Here, taken from reporter Tan Vinh’s round-up, are some of the area’s gourmet bar burgers.

We think they offer great suggestions on more items to include in a fabulous Burger Bar set-up for your Labor Day barbecue:

Tavern Law:

Grass-fed beef, with red-wine onion jam, thyme aioli and gobs of provolone, topped with two sous vide pork belly.

El Gaucho:

A half-pound, aged filet mignon, ground and grilled. Topped with bacon, cheddar, onion, tomato, lettuce and Thousand Island dressing. Served on round, crunchy focaccia.

Bastille Café & Bar:

A thick, juicy lamb burger with harissa (hot chili) aioli, arugula and pickled shallot, topped with feta — a salty, acidic and peppery delight.

John Howie Steak:

A half-pound USDA prime sirloin burger, served with gourmet Kurobuta bacon strips, Beecher’s cheddar and a “drive-in sauce” on its house-baked bun.

Here are some of our favorite ways to turn ground beef into spectacular burgers with a decided ethnic flair.

Also, create your Labor Day party menu from any of our delicious healthy side dishes, colorful and substantial main dish salads, refreshing cocktail coolers for a crowd, and sensational easy, gourmet ice cream desserts.

Photo courtesy of French’s

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Here are some excerpts from the company’s excellent section Ethnic Food & Wine.

Caribbean Jerk Dishes

“With over ten percent of the United States immigrant population coming from the Caribbean, its unique cuisine has become increasingly popular in North America. So what kind of wines go best with the kick of jerk seasoning or curries flavored with lime and coconut?

“German Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blancs are generally pretty safe bets…. [L]ook for reds made from grapes that are naturally low in tannins. These include pinot noir and Barbera grapes, as well as Zinfandel.”

Spicy Mexican Dishes

“The robust taste of Mexican food is best paired with …Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and German Riesling. [R]eds like Chianti and Pinot Noir work pair quite well with chili based sauces…. Fruity Zinfandels work well with most chili sauces, as do wines made from Sangiovese grapes.

“Mexican cuisine often delivers strong citrus notes. Citrus and most reds and oaked whites do not get along, but citrus and Sauvignon Blanc pair well.”

Spicy Thai Curries

“Popular Thai dishes include red curry, where the feature ingredients are chili peppers; green curry made with green chili peppers and Thai basil; pad thai, a noodle dish with peanuts, lime, and bean sprouts; Masaman curry, a less spicy curry, but full of flavor and made with coconut milk, peanuts, bay leaves, fish sauce and various spices; and yellow curry, made with coconut cream and milk and turmeric.

“German Rieslings pair well with chicken or seafood red curry as its acidity levels help to cut the spiciness of the dish. For red curries with beef or pork, try a French Beaujolais or Italian Barbera.

As for general advice on pairing wine with ethnic foods, Spice Depot offers this useful guidance: “When in doubt, perhaps try a Pinot Noir (red) or a Sauvignon Blanc (white). [T]hese two versatile wines pair well with most food – and both names are fun to say in front of company or in a restaurant.”

Photo sources: Jerk chicken and red beans courtesy of The Spice Depot; Ceviche de pescado courtesy of biggestmenu; Red Thai chicken curry courtesy of Cookfood.

Macarons are delicate disk-shaped, bite-size, meringue-like cookies–puffy and tasty clouds of sweetness.

The cookies are eye-catching, too, thanks to their feminine pastel colors and flavored buttercream fillings. Chocolate, raspberry, and pistachio are among the most familiar.

The talented baker who anonymously writes the blog, Coco & Me, and whose gorgeous macarons are shown in the photo above, runs a Saturday-only stall at the Broadway Market in East London. She reported that pink macarons and those that feature chocolate were the most popular, in her experience.

Macarons are très French and can be found at the finest patisseries in Paris. But they’re now huge in New York City’s boutique bakeries and have made a splash across the country, as well.

Party tip: Stack macarons for a colorful, delectable centerpiece, perfect for a baby or bridal shower. The cookies also make nice party favors. Wrap pairs in cellophane and tie with ribbon to match the color of one of the cookies.

See our recipes for delicious macarons, including four flavors of buttercream filling. Also see other beautiful dessert party ideas!

Photo source: Coco & Me.

Hosting a summer teen birthday party can be easy and a lot of fun–especially if you choose the perfect theme. While Twilight parties for teens are very popular due to the release of “Eclipse,” we have other ideas for great summer birthday parties.

Beach and pool parties are particularly good teen party choices. These parties can be sophisticated as well as fun. Here are some of our favorite ideas for throwing a stylish teen birthday party with a beach or pool theme.

Fun with food: Small bites such as pigs in the blanket, pizza pinwheels, skewered appetizers (shown above), sliders, and other finger foods are a teen favorite. They are quick and easy to eat while mingling by the pool or water. They are often very easy to make (check out our list of great teen party recipes). Smoothies are another great way to keep the kids cool and keep with the theme. Choose a few different signature combinations to serve (see our great ideas for smoothies). For some added sophistication, ask the birthday boy or girl to select a few great names for the signature smoothies.

Simple desserts: Set up a beautiful candy buffet and allow the guests to fill beach or pool themed bags with a variety of delicious sweets. This more sophisticated “goodie bag,” is sure to make your party even more special and make you a “cool” mom. Click here to get the goodie bags pictured above.

Sophisticated, fun decorations: Choose stylish decorations that bring out the kid in everyone. Use beach balls, beach buckets, sea shells, and other themed decorations like those shown to create a fun atmosphere. To learn how to create the buckets filled with sunflowers pictured above visit Real Simple. Click here to get the invitations shown above.

Image credits: Candy buffet by mykateparkerwedding.com; seashells for save-on-crafts.com; dangling decoration from Amazon.

We especially love the idea of grilling extra chicken or beef when you have a barbecue, and using it later to compose delicious, elegant main-dish salads.

So we loved this article by Melissa Clark, in the July 2, 2010 The New York Times.

Clark offers some interesting insights into preserving the taste of chilled grilled meat. And her refreshing combinations of ingredients should inspire some fabulous spur-of-the-moment entertaining. Her suggestions:

“There is one caveat when using leftover grilled meat. As the meat chills, the flavors recede, becoming quieter and mellower. So while a nicely seasoned garlic-rubbed leg of lamb might taste like savory perfection eaten hot off the flames, the next day it could probably use a boost.

“In sandwiches, the condiments do that work.

“For the chicken quesadillas that I made out of Sunday’s grilled chicken thighs, shredded and stuffed into a corn tortilla with a little cheese and quickly toasted, I stirred together a lime-zest-imbued cucumber and avocado salsa that added a welcome citrus edge.

“For a Vietnamese-inspired cold steak and rice noodle salad I had made a few weeks earlier, I used fish sauce and chilies to play up the beefy nuances while peanuts added texture and a warm, toasted flavor. To keep things as speedy as possible, I picked up some thin rice sticks, which complemented the flavors of the sauce and could be soaked instead of boiled.”

Be sure to check out and enjoy even more light and delicious party-perfect salads!

Photo credit: Andrew Scrivani for the New York Times

According to the website mywebgrocer, hamburger purchases in the week ending July 3, 2009 increased by more than 100% over the amount sold in the previous week.

Among the increases in purchases of fixins’ the week before July 4, 2009:

Hamburger: +105%; Frozen veggie burgers: +93%; Hamburger rolls: 64%;   Hot dog rolls: +54%; Pickles: +45%;  Relish: +44%;  Beer: +41%;  Fresh corn: +39%; and hot dogs: +38%.

For this weekend’s BBQ, and for all summer grilling festivities, if you’re planning to grill hamburgers, be sure to see lots of great ideas for a fabulous hamburger bar (featuring terrific alternatives for southwestern, Italian, Greek, and many other cuisines), plus luscious, healthy side dishes.

We came across this beautiful little girl’s birthday party and just adored it. The theme, “peaches and cream,” was thoughtfully designed and executed by Jessica Levitt,   author of the blog “Juicy Bits...” Jessica, a talented textile designer and crafter, posted photos and the details of her daughter, Aurora’s, lovely “peaches and cream” party, held last September.

We especially loved how Jessica carried the theme through every aspect of this outdoor celebration. Here are the elements that Jessica brought together to create a fabulous party for her little girl:

Location: Jessica chose to host the party on a farm that grows peaches and allows people to pick fruit. Understanding the risks of planning an outdoor event, she arranged to have a tent within a fenced-off area for the main event space. Fortunately, it was sunny on the day of the party, though Jessica reported problems with wind and yellow jackets.

Décor: Jessica decorated the tent with fabric garlands and peach-colored paper lanterns that she hung from the support bars of the tent. She also collected a variety of different patterned fabrics to use for table runners, tablecloths, and to line baskets.

The different peach-colored patterns created an elegant, yet craftsy look.  Jennifer chose a budget-friendly centerpiece that also provided beautiful greenery. She decorated long rectangular boxes and filled them with wheat grass. She completed the look with adorable place settings to match the peach-themed décor.

Activities: The kids were kept busy from the moment they got there until the end of the event. When the guests first arrived, they fed carrots to the farm animals or had the opportunity to color pictures of farm animals.

Next, they played games, such as ‘ring around the rosy,” as they waited for the hayride that would take them peach picking. Once they reached the picking area, they were each given an adorable little basket in which to collect fruit in (shown above). The baskets and fruit served as party favors.

On the day of the party, the farm happened to be hosting a fall festival. So Jessica bought wristbands for all the kids, so they also got to go on pony rides, enjoy more hayrides, jump in a bounce house, and go “tractor train” riding.

Food: Much of the party food kept with the “peaches and cream theme.” The kids enjoyed a variety of sandwiches, fruit kebabs, cheese and crackers, nuts, peach-themed cupcakes and peach-colored cakeballs on top of ice cream cones. Capping off the party was delicious ice cream, kept cold in the ice cream cart that Jessica had rented.

What a perfect party–clever, creative, and one that the birthday girl and her friends will long remember. Thanks for the inspiration, Jessica! We can hardly wait to see what you do to carry out the theme of Aurora’s next birthday party–unicorns and rainbows!

Photos shown here were posted on Juicy Bits and taken by Christianne Ebel.

Several days ago, we got a wonderful e-mail from one of our readers about the Sex and the City bridal shower that her bridesmaids threw for her, the weekend before the opening of SATC2.

“I live in New York City and work for On Location Tours, the company that runs the Sex and the City Hotspots tours. My bridesmaids decided to bring a little NYC to York, PA,” wrote Meagan Hess.

Meagan described the party in fabulous detail–writing as Carrie Bradshaw might have done!–and made us wish we had been there.  So to celebrate the opening of SATC2, we thought we’d share Meagan’s story of the fun, clever bridal shower that she loved so much and that any bride-to-be would surely enjoy!

Here’s what Meagan wrote:

“The event began with  a mystery text instructing her to go home and look in her closet. There she found a little black dress, hot pink accessories, and instructions to await her transportation, which would arrive at 5:30 p.m.

“At 5:30,  a taxi cab (how New York!) pulled up to take her to the shower destination. There, she was met by her father, her future father-in-law, her brother, and her bridesmaids’ fathers, who served as valets for the evening.

“From there, she was welcomed to the SATC-themed bash by her bridesmaids and their accommodating hubbies, who dressed in tuxedo tees and served food and drink at the party.

“No SATC-related detail was left out:

• Guests’ stiletto’ed invites asked them to don the apparel of their favorite SATC character. A ‘costume contest’ was later held, with the bride acting as judge.

• Upon arrival, guests were instructed to select name tags indicating which SATC character they most identified with: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.

• Hot pink and black were the colors of the evening.

• Flirtinis and Cosmopolitans were the signature cocktails of the evening, served in hot pink martini glasses.

• Table centerpieces were comprised of black feathers, hot pink hydrangeas, and ‘diamonds.’

• A pink and black ‘New York skyline’ cake was baked, using the Magnolia Bakery recipe and adorned with a Manolo Blahnik shoe and a pearl necklace.

• The Sex and the City movie soundtrack played throughout the evening.

• Guests received copies of the Sex and the City movie DVD as prizes for the night’s various games.

• The bride-to-be received an SATC-themed gift from her bridesmaids, which included a gift bag named for each character. Each bag was filled with character-appropriate lingerie (think conservative and classy for Charlotte; leopard print for Samantha.)”

Wow, Meagan! What a great bridal shower your bridesmaids created for you. Thanks so much for sharing your photos and all the clever details with us. We hope you and your “Mr. Big” live happily ever after!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these could be worth a lot more!

As happens to all of us, I was looking for something else–on the Huffington Post, in fact. Then, a link caught my eye and from there, it was five minutes of open-mouth gawking!

Most of these can be found on the site If Shoes Could Kill,  described accurately as “a website that collects and celebrates the most outrageous pairs of footwear imaginable.”

Wanna see some truly unbelievable shoes and boots–some of which were designed as art rather than as wearables? It’s worth spending a few minutes with the site.

To watch a video of the runway presentation of more outrageous shoes, designed by the late, acclaimed shoe designer, Alexander McQueen, click here.

And if you’re more interested in looking hot in real-life shoes–to be warn at any dress-up special occasion–be sure to check out Wearing Heels That are Sexy and Comfortable.

Here are links to the shoes shown in the image above.

Shoe and photo sources: 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

If you’re up for a bit of spontaneous fun, Cinco de Mayo presents the perfect opportunity for a last-minute party!

We just saw this pretty picture on the Kraft site, and we realized that a Mexican-style Cobb salad is the perfect addition to our collection of delicious mix-and-match Cinco de Mayo recipes.

Almost everything you need for a no-effort fun fiesta can be bought and assembled. The ingredients you’ll want to use–give or take the cooked bacon–are all in the picture shown above: grilled chicken, shredded mixed cheddar and Monterey jack cheese, ripe tomatoes, ripe avocado, and canned black beans.

Line the ingredients up in columns atop a bed of packaged salad greens. Add bottled Ranch or other dressing. Also pick up a container of sour cream, a jar of salsa, and a bag of tortilla chips and you’re ready to serve.

For the perfect Cinco de Mayo beverages, pick up a 6-pack of Dos Equis, Corona, or other Mexican beer. And if you must have Margaritas (we certainly do!) the traditional recipe calls for 3 parts tequila, 2 parts Cointreau or other orange liqueur, and 1 part fresh lime juice. Even easier, pick up some Margarita mix and just add tequila.

Dessert need not be any more complicated than sliced fresh mango, pineapple, and strawberries, which are at their sweet and juicy best right about now.

A Cinco de Mayo party is just too easy to pass up! Invite some friends over and have fun–Olé!