Author Archives: Peter Zhang

36 hours-Brooklyn Water Front-Peter Zhang

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36 hours in Brooklyn Water Front(focusing around historic/heritage aspect)

Having a Beautiful scenery and historic background, the Brooklyn Water Front is one of the top area to visit when visiting Brooklyn, New York. Recommend time to go would be mid Spring to late Summer to enjoy the well-known Ice Cream Factory which have Ice cream you may never have experience before. The view is also great as you can view the Statue Of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and the Manhattan Skyline. The Water Front also holds many historic attractions and spots and tourist who are interested in History can learn about historical attractions such as Barge Music and the Fulton Ferry Pier where is said that George Washington prevent the British from invading. But all of this is just the tip of the iceberg for historian tourist.

January 10,2015 to January 12, 2015

SATURDAY

1. Eating Historic lunch 1:00 pm to 2:45pm

Starting the day off with a nice lunch, we go to Pier One Garden Bar, a cafe and bar . The Garden provides a calm and relaxing environment which a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the menu is prepare with fresh ingredients. Starting off with appetizers, we have Spicy Nuts (assorted nuts, seasoned, roasted & candied) ($6), Mixed Olives (marinated in olive oil, citrus zest, rosemary & garlic) ($7), Fingerling Potatoes (lightly salted, roasted in garlic & thyme, served w/ sriracha ketchup) ($7), or Tomato Garlic Focaccia  (toasted tomato focaccia w/ roasted garlic purée)($7). Then going to the entrees, we have Beef Sliders (3 grass-fed beef sliders w/ cheddar, caramelized onion & eggplant aioli on brioche roll)($13), Chicken Quesadilla (grilled chicken, onion, mushroom, white cheddar, chipotle aioli)($17), Caprese Panini (fresh mozzarella, plum tomato, basil pesto)($14), or the Prosciutto Panini (cotto, smoked gouda, honey mustard)($15). After lunch, we will view historic attraction such as the Granite Prospect which was built from stones salvage from the Roosevelt Island Bridge reconstruction.

2. A dive into history 3:00pm

The best place to view lower Manhattan is none other than Pier 1. Reserving a space, there is a special event on this day where you will hear from Architectural Historian Matt Postal for a richly-illustrated talk and discover the park overlook pre-history,perfect for those who want to learn more about the History of the Brooklyn Water Front. Matt Postal is license New York Tour guide which will spice the afternoon up with a grand review of the History of Brooklyn Water Front.

3. Stretching 4:30 pm

After listening about history from Matt Postal, the next agenda is Pier Two known for being the Sports area in the Brooklyn Water Front. Having a variety of courts such as Basketball, Handball court, Bocce Court, Shuffleboard Court, Fitness equipments, and a roller rink, where people can also feel the sea breeze while playing will make you feel cool while exercising and playing.

4.Relaxing Walk and Scenery 6:00pm

Tired from exercising/playing, Pier 3 Green way Terrace is known to be a truly peaceful area which is shelter from the sound and noise of the city, a true place to relax and sit on the lawn and stare at a lustful green scenery, the Statue of Liberty and Governor Island, skyline, and the attraction of this pier, the Dahn Vo: We the People which is a public art installation that feature a copper replica of the one and only Statue of Liberty in 250 parts fabricated over the course of four years using the original techniques and materials.

5.Taking a rest 7:30pm

Wrapping up the day, the Hampton Inn Brooklyn Downtown located at 125 Flatbush Avenue Extension, Brooklyn, NY 11201  is a great place to turn the engine down a bit and relax. The Hampton Inn Brooklyn Downtown has great services and many other families, couples gave it such a great rating which can be found on Tripadvisor.com. Best to get a room on a higher floor to stare out at the night lights from the room window to see how beautiful it is when it is night.

Sunday

6. Taking a morning sip 9:00 am

The Brooklyn Roasting Company located at 25 Jay Street Brooklyn, New York 11201, brewing fresh coffee everyday including Brazil Sítio São Geraldo, Costa Rica Naranjo, Ethiopian Yirge Cheffe but this is just some of them. The different kind of coffee makes many options to choose from and all in one place. Great atmosphere and very kind staff so if you want to know about the history of the company, just ask one of the staff and they will tell you.

7. Jane Carousel 11:00 am

The Carousel was brought here in 1984 in poor condition and was then restore by Jane Walentas. The Carousel itself holds many historic background of it origin which was Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio but was brought here and now is an amazing attractions to all. Open Thursday to Sunday at 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. Tickets are only $2 and free for those that are 42 inches below.

8. East Ferry River 1:00pm

A great Transportation to South Brooklyn and to the city when the weather is great. Stand on top of the ferry for a wonderful view but be careful as it goes very fast so hold on to the railing. Area that you can see are Pier 11/Wall St, Brooklyn Bridge Park / DUMBO, Schaefer Landing / S. Williamsburg, N. 6th St. / N. Williamsburg, India St. / Greenpoint, and Hunters Point South / Long Island City.

9. Food Trucks in Dumbo noon

After taking the ferry to DUMBO, there will be many options of food truck to try from with diverse kinds of food like Grimaldi Pizza. Superfine, the river cafe, Almar, Almondine, etc. Bring cash and don’t eat too much even if they all are tempting, wouldn’t want to ruin the day by eating too much.

10.Chamber Music 4:00 pm

Barge music has been going since 1977 and continue to play Chamber Music every week, the founder Olga Bloom retired from her career as a violinist to open barge music which was successful each year and continue to operate. The Barge itself was built in 1899 as a transportation for sacks of coffee.

Monday

11.A trip to the Past noon

The Old Stone House is a great way to learn more about the history from the American Revolution to the colonial era of Brooklyn. Visiting this area is one of the key point for a historic tour and they also features exhibits, programs, and events to make a very historic atmosphere. The house act as a museum as well as a education resource for students that come every year. The music played is so soothing, you might lose track of time until they finish, especially when it is past noon and you can see the light coming from the city when they play for a perfect background scenery and the perfect music.

 

Reference

Garden Bar                http://brooklynbridgegardenbar.com/food-menu/

East River Ferry          http://www.eastriverferry.com/RoutesSchedules/

Brooklyn Water Front        http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/

DUMBO                         http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/3/220/NYC/DUMBO-restaurants

Barge Music                          http://bargemusic.org/about.html

 

 

Peter Zhang

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I am attending City Tech in the Hospitality Management being a graduate from William E.Grady High School. I took the culinary arts program for 3 years and found it very interesting but it was more interesting when I’m cooking with my friends. My teachers, Mrs. William who is a graduate from City Tech and Mrs. Yourman who is a graduate from CIA (Culinary Institute of America)  taught me about cooking methods, knife skills, and having hands-on experience by working in the teacher’s cafe.

During my high school career, I also participated in the C-CAP program which provides hands-on experience in a kitchen so students can learn. The C-CAP programs also give out scholarships but not for free, as students need to participated in the C-CAP competition and past the preliminary which I didn’t but it was exciting and Tense at the same time but it was a good learning experience. Other C-CAP programs I attended were Winter Chef, Job Shadow, Spring Chef. Winter Chef and Spring Chef are the same but at different time of the year where students traveled to Kings borough Community college to learn different culture cooking like Italian, French, Chinese, etc for four days straight,  Job Shadow is when students traveled to a professional dining facilities for hands-on experience and learning how they operated. These programs help me improved and taught other kind of culture food that I never heard of which was interesting. I still think that I have a lot more to learn before I choose what I want to be in the future. High School was exciting not just by the programs but also because of the Staff and student/friends. I join the chess Club with my friends and we won second place with team effort and this was the first time Grady Chess team got a trophy which we placed on the wall in the teacher conference room and I received a trophy for winning most of my individual games.

Originally, I thought about being a Chef but there were other options in the culinary arts career so I decided to wait and go through college to see what I really want to do in the Culinary field. I believed rushing to your goals unprepared is a terrible mistake as people should take their time and study at home and at college to make sure they know everything they need to so that they can succeed in their dream.