Sunday, October 2, 2011

Boston Local Food Festival

Here's a blog I wrote for the Boston Local Food Festival. They got my name wrong.

When I heard Oxfam was going to have a booth at the festival, I was a bit surprised. With the majority of our vendors serving up freshly harvested local food or showcasing New England crafted beers, it seemed that our celebration would not be of interest to an international organization that focuses on aiding developing countries.

But it turns out, they’re a perfect fit. After reading about Oxfam’s GROW Campaign, it became clear to me why such a noble organization would want to have a table at our event. Throughout the years, Oxfam (which has their U.S. headquarters right here in Boston) has recognized the fact that millions of people in poor and rich countries face going hungry. They created the GROW Campaign to shrink this number by developing lasting solutions for fairer and more sustainable ways to grow food.


They have also recently partnered up with celebrity chefs like Food Network’s chef, Giada de Laurnetiis to help spread awareness by getting people to start the conversation of knowing where their food comes from and learning ways to make more sustainable decisions.

The current struggling food system is a complicated problem, but making a difference by being part of the Grow Campaign is easy. One way you can get involved is by hosting a dinner for World Food Day on October 16th. Or donate to the Global Food Crisis Fund. And don’t forget to check out Oxfam’s booth at the festivities and support a great organization!

The post was written by featured festival blogger Michelle Pocek. Check out her blog Melissa Writes.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Miss A Article Best Wine Bars in Chicago

Best Wine Bars in Chicago
BY MELISSA POCEK
JUNE 8, 2011 0 COMMENTS


We all know wine making is not conducive in Chicago. Yet, we Chicagoans love drinking it. In recent years, wine bars have popped up throughout our city, often serving top-quality wines that are lovingly produced in the U.S. as well as a far. And fortunately for us, a handful of wine bars have opened offering a chance to sample a wide range of new hipper blends.


Photo by Laura M. on Yelp

For all our local oenophile readers, we found three of the best wine bars in Chicago.

Swirl Wine Bar This cozy bar near North side offers a slick bistro and sells wine by the glass, bottle, or half bottle. This hip bar has an extensive wine list that includes several up-and-coming wines. Visit to relax, listen to great local DJ’s, and drink quality wine.

To read more, click here.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Dragon Boat Practice

My friends convinced me to join Harvard's dragon boating team. Last night, marked our 12th practice and this weekend we have our first race in Boston. Here's some footage from Monday's practice. I am in the very back on the left.

Harvard Dragon Boat Practice 6/6/2011 - Practice Race 2 from Alex Chan on Vimeo.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Best Macarons in Chicago
















Macarons are getting off their Parisian plane and setting up shop all over Chicago. As the trend sets in, it is no longer the cupcake who in its heyday ruled over all desserts. The newbies have been schooled, and now, the macaron trend is here to stay. So why have these sweet petite sandwiches nudged their way to the spotlight? If done right, the macaron can be the perfect dessert. It’s petite size packs in a lot of flavor and has a crisp outer surface and a soft gooey interior. Not to mention, the butter cream frosting is sweet enough to satisfy those of us with even the most killer sugar craving.

What’s more, the flavor possibilities are endless. We’ve scoped out shops that included unique flavors from pistachio to lavender to even red velvet. There’s just about a flavor for everyone’s fancy! We sought out to find the best macarons in town only to be revealed here to our cultivated readers.

So let me fill your head with wonderful places to get these divine little delectables all around town:

Vanille Patisserie 131 N Clinton, Chicago (312) 575-9963: This swanky little spot near the West Side has a love for infusing flavors together in their macarons. Flavors like strawberry lemongrass and Orange Gingerin get major points on originality and creativity. The macarons are made with natural ingredients and come in an array of colors from chai (green), red velvet (red), and espresso (tan). Eat them on the spot or take them home with their cute packaging and share them with friends.

Bittersweet Pastry Shop and Cafe 1114 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL (773) 929-1100: This quaint little neighborhood cafe offers delicious macarons with flavors from almond, chocolate, raspberry, and lemon. Have them with a cup of coffee.

Bennison’s Bakery 1000 Davis St (between Maple Ave & Oak Ave) Evanston, IL (847) 328-3854: This place is worth the short drive out of city for sampling of their sweet treats. They make their macarons with egg whites and not with coconut giving them a lighter feel than most. However, flavor is not compromised in these meringuey almond treats. For a little piece of heaven, try their lemon or red velevet flavored macaron.

Fritz Pastry 1408 W Diversey Pkwy (between Southport Ave & Janssen Ave) Chicago, IL (773) 857-2989: This cozy bakery and tea room in Lake View offers light and fluffy European-style macarons with classic flavors including pistachio, vanilla, and chocolate. An assortment of colors and freshness, and best of all, each macaron is a mere .75 cents. It is easy to go macaron crazy here without breaking the bank!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Hosting Media Bistro Boston Party

Here's some photos from the Media Bistro Boston party I hosted.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Elvis Costello: The Kindness of Strangers

If you are ever wandering around a new city-I'd suggest you do it alone. Some may say, that it's dangerous. You won't know where you're going and could find yourself in a bad neighborhood. Not So! If you have a stitch of common sense, you'll know right away when trouble is around. Listen up to what my years of traveling alone have taught me: You meet more people going solo.

I came to Chicago for a couple interviews and after many nights of venturing around by myself-seeing all the live music this city has to offer-I decided to try my luck in buying a ticket at the legendary Chicago Theater to see Elvis Costello. The guys working the front door said the box office closed 15 minutes earlier. My heart sank at the thought that I wouldn't see one of my favorite artist. Disappointment must have been written all over my face for what happened next was a kind of miracle. A young guy wearing a hoodie with a sad look turned and asked, "I have an extra ticket. Do you want it?" Like a vulture looking for its next meal, I turned and said, "I'll buy it from you. How much do you want?" The man with the sad eyes said he would give it to me for free. That he was in Chicago on vacation with his wife. The ticket had been for her, but she was sick and needed to stay in.

I looked at the ticket in his hand. The price read $150. In my state of utter shock, I asked if I could give him something for it. He said no and that he got the ticket for free and wouldn't feel comfortable charging for it. I took the ticket and we walked into the extraordinary atrium of the venue that resembled more of a New England war memorial than a concert hall.

I told him the very least I could do was buy him a beer. He said that would be fine. I ordered up two Stella's and we entered in to the concert with our beers in hand. Both of our mouths dropped when we saw how close we were to the stage. We were in the sixth row!

The stage was set up in a Las Vegas theme. A big colorful wheel with names of the songs on it, was right of center stage. To the left was a Go-Go cage and a bar with a couple martinis on top. I've been to many shows before, but this was by far the most creative. Audience members were randomly selected to spin the wheel and when it stopped, Elvis Costello would play the song. He cheated a bit. When the audience wanted to hear Living in Paradise and Chelsea, he complied.

What's more impressive was that Elvis Costello who's been performing for over thirty years (since 1977) could still play a solid set. During his encore, he performed back-to-back hits including my personal favorite Beyond Belief, which was actually fitting to how I felt about the whole night.

The acoustics were wonderful. Though, I doubt that Elvis Costello could sound awful even if he was performing in a tin can.

After the show, I tried to give my kind stranger a 20 to get his wife some flowers. He said no thanks and smiled. We exchanged our stories and it turns out he works in the music industry! And to boot, he said he would happily read my writing.

Case in point: I find that in our most vulnerable state of being alone, we open up to the world and attract more acts of kindness from locals or dare I say strangers. This has happened to me many times before. I've met some of my closest friends while on my own...looking a bit lost.

Whether you're traveling to Milwaukee or to far off places-go out alone.

You'll be fine.