)...

The Yankees spring training home opener is this Sunday, against Toronto. Home meaning Tampa, Fla. Through March 28, the team will shape up for the regular season at Steinbrenner Field. And you’re invited.

Spring training isn’t just for die-hard fans. Sure, you can check out the prospects and consider who might make the regular roster, but this is also about experiencing the national pastime on a smaller scale (in terms of seating: 11,026 versus 50,291; but the center-field wall is the same 408 feet). Yankee Stadium is awesome, but there’s nothing like hearing the crack of a bat and seeing what 195 pounds of Derek Jeter looks like when you’re crazy close to the field, something most of us rarely experience. Plus, it’s not freezing. Remember how good it feels to walk outside in a T-shirt?

If you missed it in print, check out the complete (mini) travel guide on NYPost.com: Earn your stripes at spring training: Yankees preseason fun in Florida

Touch of glass makes beer better

Spiegelau Beer Glass Tasting (aka this reporter's beer glass conversion)

Craft beer has never been more valued in this country than it is now. Fortunately, we New Yorkers have access to an impressive range of products. But tasting a brew at its source, following a tour of its preparation, is like tasting it for the first time. And now many brewers all over the US are ramping up this experience by pairing your favorite beer with a glass that perfectly showcases its best assets: look, aroma, taste. The right glass is a combination of ideal height, diameter and shape to showcase the good stuff.
Sound intimidating? Pretentious? Unnecessary? Fuggedaboudit.

Today, the first IPA-specific glasses, created by German glassmaker Spiegelau in collaboration with Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head, are being unveiled at both breweries...

If you missed it in print, read complete story on NYPost.com: Touch of glass makes beer better: Where to find the best foam parties

Photographer at Work: Anne Wermiel

I got to watch another photographer at work for my recent Super Bowl Food/Party story - Anne Wermiel. Nice to be reminded of the artistry beyond the phone.
Here's my part...

This year’s Super Bowl may be lacking in big blues and gang greens, but that doesn’t mean your party has to lack in color, or spirit. We reached out to two NYC chefs — who are fans of the teams actually playing — for suggestions of eats to celebrate both San Francisco and Baltimore. Here are four quarters worth of party food to put you in the mood at kickoff time...

If you missed it in print, read complete story on NYPost.com: Crunch time! Two top NYC chefs with a rooting interest in the big game offer their takes on a Super Bowl supper of tasty treats out of Baltimore and San Francisco