Menus, get yer menus here...

I've been about as bad a blogger as one can be...but I do respond in a pinch. I know there've been calls for the old school PPLG food and drink link...so here it is. I'll put it up in the sidebar as well. And hopefully will be back with a somewhat more active presence soon...

Today: first day of the CSA!

Today's the first day of deliveries for the PLG CSA. Reports are the first week's bounty will be on the sparse side, and will include lots of greens -- kale, lettuce, boc choi, chinese cabbage, etc. -- but the deliveries will be getting bigger as we get further into growing street. We expect a full report on the healthyliciousness of the Woodbridge Farm's veggie delights before the night is done...

Revitalizing our community: how much should we be paid?

Last night was a PLUS (Prospect-Lefferts United for Service) board meeting. (It didn't seem like there was a huge amount of advance warning about the time or location, but maybe we're wrong on that count.) The meeting, according to an email sent around yesterday at 1:45 pm, was meant to discuss Prospect-Lefferts' application for an Avenue NYC grant from the city's department of small business services. (Here's the city's SBS website; PLUS doesn't appear to have a site that outlines its work or mission.) Communities that receive the grants are estimated to get around $167,000 over the next four years, although funding will ultimately be decided according to "successful completion of the preceding year's activities."

In the first year of funding, the lion's share of that money -- $50,000 out of a total of $66,000 -- is designated towards "personnel and fringe" expenses. That certainly ain't chump change. In yesterday's email, current board president and A&H broker Mark Dicus nominated himself to serve as PLUS's official, salaried executive director. PLUS has certainly been active in the three years since it formed. Any thoughts on this kind of funding for personnel? Reports from last night's board meeting? Feelings about PLUS's work with other community groups? Opinions about the best way to spend a city grant? Info from K-Dog or Enduro owners on what it was, exactly, that brought them to the area? Thoughts about having a city-funded local group given the authority to speak (and spend) in the name of the community as a whole?

K-Dog: Now with milkshakes. (And ice cream.)

OK, not now, per se, but soon: the recent renovations at K-Dog & Dune buggy -- PLG's one, true draw-'em-in culinary attraction -- are in preparation for an ice cream and milkshake counter in the back. (Said counter is currently closed over.) Oh, and if you were wondering: it'll be Ciao Bella ice cream. Just in time for bathing suit season...

Update: sweet, sweet meats

Ask, and ye shall receive! On Monday, I (virtualy) wondered whether folks who signed up for the local Community Supported Agriculture program would be able to place special orders for meat. (The CSA subscription covers produce. Yummy, yummy produce.) In addition to putting my query out there in the Interweb, I used some of my top-secret reporter's jujitsu...and got in touch with the good folks at Connecticut's Woodbridge Farm -- the local supplier for the PLG CSA. Here's their answer:

"Members can definitely put orders in for meat or any of our products for that matter. 72hrs notice should give me the time I need to put it together for delivery day!" Some of the specifics need to be worked out; for example, I doubt that the men and women of the Maple Street School are going to store people's meats every Tuesday, so you might need to commit to being there when Woodbridge makes their dropoff. But it's hard to see how this is anything but great news.

Fresh Direct: Is it available everywhere?

At least in the 11225 zip code, anyway...

Today's Brooklyn Record has news about Fresh Direct's expanding delivery zone. I thought it was available in all of 11225, but I'm not sure how to check. Anyone out there know the answer?

(And in response to AdrianLesher, who has taken a commanding early lead as the most charming commenter on the site: yes, I'm aware that the FD site asks you to punch in your zip code to see if it serves your area. If you check, you'll also find that after entering in 11225, you're greeted with the following message: "We need more information...Please enter your street address so that we can make sure your building is in our zone." That's why I asked if anyone knew whether delivery was available in all of our fair neighborhood.)

The things I'd like to see in Planet PLG

And I'm talking about the entire neighborhood, not the website...

The last year-plus has brought some notable additions, with the just-redone K-Dog paving the way for Enduro and now, it seems, a revamped (or at least revamping) Papa & Sons. The CSA will add a weekly supply of delicious, farm-fresh produce.

But there's a lot left that's still be desired. I, for one, would love a restaurant that's a true destination -- the kind that would bring in outsiders and show off what PLG has to offer -- rather than an acceptable alternative; as thankful as I am that Enduro is here, it's hard to pitch it as anything more than your typical, standard-fare Mexican.

I could go on, but I'd rather hear from everyone else out there. Which is why I'm launching a new feature, TILT SIP ProLeGs. (Now there's a catchy acronym.) Write in with your deepest desires, and every week or so I'll put them all together in an effort to steer the conversation in one direction or another. Our ideal world is only as small as your imagination...

Now, with more beef

The just launched PLG Community Supported Agriculture has been rightly getting attention. (For those of you who somehow missed the ATP post, CSA is essentially a program whereby a local(ish) farm sells produce to a community. Members pay up front and get a weekly batch of veggies throughout the growing season. The farm gets capital before the season; the community gets super fresh food. And everyone rejoices!) This is great news for people who don't want to use Fresh Direct or trek a couple of miles for their weekly shopping, and I think there are still some spots available; at least there's no info to the contrary on the official PLG CSA website.

As it turns out, our partner farm -- southeastern Connecticut's Woodbridge Farm -- isn't a veggie only concern; they also sell meat from organically fed cows, pigs, and poultry. I'm trying to find out if CSA members can put in individual orders to be delivered for the weekly pickup...