Beach Plum Week is Coming

Today I was tipped off to the existence of Beach Plum Week in Long Island City. What are beach plums? They are tiny, slightly tart plums (1/2 inch to an inch in diameter) that are indigenous to NYC and Long Island. They like to grow in the sand but do well in heavier soil.

The person behind Beach Plum Week is Erik Baard, who is also behind the Newtown Pippin project. He’d like to see both Newtown Pippin apples and beach plums grown and cultivated throughout the city. I can totally support that.

Beach Plum Week goes from October 1-9, 2011. It’s a fundraiser for Hour Children Food Pantry, based in LIC. Participating restaurants will be serving up beach plum food and drink. So far, they are:

• Manducatis Rustica, serving beach plum gelato
• Communitea, serving beach plum smoothies
• Sage General Store, serving beach plum fish tacos.

So, head on over to LIC and stop in at one of these places to taste a bit of NYC history, not to mention something delicious.

For more information:

Beach Plum Week [beachplum.org]
Beach Plum Week in Long Island City, Queens [harmoniousbelly.com]

If you try the beach plum dishes, we’d love to hear from you, too!