Drinking the GC Koolaid- Inside Garden City Celebrates One Year

With July coming to a close, I'd like to mark its end with a post on the one year anniversary of my arrival in Garden City and the one year anniversary of www.InsideGardenCity.com. Initially, this blog was a vehicle for me to compare my old city life with my {yawn} suburban life and for me to poke fun at all things suburbia. I can't say I came to the burbs kicking and screaming, but I didn't have my running shoes on either.

Admittedly, buyer's remorse set in as soon as I walked into the house on that first day and many rookie mistakes followed. You can read about those first few suburban experiences here, here and here. You can read my first post (I Moved to Garden City) here. I've come a long way since then. For instance, I used to think warehouse shopping was just a "suburban myth". Now, not only am I a card carrying Costco member, but I shop there twice a month.

In my defense, I did hear some misconceptions about Garden City before moving here. I've outlined some below- with the facts next to them:

Fiction: There aren't any good restaurants. Fact: Ok, it's not NYC, but there are plenty of great restaurants and I haven't even tried them all yet.

Fiction: There won't be any food delivery. Fact: There's so much delivery, it's hard to choose (now if only Orchid would deliver. Are you reading this Orchid?). 

Fiction: You'll need to drive everywhere. Fact: Well, technically I can walk almost everywhere, but I do drive most of the time. 

Fiction: The GC pool is awesome. Fact: The GC pool is wicked awesome. 

Fiction: Girls/Women don't wear the same outfit twice. Fact: Girls/Womens' fashion is on trend and smart, but not ridiculous. 

Fiction: The people are snooty. Fact: The vast majority of people I've met have been very welcoming, grounded people. 

Fiction: Everyone drives a Mercedes (or worse). Fact: Yes, there are plenty, but no one cares. It's mostly about the kids, socializing, having a few laughs, having a few drinks and it's all good. 

I'm thrilled that Inside Garden City has evolved from where it was one year ago. It's mushroomed into a website and Facebook page that is now a place for people to check in on local events, local businesses, find out what's happening at local restaurants, what the shops are carrying, what's new and where to find it. I'm proud to support the wonderful local business and and restaurants in our town. Most importantly, I hope I can provide to others what I needed when I arrived here- a reliable source of local information (like where to go for the best pizza- still working on that one), both for people who are new to town and those whose families have been here for generations.

Before my move, I heard over and over again from people who lived in town that they "LOVE Garden City". I figured they were just drinking the Koolaid. Now I know why so many people "love" it here and I'm drinking it right along with them. But I am still learning. I definitely picked the best town to gently ease into my transition from city to suburb. I am sure there are many more hidden gems to be discovered. Stay tuned.


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Inside GC's Weekend Events Guide: July 25th Edition

Inside Garden City is back with your weekend events. There's a lot to enjoy in and around Garden City this weekend!

Summer Music on the Village Green continues tonight, Thursday, July 24th, at 7:15pm with a performance by Six Gun.

The Garden City Bird Sanctuary will be having a live animal show for children from an expert wildlife rehabilitator on Friday, July 25th from 10am-11am.

Friday, July 25th- See Suzi Sheton sing her popular children's song "Go, Fire Truck. Go" at the Long Island Children's Museum at 11:30am and 2pm. A real fire truck will be parked outside of the museum from noon until 2pm. 

The Seventh St Promenade will be held again this Friday night, July 25th, starting at 6:00pm. Seventh St will be closed off to through traffic and parking as of 5:45pm. Enjoy live music, al fresco dining, face painting, balloon animals and a real firetruck for the kids to explore and climb aboard. This is also a good time to stop in at your favorite Seventh St store for some local shopping (fyi- Envie and Madison's Niche are both having summer sales)!

Get your fit on at Bootcamp! Saturday morning, July 26th at GC High School at 7:30am. Work out before you hit the beach.

Always wanted to try CrossFit? Take a trial class at CrossFit Garden City. 585 Commercial Ave. Saturday, July 26th at 11am. Sign up here: http://www.crossfitgardencity.com/free-trial-class/

Saturday, July 26th, Jay Black, singer of the hit song "This Magic Moment" (and many others) will be performing at the Tilles Center at 8pm. http://www.tillescenter.org/event.cfm?id=1068

Sunday, July 27th is Children's Day at Eisenhower Park. Stop by between 1pm and 4pm for rides, games, food and a production of Beauty and the Beast at the Lakeside Theater. Contact info: 516-572-0200

Have a great weekend!


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Gallery Pizza Delivers

Unfortunately for my waistline, I order pizza on the reg. It's a weekend staple for me. I had never been to Gallery Pizza before on New Hyde Park Road in GC, but it was recommended highly by someone I consider to be a Garden City Insider.

I must admit that I had high hopes given the recommendation I received on Gallery. The staff were friendly and courteous (always a plus) and my pizza was ready fast. There was a nice blend of cheese and crust- not too thin and not too thick. And the tomato sauce was delish. There was also a good cheese to sauce ratio. Yum. The only thing I cannot talk about with confidence is the crust. There will have to be a side by side crust comparison between Giaccone's (who touts "the best crust in town" in its slogan) and Gallery. I look forward to eating Gallery's pizza again- everything else about their pie was spot-on.

As some of you Insiders may know, Inside Garden City is hosting a Fall Pizza Showdown where the winning pizza parlor will be voted "Best Garden City Pizza", will receive publicity on Inside Garden City and the Garden City Patch, as well as a banner to proudly display in their store. The only requirement for a pizzeria to be entered is that it must be located in Garden City or deliver to Garden City.

If you haven't been to Gallery Pizza before, you should definitely check it out as a pizza take out or delivery option.


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Inside GC Weekend Events Guide: July 18th Edition

Inside Garden City is back with your weekend events guide. Have a great one!

 

Friday night, July 18th, head to Doc O'Grady's if you're up for some drinks and live music.

Friday night the Seventh Street Promenade takes place once again starting at 5:45 pm. Enjoy great food, entertainment and lots of town spirit!

Friday, July 18th, BK Sweeney's Uptown Grill is hosting their famous Friday night lobster bake for $31.95 per person. 

New York Running Company on Seventh St. is holding a 25% off summer apparel sale. Stop in to update your running/workout wardrobe!

Saturday, July 19th, see actor and Hofstra alum Robert Davi sing Sinatra classics in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow at 7pm. Field 6/6A. Bring a blanket or chairs. Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater. 

Saturday and Sunday, July 19th and July 20th- the Long Island Children's Museum presents "The Wizard of Oz". Times: 11:30 am and 2 pm (same times on both days).



What will you be doing this weekend? Send Inside Garden City your favorite places to visit on the weekend.

GC Youth Lacrosse at its Finest: The PAC

Peter LeSueur is back- guest blogging about Garden City's newest lacrosse camp- the PAC (Performance Athletic Club). Pete is a GC native and co-founder of the PAC. If you missed our initial article about Pete and his lacrosse history, you can find it here.

As some of you may know, my dad, Paul LeSueur,  ran THE Garden City Soccer Camp for over 30 years.  It was common for young campers to eventually become coaches… and in many cases they eventually became the parents of campers.  His camp spanned generations, and I was a part of it for as long as I can remember.  I guess you can say that the passion for coaching and inspiring kids is in my blood and I always knew that I too wanted to share it with young athletes.  I have been in and around the lacrosse scene my whole life and decided that I wanted to create the same memorable sports moments for young lacrosse players that my dad had done for young soccer players.     

Motivation, Positive Thinking, Coaching and Confidence:

Over my sports career as a player and coach I grew to notice a serious problem in sports with coaches abusing their players.  We've all heard about the worst cases of it, but generally speaking I think even the slightest bit of negativity limits players.  I am so sure that coaching positively and motivating players is the "right way" that it disappoints me when I see kids' dreams dashed at a young age.  Not everyone can be the best player, but they can all benefit and improve through supportive coaching and inspiring mentors.

I've devoted a lot of time into studying cognitive science and the art of motivating people.  I've practiced it with my players, fitness clients, friends, family and most importantly myself.  I have realized the benefits of thinking positively and want to share that freedom with every child that I coach.  As a stickler for the fundamentals of lacrosse, I'm positive that kids will learn skills and gain comfort with the lacrosse stick at the PAC camp.  However, as long as every kid is smiling at the end of the day, my partner Tim and I will be happy because we know that giving the kids a chance to love the game is the best gift we can give. 

Tim Goettelmann and I have been friends for a long time and were casually speaking about what we could do to add value to the youth lacrosse scene.  Tim's energy and enthusiasm was a strong motivating force in finally moving forward with all of the PAC ideas I had been dreaming up.  Tim, a Manhasset guy that Garden City was lucky enough to steal, has 3 girls and a boy, and I have 4 nieces and 4 nephews in Garden City.  Tim's personality is larger than life, and he has been called "a big kid."  His excitement is spread among all the campers making the atmosphere better than any activity around.  On a separate note, Timmy also runs Monster's Kids, a non-profit charity that raises money for the North Shore LIJ Cohen's Children's Hospital. Monster's Kids hosts the Woodstick Classic Alumni Game that you might have seen or heard about. We also held a youth lacrosse clinic the Friday night before the Woodstick Classic to raise money on behalf of Monster's Kids.    

What we decided was that we would focus on the fundamentals of the game among very young players BUT most importantly… we'd strive to make camp so much fun that kid's would be able to fall in love with the game.  In our first year we had a kid's only camp as well as a "Family Fundamentals Camp" meant to bring parents and children together to learn the sport together, and more importantly for them to spend quality time together creating life lasting memories.  This year we will hold the Family Fundamentals Camp in the fall. It was very well received and a lot of people have asked for it again.  The feedback we received about PAC last year was extremely positive and it reinforced the belief that we were doing something great.  

One of the greatest feelings I had last year was realizing that I was actually coaching and inspiring the children of my own childhood idols who played lacrosse with my older brother back in the 90s.  At one point, I realized that there were generations of lacrosse players at my camp (similar to the history/legacy that my dad had built). Parents and grandparents, who my family had know for decades through lacrosse, were on the sideline socializing and watching their children/grandchildren having fun at the PAC camp.  It was a beautiful scene depicting many of the positive benefits of participating in sports… fun, fitness, and lifelong friendships.

Click here to register your son or daughter for the PAC camp next week, July 21st-24th: www.performanceathleticclub.com

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A Farmers Market Inside GC? Yes, sort of...

Do you like reading labels at the grocery store with words you can't pronounce? Do you enjoy factory farmed meat, eggs and milk? Do you like supporting chain supermarkets who often give very little money back to the local community? Do you find GMOs tasty? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, read no further. If you agree that eating local is all the rage (with good reason!), read on...

Hi Garden City Neighbors,

I’ve recently joined Farmigo, a year-round, online farmers market. As of Wednesday, July 16, they’ll be delivering locally sourced, freshly harvested food to 131 HAYES STREET, CORNER OF STRATFORD AVE each Wednesday, between 5:00-6:00 PM.

Being a Farmigo Organizer means being able to provide our community with the freshest and tastiest food around. The Farmigo marketplace is bursting with locally grown fruits and vegetables, hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, beautiful pastured eggs, freshly baked bread, and some truly delicious cheeses…and new items are being added every week.

 If all of that sounds up your alley, ordering couldn’t be easier:

●      First, become a member of my food community, and view the online marketplace by clicking  https://www.farmigo.com/farmstandatpcnutrition. There aren’t any subscription or membership fees to worry about, so feel free to test the waters.

       USE COUPON CODE 10OFF20 to get $10 off your order of $20 or more

●      When you’ve pulled together some good items, you just need to place your order every week, by midnight on Sunday (to give the farmers time to harvest-to-order the next day).

●      And that’s it! Just pick up your order at THE FARMSTAND AT PC NUTRITION 131 HAYES STREET, CORNER OF STRATFORD AVE each Wednesday, between 5:00-6:00 PM.

Our first delivery is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, so if you’d like to give this a try, just have your order in by midnight Sunday, July 13. Farmigo is supported by community efforts (just like this one!), and each pickup spot needs 10 people to get the ball rolling, so please – help spread the word…and then we can all start digging in! I hope you will join us.  Not sure?  Stop by during pickup for some free samples.  See you Wednesday!

Your neighbor,

Lisa Licari, RDN, CDN

Lisa is a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist.  Her private practice, Permanent Change Nutrition, is located in Garden City and she accepts most insurance plans.

Lisa Licari, RDN, CDN

Permanent Change Nutrition, PC

520 Franklin Ave, Suite L3

Garden City, NY 11530

(516)366-0072

Lisa@permanentchangenutrition.com

www.permanentchangenutrition.com

Remember to like us on Facebook and visit www.InsideGardenCity.com

Inside GC: Weekend Events Guide July 11th edition

As always, there's lots to do in and around Garden City this weekend, even with many people heading out of town. Going to be a beaut of a weekend, weather-wise. Enjoy it.

Thursday, July 10th, kicks off Summer Music on the Village Green at the corner of Stewart and Hilton. Risky Business will be performing at 7:30pm. Bring chairs or a blanket. 

As usual, Leo's is hosting Mexican night this (and every) summer Thursday. 

Friday, July 11th, the Seventh St Promenade returns after a Fourth of July break. The street is closed to traffic as of 5:45pm. Meet and greet your neighbors and dine al fresco. 

Friday, July 11th- Elsa from Frozen will be performing at the Seventh St Promenade at 7:30pm. She will sing hit songs from the movie and there will be a meet and greet right after the show. She sang to a big crowd when she was here in June so be sure not to miss it! 

Friday, July 11th- The GC Pool will hold Family Night. Bingo and mini golf will take place starting at 7:30, plus the ever-popular ice cream social.

Friday, July 11th- BK Sweeney's will hold their famous Lobster Bake. 

Saturday, July 12 and Sunday July 13th- See the Long Island Children's Museum production of The Wizard of Oz. 11 Davis Ave. $12 and $10 for members. Call for showtimes and to purchase tickets. (516) 599-6870

Saturday, July 12th- head to the GC Pool for live music by the Boston Burglars from 2pm-3:30pm.

Sunday, July 13th- Family Funday at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor at 11am.  Catch the docent-led family walk-through of the exhibition and supervised art activities for the whole family beginning at 1:30 p.m. Special family-friendly gallery guides of the main exhibition are available in the galleries. Free with museum admission. 

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Inside Garden City Weekend Events Guide: July 4th Edition

On this edition of the weekend events guide, we bring you a list of 4th of July festivities in our area so you can go ahead and plan your celebrations! There’s lots to do on the Fourth (and the rest of the weekend) close to home. All fun and no work starts Thursday afternoon. Happy planning and staycationing!

For those who are feeling adventurous and want to brave the crowds to see some world class athleticism, the Coney Island Nathan's hot dog eating contest will be held on July 4th at 12 noon.Will Joey Chestnut retain his mustard yellow belt? Since Kobayashi still appears to be in a jaw-injury-induced retirement, there are sure to be some promising athletes that could challenge Chestnut's supremacy. For those who would prefer to enjoy this great American tradition on TV, you can see it on ESPN 3 (if you get that channel) starting at noon and again on ESPN at 2pm. Now that the USA is out of the World Cup, it may be time for Americans to get back to ignoring televised soccer and enjoy a uniquely American event.

The Macy’s NYC fireworks are back on the East River this year, so we now have a better chance of seeing them from this side of Manhattan (Sorry Jersey!). Or, you can just stay at home and watch them with a drink in your hand (sans mosquitos- yay!). 

Stars and Stripes Day at Belmont Park- The 2014 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park will take place this Saturday July 5th at Belmont Park. Besides a fun-filled weekend of racing, the Stars and Stripes Festival will include face painting, bouncy inflatables, karaoke, a petting zoo, pony rides, plus a food truck festival featuring some of the best food trucks from and around New York City and a shaded picnic area to enjoy the delicious food. There will also be a commemorative t-shirt giveaway. 11:00am-4pm on Saturday July 5th. Cost: $5. Parking is free. 

On Friday, July 4th, the GC Pool festivities begin at 1pm with music from "Blue Angel" plus face painting, games and activities.

A spectacular fireworks show and concert will be in Eisenhower Park on Saturday, June 28, 2014. The fireworks, presented by the world-famous Grucci family, are part of great night which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with live music. Fireworks will begin at nightfall (approx. 9:30 p.m.). Bring chairs or picnic blanket.

Head to Stewart Manor, just east of Covert Ave., to catch the annual Fire Department parade on Friday July 4th at 10:30am. Bring your water balloons and wear your bathing suit!

There will NOT be a Seventh St. Promenade this Friday, July 4th. 

There will be Fireworks and Music at Mill River Park, 295 S Park Ave., Rockville Centre. Food, music and Grucci Fireworks. (rain date is Sunday, July 13). Entertainment and food begin at 6 PM. The South Shore Symphony will perform at 7:45 pm and the world famous Grucci Fireworks Show will begin at 9:15 pm. There will be music after the fireworks until 10:15 pm.

See a major league lacrosse game on July 3rd at 7:30pm. The NY Lizards vs Florida Launch. Heroes Day will honor the NYPD and FDNY for their service. Events begin at 2:30pm and will feature an NYPD v. FDNY lacrosse game before the Lizards host the Florida Launch at 7:30pm. There will be fireworks after the game. James Shuart Stadium, Hofstra University.

Capo on Covert Ave will be celebrating the Fourth as well as their own 5 year anniversary. Catch the final days of their awesome specials. $5 each for special menu items! 

Capo is also offering a July 4th catering special for those of you who don't want to get stuck behind a grill for your entire party- or if your bbq plans get rained out. $75 serves 10-12ppl, $160 serves 12-15ppl.

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Back to the World Cup if you're still watching .. Inside Garden City is pulling for Columbia to upset Brazil today! Quick shout out to my Columbian amigos.

Happy Birthday America! Have a great holiday weekend and remember to practice safe sun.

Please FB message us if you would like your Fourth of July event or special sale listed in our weekend events guide. Remember to like us on Facebook!