Author: precollegepress

   By Lisa Cochran

    Going to art museums isn’t enough anymore. To get the full experience, people need to eat in one of their restaurants.

    Eating in museum restaurants has become increasingly common as museums have branched out to the culinary arts in recent years.

    Despite the higher prices of these restaurants, patrons say that the cost is worth it for the ambiance and highly aesthetic food presentation common in these art museum restaurants.

    Some museums, such as the MoMa and the Neue Galerie, even hire professional chefs and specialized sommeliers, restaurant managers said.

    For some museums, the restaurants follow a theme in conversation with the museums themselves, such as the Jewish museum’s Russ and Daughters, serving traditional Jewish food and the Neue Galerie’s Café Sabarsky which prides itself on its Austrian cuisine.

   These museum cafés are immensely popular and welcome many customers on a day to day basis.

   “It’s really nice to sit down and eat after an entire day of walking in a museum, it’s like a cherry on top,” said Elvira Eykhmans of New York, a patron of Café Sabarsky.

MoMA: Cafés 1 and 2 Catch Foodies

   Patrons of modern art are attracted to MoMa’s Cafés 1 and 2 by their black marble wallpapers and the aroma of roasting coffee beans.

    Café 1 is a counter-service coffee and pastry stand that adheres to the same black and white theme. The cup holders of the café read the Robert Rauschenberg quote, “An artist is a diplomat, a prophet, a historian, a poet.”

   Black-colored cube-shaped seating overlooking the MoMa courtyard gives coffee drinkers an area to sit and chat. Unfortunately, there are no tables in this area.

   “This is supposed to be a kind of grab and go thing, Café 2 is where you sit down to eat,” said Café 1 barista, Michael.

   Café 2 is a French and Italian restaurant located right next to Café 1, following the same black and white aesthetic.

   “I think this restaurant really fits the typical modern art fan. It’s very trendy” said Davis McCullough of Manhattan.

   McCullough recommended the restaurant’s toasted foccacia while a Café 2 host, Isaiah, recommended the mixed salad.

Russ and Daughters Rises in Popularity

   Located in the basement of the Jewish museum on museum mile, Russ and Daughters serves traditional and kosher Jewish food for all.

   Despite the fact that Russ and Daughters is often referenced as the restaurant in the Jewish museum, the restaurant actually originated on 127 Orchard Street, said maitre d’, Shir Brickner.

   This lower East Side appetizing store founded when Polish immigrant, Joel Russ, came to Manhattan and began a catering service with the intent of targeting Jewish immigrants, the company’s website says.

   Russ later hired his daughters Ida, Anne, and Hattie to work for the company, giving it the name Russ and Daughters.

   Employee Jon said this was not a feminist statement but merely an act of pragmatism as Russ needed help with his company.

   The history of this establishment fits appropriately with the theme of the art museum, both celebrate Jewish culture through artistic means.

   Russ and Daughters puts emphasis on its adherence to kosher standards and maintains that it serves “comfort food,” Brickner said.

   This restaurant is most popular during the brunch hour while its appetizer counter sees crowds at varying times of day, Brickner said.

   “My personal favorites are the knishes and the Chocolate Babka French Toast,” said frequent diner, Shannon Clarke. “They’re divine.”

Neue Trends in Austrian Food at Café Sabarsky

    Café Sabarsky is an upscale Austrian-themed restaurant appropriately located inside the Neue Gallerie.

   The 19th century dark, wooden walls and German paintings located in Café Sabarsky contribute to the Germanic atmosphere of the restaurant, along with a selection of Austrian pastries encased in glass.

   According to employee, Richard, the most popular menu item is the strudel with Schlagsahne (whipped cream).

   While some customers complained about the high prices of this restaurant, most said Café Sabarsky was worth the cost.

   “It’s nice to just sit here really, it’s a nice atmosphere and I like how it feels like you’re in Europe,” said Kyle of Brooklyn.

   The restaurant’s menu also features an array of Viennese coffees and a lengthy assortment of teas and German wines.

   Outside the café, a plaque gives a brief biography of Serge Sabarsky, the café’s namesake and a co-founder of the Neue gallery.

   Sabarsky was an art collector and connoisseur of Gustav Klimt who was born in Vienna and later moved to New York where he fought in WWII for the American army as an infantryman.

   Following the war, he became an architect and opened his first gallery on Madison Avenue.

Lisa Cochran is a rising senior at Ames High School in Ames, Iowa.

By Tanan Choinaran

            What is the NYU Precollege Program? What does it offer?

           The NYU Precollege Summer Program offers rising high school juniors and seniors around the world the opportunity to experience academic and student life at New York University in a six-week intensive while taking college-level courses with current college students. It allows students to gain academic credit, which may be applied to a future degree.

Sounds quite challenging?

          Life is too short not to take a risk, especially if you are going to a college soon. You will need the experience since, college is very challenging and a big step for your whole life. This is a big opportunity to get that exact experience that NYU provides for high school students.

            First of all, it is all about getting comfortable where you are staying because six weeks is not a short time. If you are a residential student you will stay at NYU Founders Hall, NYU’s newest residence hall, located in the Union Square/East Village areas.

          Your day will start from a cozy, air-conditioned and room and has a very beautiful view. Founders hall provides the students with a variety of good facilities, for example a lounge room, backyard, computer room and laundry.

What is your overall approval rating of the NYU Founders Hall on a scale of 5 the best and 1 the least?

          One of the biggest advantages of studying at NYU is the food. NYU Dining services are all near Washington Square park,which provide students with good quality food. By using the meal plan as well as the Dining Dollars, which are in your NYU card, you can get a food from Dunkin’ Donuts, Kimmel Center, Starbucks, Jasper Kane Café and Weinstein Dining.

          Don’t be concerned about the food selection because there is a wide selection of food for international students: Chinese cuisine, Mongolian stir-fry and Vegan and wok and chop.

          The meal plans save a lot of money but at the same time you are able to get a good quality as well as good quantity of food.

What is your overall approval rating of the NYU Dining on a scale of 5 the best and 1 the least?

 

How useful do you find the meal plan? 5 very useful and 1 not useful.

          In this year’s Precollege Program, approximately 1,000 students were accepted and 417 students are in the program. Of these students, 161 are international. Students come from 32 countries around the world.

          “Due to the cultural difference students may struggle with the style of an American class where professors often discuss and do presentations,” said Kristin Balicki, a director of University Programs.

          There is a solution for this. The University Learning Center hosts various course-specific group sessions and Study Slams that were developed at the suggestion and recommendation of their Learning Assistants, based on their own experience with the courses.

          Balicki was also concerned that some international students struggle with English. The student may be very good at the English language but not strong enough for the college level English, which is why NYU has a tutoring service.

            If students feel like they are struggling withsomething during the program all Precollege students have academic advisors on campus who are available whenever there are questions about choosing courses, registering, adding or dropping courses and academic resources on campus.

          However, Program Assistants are also there for help. PAs are the most important resource during the program. As NYU students, they know everything about attending college and living in the city. They live on each floor in Founders Hall. PAs always host an event such as pizza party, cereal party and taco party on their floor.

            In the morning or afternoon if you don’t have a class you can spend your time by going to the gym or studying at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. Just swipe your NYU card and take advantage of NYU’s massive resources.

How often do you go to Elmer Holmes Bobst Library to study?

          “Rather than studying in my room I much prefer studying at Bobst library because I feel very comfortable but at the same time focused. There are also color printers which I always use” said Lola Newman, a current Precollege student.

          What to bring is one major question. It’s very hot in New York during the summer. Be sure to bring cool clothes. Lighter colors are better for sunny days. You will be walking everywhere. A pair of comfortable, supportive shows will see you through the day.

            Twenty-four hours in New York is nowhere near enough, especially if you attend the NYU Precollege Program. You have to use your time wisely. During the program there are countless NYC-based social activities happening. Each Wednesday students receive an email outlining the events for an upcoming week. These events and activities are more than exciting. This is an opportunity for the students to become friends and socialize more than just studying during the whole time. The students here are very friendly and always help each other on anything. Even if you don’t have any friends and came alone you get alongwith your dorm or class friends.

            Precollege is college but there are still some important rules students must follow.

          The curfew. All students who are living in the Founders Hall must hand in their NYU ID card at the resource center before 11pm Sunday-Thursday and 12am Friday-Saturday. So, don’t worry, parents.

        After the long day when I go into my room my always feel like I am home and get excited about tomorrow. Each day I learn something new and meet new people.

 Tanan Choinaran completed high school at English School of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

By Nicole Burdette

The cultural divide between the American North and the South lives in popular culture, movies, books, and in TV. But just how deep do these differences run, and how many stereotypes do people actually believe?

Some notions are that Southerners are typically seen as less intelligent, as  sweeter, or as having thick accents compared with Northerners.  

About half of the cliches about the South are believed, according to an unofficial survey conducted by an NYU journalism student in New York.

“It all depends on the area..” said Don S., a New Yorker, “but some things are just statistical…”

Don was referring to the stereotype where 100% of the people interviewed agreed that they view the South as very conservative.

“Conservatism is seen through the elections,” he said.

Additionally, 100% of people agreed that Southerners are typically very religious.  

This view, along with the 100% of people who agreed the South is more overweight, can be confirmed through collected polls and information. However, some things cannot be seen with just numbers.

While only 40% of those surveyed said Southerners had nicer spirits than Northerners, 70% said that Southerners had more manners and practiced more niceties.

“Being raised in the South, we were always taught to say things like ‘yes ma’am and no ma’am,” said Elizabeth H. from Tennessee.

On the other hand, Claire Wang, a student from China, said, “I only know about Southern people from TV… I think when other people learn that someone is from the South, they talk bad about that Southerner.”

Attitudes, however, also play a large role in the cultural divide of the American North and South. Eighty percent of people surveyed agreed that Southerners put on a sweet face but then talk bad behind that person’s back, while Northerners are simply more direct.

Luckily for Southerners though, a significant amount of negative stereotypes were not confirmed.

For example, only 30% of those surveyed said that Southerners were less intelligent than Northerners, and 20% percent of those were Southerners themselves.

Some other cultural differences given by Northerners during the interviews included: college football is very important, people are seen as uncultured, and food is always fried.  

Yet, it is not all bad in the South, according to Elizabeth H, “At least we have sweet tea here.”

 

Memphis BBQ in the North

Rendezvous, The Commissary, and Central BBQ are all very familiar names if you live in the Memphis area, a place that loves barbeque so much that it hosts the Memphis in May Barbecue Fest each year.

It is hard to find a restaurant in a new area that replicates a genuine, home style meal. However, homesick Memphians will be pleased to know that there is one place up North that does just that.

Southern Hospitality is a Southern themed bar and restaurant located in Hell’s Kitchen, on Manhattan’s West side that serves true Memphis barbecue.

    An almost-cheesy, rustic feel, makes Southern Hospitality the ideal restaurant for a Southern getaway from the bustling streets of the big city.

    However, it must be noted that this joint runs on the pricier side, especially if you are a student. Southern Hospitality’s world-famous prime ribs cost $34, while a sandwich costs around $16.  

   Yet, with Justin Timberlake, its owner, being a Memphian himself, the restaurant offers food that is as close to home as it gets, and it is probably worth the extra bucks.  

While picking at the last of your sweet ribs, Memphians, perhaps you can play the game “Six Degrees of Justin Timberlake,” a Memphians’ favorite pastime.

This game consists of connecting your relation to the pop singer through a game similar to that of one for actor Kevin Bacon.

For example, Mary S’s mom is JT’s mom’s dentist, or Meredith H’s dad is Timberlake’s cousin.

Nicole Burdette is a rising senior at Houston High School in Memphis, Tennessee.