Fashion Stylings of the 10 and under

Child-friendly salons put new twist on style trends

Monday, May 26, 2008
Last updated: Monday May 26, 2008, EDT 8:38 AM

BY EVELYN SHIH

STAFF WRITER

Julia Favaro of Demarest sits marvelously still for a 3-year-old.

Left: Ivelisse Vargas, 3, watches Dora the Explorer as stylist Sara Pakzad gives her a French braid. Photo by staff photographer Danielle Richards.

Hairstylist Sara Pakzad pats down Julia's newly shorn bob, then produces a short, fat brush half the size of the child's head. She dusts off the smiling girl and helps her out of her cloak. Julia holds her arms out to Pakzad to be picked up.

Julia "loves getting her hair done," said her mom, Christine Favaro. She fingered the small braid on her daughter's head. "She only lets Sarah do this — not me."

Julia has been getting her hair cut by Pakzad at David Alan's Cuts for Kids in Paramus for more than half of her young life. She's one of many North Jersey kids who may never experience what was once a staple of childhood: Mom's kitchen-sink bowl cuts.

These days, whether they're sporting haircuts that imitate Mommy and Daddy, or hairdos that resemble teen sensations like Hannah Montana or Zack and Cody, kids are stylin'. Along with the boom in children's clothing and products, professional hairstyling has become yet another part of the modern child's landscape. Babies as young as a few months old are getting their heads buzzed.

"The kids look good earlier and earlier nowadays," said Jennifer Bilek, founder of Get Coiffed, a Manhattan-based hairstyling business that offers in-home children's haircuts. Though most of her clientele consists of higher-income families, she believes that this is the next wave in hair styling.

"Especially in the urban areas, you can have a 6-month-old dressed to the nines. ... The whole children's industry is still in explosion."

Stylish offspring

Bilek said the attention being paid to children's hair comes part and parcel with a parental obsession to have stylish-looking offspring. And lest you think that it's just the parents, don't be fooled: Kids know exactly what they want.

Picture: Hannah Montana, aka Miley Cyrus.

"They bring pictures in, they say I want to look like him or her," said Chuck Moschetto, owner of Charlie's Kids Salon in Paramus. Idols from the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon media empires like the Jonas Brothers and the "High School Musical" characters inspire waves of pint-sized imitators.

To be sure, salons like David Alan's Cuts for Kids, owned by David Perlman, are not new: Perlman opened the child-friendly storefront 18 years ago. But kid-focused salon franchises like Snip-its have become popular in recent years: Thirty-one stores out of 60 opened between 2004 and 2005, including a Rockaway branch. Until 2002, the franchise business had only five salons.

Each Snip-its has colorful, eye-catching décor and branded characters designed by an animator, as well as a Magic Box with prizes at the end of the haircut. Stylists distract and entertain children by blowing soap bubbles, said Rockaway manager Dinah Janowski.

Recognizing that cutting kids' hair can be big business (haircuts can range from $15 to $25), salon owners are starting to cater to the younger set.

In recent years, some salons have added birthday parties to their list of services. Snip-its hosts "glamour" parties, where girls get the beauty salon treatment, then walk down a red carpet in a mini fashion show. Perlman will soon introduce "makeover" parties, where girls can get clip-on hair extensions, re-creating the Hannah Montana look.

An emphasis on fun

Kids are still kids, though, so the emphasis is on creating a fun, comfortable environment. In order to keep children seated, kid-friendly salons are usually full of distractions such as televisions, video games, toys and candy. They also try to hire stylists with an essential virtue: patience.

"Kids are scared of noises, like the [clippers]," said David Alan's stylist Philip Teresi. "They see this machine come out, and they think their heads are going to be chopped off. So I put it against my hand and show them that there's no boo-boo."

David Alan's Cuts for Kids has themed seating that suggests being on safari, or being a ballerina or baseball player. There are seats designed to look like Jeeps and even a giant stuffed giraffe. But Julia knows the best part: It comes after every haircut.

"Lollipop and balloon!" she said, walking toward the balloon station.

Ryan Balatbat of Waldwick, 2, has a different goal in mind. After his cut, he heads straight for the Thomas the Tank Engine train set. He and his older brother, 4-year-old Patrick, get haircuts every five weeks. He knows his way around David Alan's.

"My oldest son didn't get professional cuts until he was 3," said mother Kathy Balatbat, watching her son out of the corner of her eye as she stood at the cash register. "My husband used to cut it ... but here they're really 1-2-3. Both of them are done in half an hour."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Steaks...Made of Eggplant

Eggplant steaks with teriyaki marinade and dipping sauce

Monday, May 26, 2008
Last updated: Monday May 26, 2008, EDT 8:54 AM

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"The New Vegetarian Grill," by Andrea Chesman (The Harvard Common Press, 2008)

Veggie burgers won't be the only vegetarian fare on the grill for today's Memorial Day gathering. Andrea Chesman's collection shows you how to grill everything from artichokes to plantains to the eggplant steaks below. Vegetables, unlike meat, contain no fat and must be brushed with oil or marinade. But, with the exception of eggplant and mushrooms, they don't need time to soak it in. Caramelizing in the vegetable skin and in the surface applied marinade will create a "nicely brown, slightly crunchy exterior," Chesman writes.

— Evelyn Shih

1 medium-size eggplant, peeled and sliced an inch thick
1/2 cup teriyaki marinade and dipping sauce, recipe follows
Prepare a medium hot fire in the grill.

In a shallow bowl, combine the eggplant and the marinade. Toss well to coat. Let the eggplant stand for at least 15 minutes to absorb the marinade.

Grill the eggplant, turning occasionally, until tender and grill-marked, about 10 minutes. The eggplant should be slightly crusty on the outside but soft and moist inside. Serve hot.

Servings: 4.

Per serving: 93 calories, 3 grams fat, 0.5 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 15 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 511 milligrams sodium, 5 grams fiber.

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine sesame and canola oils. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tamari, sherry, brown sugar and lime juice. Bring to a boil.

In a small bowl, mix together the orange juice and cornstarch until smooth. Stir it into the tamari mixture and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Use immediately or store in a refrigerated airtight container for up to one week.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups.

Weekend bikers are a far cry from Hell’s Angels

Saturday, May 24, 2008
Last updated: Saturday May 24, 2008, EDT 8:13 PM

BY EVELYN SHIH

Staff Writer

Raymond Brunelle of Upper Saddle River is vice president of a Chicago-based food packaging company, but he has something to look forward to during the workweek in the Windy City. Every weekend, Brunelle flies home to North Jersey, dons a leather jacket and rides the region’s twisty back roads on his sports bike.

Picture: ALDO MARTINEZ Jr. / SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

“Why do some people play golf every week?” said Brunelle when asked why he goes to such lengths to ride his motorcycle. “Instead of playing golf, I ride.”

Gone are the days when motorcycle riding was equated with skull-and-wings insignias or long hair. Today, North Jersey motorcycle enthusiasts rarely fit the traditional stereotype of The Biker: They range from single moms to Wall Street traders to computer programmers. Many are baby boomers who choose biking as a lifestyle or hobby — not for an identity or a gang affiliation.

A new breed of cyclist takes to the road for pure enjoyment and “the mastery of it,” said Brunelle, 50, who leads a group of local sports bikers from April to October on two-hour rides that can cover up to 80 miles.

And weekends are their thing.

Teaneck resident Dwayne Pierce, who got his first bike almost two decades ago, said that in recent years the Internet has enabled riders of all stripes – from owners of pricey Harley Davidsons to fans of powerful sport bikes, the young to the middle aged, men and women – to connect and ride in weekend groups.

“When you’re riding on your own, it’s you and 300 cars,” said Pierce, 46, an insurance company sales representative who stopped riding for two years after he got married, but resumed when “the feeling came back.

“When you’re riding together, people know you’re there.”

Group rides are simultaneously a solitary act — each rider on his or her own vehicle — and an exercise in group movement. Good organization is key to group rides, said Jerry Volpe of Ramsey. He should know.

Seals friendships

Volpe, a retired elementary and middle school music teacher, rode a motorbike for the first time on his honeymoon in Bermuda 11 years ago and got his New Jersey motorcycle license on a whim. Today, though, he is a road captain in one of the local Harley Owners Groups (or HOGs), which organize informal weekly weekend “meet-ups” that can swell to as many as 60 riders.

“If we want to move into the left lane, I’ll tell the rear captain,” said Volpe, 61, referring to a rider at the end of the pack. “He’ll move to the left lane to block it off, then signal me. I’ll check my mirror to make sure it’s OK, signal, and move the whole group over.”

Whether it’s the effect of group-think or the simple joy of pulling off a beautiful ride with a convoy of bikers, you grow closer to people after you ride together, said Volpe and others. Pierce, for example, recently attended the wedding of a friend he met through weekend rides.

“It’s social also, when you’re off the bike,” he said. “You become close friends with many of your riding buddies.”

On a more public level, bikers band together to organize charity rides, such as the FealGood Foundation benefit on May 10, which paid tribute to those who perished on 9/11. Sponsored by the Bergen County Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership in Rochelle Park, the ride involved hundreds of cyclists and briefly closed the George Washington Bridge .

Women bikers

Local bikers also come together in faith: One of the region’s largest mass bike blessings was held earlier this month by the Christian Riders Motorcycle Club at St. John’s Church in Paterson.

Image: A "biker chick," courtesy of Spaceg.com.

“I’ve never met a bad person biking,” said Diane DiSavino of Pompton Plains, a former road captain for an all-woman riding group called the Riding Divas. She’s currently a member of the Ladies of Harley and takes trips as far as Milwaukee and Myrtle Beach, S.C. She also sees riding as a more informal tool for socializing.

“Want to meet the ladies for ice cream? Make it 8 o’clock,” she said. “Let’s go.”

A former passenger on her ex-husband’s Harley, DiSavino is one of a burgeoning number of North Jersey women moving into the driver’s seat. Nationwide, women make up a projected 11 to 12 percent of all motorcycle owners in 2008, and their numbers are growing.

DiSavino, who quit her job in January as a mortgage underwriter to join the Bergen Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership staff, finds women-only rides helpful because some female riders can be intimidated by men.

“I see couples walk in, and if the woman looks interested, the husband or boyfriend will be like, ‘Are you crazy? You can’t do that,’ÿ” said DiSavino, who runs a motorcycle safety course. Often, the woman customer will leave, and some come back – alone.

She herself loves everything about biking, down to its superstitions – like the rider’s bell. “When a new rider gets a bike, someone has to get them a bell to hang from the bike – they can’t get it themselves,” DiSavino said. “It wards off the road demons.”

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Black Humor

Eddie Griffin's outspoken comedy

Friday, May 23, 2008
Last updated: Friday May 23, 2008, EDT 7:04 AM

BY EVELYN SHIH

STAFF WRITER

Funnyman and actor Eddie Griffin will be taking over Carolines on Broadway this weekend, the first time he will perform at the New York comedy club. Though he has already conquered the movie theater ("Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," "John Q") and television ("Malcolm and Eddie"), he still performs stand-up comedy on a weekly basis.

Griffin has also signed on to star in a new reality show on VH1 about his life, tentatively titled "Eddie Griffin Goes for Broke" and scheduled to start airing in 2009. He took time off his busy schedule to talk about his life and his comedy.

Q. What will your new show be like?

We have no idea. It's reality.
[VH1] approached me with the idea. They're going to follow me around with a camera.

Q. Are you looking forward to that?

My life is a movie. Someone should film it. I am the real "Truman Show."
Q. You live in Los Angeles, and you've done stand-up all over the country. Does the New York area audience play differently than the other audiences?

It's the same everywhere. People are people. They have the same concerns and desires. People got a different accent: the Boston, the Louisiana accents. But they all fall in and out of love. They all laugh at the same things.

Q. You will be appearing in an upcoming documentary, "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy." What is different about black comedy?

The guy who's doing material about black people is usually black. Because people of any other race may come off as racist if they do the same jokes. Given what black people have gone through in this country, it's hard for them not to.

Because of that, black comedy has more bite than European comedy, I think.

Q. What's a funny New York story you know?

Let me tell you a funny thing about New York. After 9/11, the Fire Department were heroes. Now it's — how many years later? — and when they slash the budget, they slash the fire department budgets. That's so full of [expletive] that it's hilarious.

Where are the flag wavers now?

Q. Will you be doing some political comedy this weekend, considering the political climate we're in?

Oh, yeah.

Q. What did you think about the West Virginia primary results?

What we had was not a primary. What we had was the media having a sports event. Somebody call [Hillary Clinton] at 3 a.m. and tell her it's over!

If [Barack Obama] were a white candidate, they would've announced his win already, like John McCain.

They're just fighting tooth and nail to keep anything of color out of the White House. That's why they call it the White House.

Now there's black humor for you.

Fitness DVD reviews

Fitness DVDs

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Last updated: Wednesday May 21, 2008, EDT 8:42 AM

BOLLYWOOD BURN, with Hemalayaa ($14.99, acacialifestyle.com)

* What I liked: The DVD is split into three self-contained segments, each of which has a warm-up, cool-down and a mix of peaks and valleys in between. Yogini Hemalayaa does a good job of pacing so that you work your heart but get to rest, too. All three routines were especially good workouts in the quad region. I also liked that I was learning new moves. I didn't get them all the first time; but some, like a move where you jump backward in a circle with one leg lifted, were surprisingly easy and fun.

* What I didn't like: Hemalayaa's honeyed Hollywood-studio voiceover was slightly grating, so if you are picky about the personality of your trainer, she may not be for you. I also felt slightly silly doing some of the Bollywood moves, even when I was all alone with the DVD. The arm moves, in particular, were a little beyond me — and I didn't feel like they really worked my arms.

* The bottom line: This is a good experience, but you have to be willing to experiment.

— Evelyn Shih

YOGA TO THE RESCUE FOR BACK PAIN, with Desirée Rumbaugh ($14.99, acacialifestyle.com)

* What I liked: Rumbaugh patiently explains basic concepts of alignment and details precise movements that get results. She targets specific problems that those with back pain usually have and gives voiceover notes for adjusting posture as she and fellow demonstrator Andrew Rivin do the basic forms of yoga.

* What I didn't like: This is more of a handbook for yoga beginners and those coping with pain than an actual workout routine. For anyone who's learned the basic forms, the pace can be stiflingly slow. After going through the 66-minute disc once, you will either use the chapter system to skip to the forms that helped you the most — or never pop it in the DVD player again. It's hard to blame Rumbaugh for truth in advertising. But keep in mind that the operative word is more "back pain" than "yoga," especially if you like a practice with a flow.

* The bottom line: This is a good component of a beginner's yoga library.

— Evelyn Shih

Jewish Television

Shalom TV reaches Jewish audience

Monday, May 19, 2008
Last updated: Tuesday May 20, 2008, EDT 6:51 AM

BY EVELYN SHIH

STAFF WRITER

Centuries ago, rabbis held full-time jobs unrelated to their congregations. If they owned wineries, for instance, they worked the vines for most of the week, and their congregations paid them for the time they spent teaching and performing rabbinical duties, said Rabbi Mark Golub. Since then, most rabbis have become professional spiritual leaders, spending little time on tasks that do not concern the congregation. But Golub, whose congregation is in Stamford, Conn., may be a bit of a throwback.

For one, he spends most of his week in Fort Lee. For another, he’s a television executive. “I teach in my congregation from Friday to Sunday, and I teach on television the rest of the week,” he said.

Golub’s newest lesson plan involves Shalom TV, which claims to be America’s first national network devoted exclusively to Jewish programming.

The channel, which launched in February, is carried in North Jersey in the video-on-demand format on the Comcast and Time Warner cable systems.

“It’s one thing to be a Jew in North Jersey or Manhattan, where Jews feel everything around them is Jewish,” said Golub. “But you go to Nashville, Tenn., or even parts of New Jersey that are outside the greater New York area — and all of a sudden … there’s not the same opportunity to experience Jewish culture.”

Golub uses the network to spread educational material, such as Hebrew lessons, and the Jewish perspective on world and American politics.

The network’s programming model is a mix of C-SPAN and PBS, Golub said. For example, there’s a module of content from the 92nd Street Y in New York City, with visiting dignitaries like television’s Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”) and author Elie Wiesel.

Golub also runs the Russian Television Network (RTN), which he founded in 1991 with a member of his congregation, Michael Pravin. Golub, who comes from a Russian-Jewish heritage, decided to tap a demographic that had no available media outlet at the time.

The infrastructure of RTN, which operates out of offices in Fort Lee, makes it possible for a small staff to produce Shalom TV, Golub said. Shalom TV is supported by donations and is in the process of applying for non-profit status. The network has no advertising.

“If you’re Pepsi Cola, you can reach the Jew without going to a Jewish network,” explained Golub. “But there are niche markets that want to reach the Jewish market. There are also people in the Jewish community who own major companies that would like to support a Jewish network. If this all comes to be, then Shalom TV will be here for a long, long time.”

Golub expects North Jersey to become a prime area for interest in the network. “What you have in Bergen County is an incredibly strong Jewish identity,” he said.

Golub, who hosts the news topics show “L’Chayim” and a Hebrew language program on the network, plans to continue teaching through television. He said his congregation is supportive.

“I believe that there is something wonderful in a rabbi not to be simply leading a congregation, but to face the problems that his own congregants face day in and day out,” he said. “Getting up, going to work, worried about business, worried about how to pay your mortgage, worried about how to pay your employees … you have problems that you don’t have if you are solely a congregational rabbi.”

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Salad!

Thai zucchini salad

Monday, May 19, 2008
Last updated: Monday May 19, 2008, EDT 7:44 AM

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Salad Makes the Meal," by Wiley Mullins (Rodale, 2008)

We vegetarians know our salads — at least, we think we do. With Wiley "Salad Man" Mullins' new collection, maybe it's time to think again. Mullins gets creative with such ingredients as mashed potatoes, mango and kale, demonstrating beyond a doubt that salads are much more than iceberg lettuce. Unique dressing-from-scratch recipes pump even more flavor into the colorful servings. Meat sections of the book aside, there are almost 40 pages of vegetarian entrée salads and bountiful selections in the appetizer and dessert categories.

— Evelyn Shih

* Thai zucchini salad
1 pound zucchini, sliced into long, thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into long, thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1/4 pound greens beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 red serrano chilies, more if desired, seeded and chopped
12 to 15 cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
2 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups bite-size pieces Boston or bibb lettuce

Cut the zucchini and carrot ribbons lengthwise into strips and place in a large bowl. Add the green beans and set aside.

Place the garlic and chilies in a food processor and process to a paste, or mash together on a plate with a fork. Add to the vegetables along with the cherry tomatoes. Use the butt end of a knife or a wooden spoon to bruise the vegetables. Add the peanuts, lime juice, soy sauce and brown sugar and toss to combine.

To serve, toss together the cabbage and lettuce and divide among 4 plates. Spoon the salad and juices on top and serve.

Servings: 4.

Per serving: : 153 calories, 5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 24 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams protein, 482 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber.

Bergen Academies Theater

Bergen Academies playwrights win honors
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Last updated: Sunday May 18, 2008, EDT 12:41 PM
BY EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

On Tuesday, the sophomore and junior performance arts students of the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack are taking a field trip to a student competition high on drama.

They're heading to Kean University's Little Theatre to see professionally produced plays by two of their own, juniors Julie A. Earls of Paramus and Bennett Kirschner of Montvale. Earls and Kirschner are winners in the 25th annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest, run by the Playwrights Theatre of Madison.

For members of the school's theater program, this pilgrimage is an annual rite of passage – and, for some, inspiration. Earls, 17, remembers taking this trip last year, when she saw the award-winning work of two other Academies students.

"I was just kind of like, 'It'd be so cool if I could do that, too,' " she said. So she began making lists of ideas she could fashion into a script. One of those ideas turned into "The Moodring Monologues," being performed Tuesday.

The Bergen County Academies theater program is a bit of a star within the competition. In two of the previous three years, at least two of the four plays chosen in the high school category have come from its students. The pattern continued this year — and a third student, Brianna Delfs of Hillsdale, received honorable mention.

The reason for the school's repeated curtain calls?

"Good teacher," Delfs said, looking across the table at her playwriting teacher, William Hathaway.

"Good students!" Hathaway countered.

Hathaway worked individually with the 15 performance students in the junior class to create 20-page submissions. "The process is different with each of them," he said.

Like many theater students, Earls and Delfs entered the program because of their interest and talents in acting. They'd never written a play before. But playwriting is a required fall course at the Bergen County Academies for performance students.

"I felt like I went from a one-dimensional view of theater to a six-dimensional view," said Delfs, of writing a play. "It's just a huge leap, because all of a sudden all these possibilities of how I wanted something to be were there for me."

Delfs' play, "Some People Never Go Crazy (What Truly Horrible Lives They Must Lead)," is a freewheeling series of monologues performed by four unnamed characters in an existentialist, provocative style. "I kind of threw in everything that was me," she said.

Kirschner's play, "Sorry, Allie," was an earlier playwriting effort from sophomore year that he worked on with Hathaway in English class. It deals with a young man who is losing a close friend to cancer.

The budding playwrights, like many high school creative writers, drew inspiration from personal sources. Earls dramatized teen issues such as identity, unrequited love and parental divorce in a series of interlocking monologues. A monologue set to song in Delfs' play was inspired by someone she refers to as "a kid from my past" who has "had a big emotional impact on my life."

Kirschner's inspiration came from a specific personal encounter with a classmate, Aly Boden, who had lost a childhood friend to cancer.

"I had just been told of that, and I apologized to her," said Kirschner, 16. "And I felt like such an idiot. What consolation, what help does that provide to a person? So right afterwards I was rather annoyed with myself, and I wrote a monologue."

All of the playwriting students did readings in class as a part of the revision process but were not allowed to direct or act in their own plays – simulating the professional playwright's relationship with the production crew and cast.

The three honored students may or may not go on to write plays for professional production. What's certain is that the process has helped them become more complete as actors and theater artists.

"In the business, you have to know how to do a little of everything," Earls said.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Natalie Cole brief

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

8 p.m. Wednesday, Englewood

Cole covers crooners

Natalie Cole sings her own hits alongside the tunes of Bruce Springsteen and Nat King Cole.

TELL ME MORE: Natalie Cole might always be remembered for her 1991 duet with a recording of her late father on "Unforgettable."

But the eight-time Grammy winner will be singing her own hits at bergenPAC, as well as more unexpected covers such as Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac."

In her 2006 studio album "Leavin'," Cole moved from the jazz standards she has done for about 15 years to cover R&B and pop tunes such as Fiona Apple's "Criminal," "Day Dreaming" by Aretha Franklin and even a surprisingly rich rendition of "Old Man" by Neil Young.

A sprightly 58, Cole has remained an active performer. Earlier this year, she sang for an Alberta Cancer Foundation benefit in Canada and performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was also in the news after the 2008 Grammy Awards for questioning Amy Winehouse's many wins.

"We have to stop rewarding bad behavior," Cole was quoted as saying. In her 2000 memoir "Angel on My Shoulder," Cole recounted her own struggle with drug addiction.

But Cole isn't one to dwell on the past — not exclusively, anyway. Her latest album, "Forgiveness," was released Sunday.

DETAILS: $37 to $127. BergenPAC, 30 N. Van Brunt St. Call 201-816-8160 or visit bergenpac.org.

— Evelyn Shih

100 Best Veg Recipes

A New Leaf: Okra, plantain and sweet potato curry

Monday, May 12, 2008
Last updated: Monday May 12, 2008, EDT 9:02 AM

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"100 Best Vegetarian Recipes," by Carol Gelles (Wiley, 2008)

Twelve years ago, Carol Gelles won both the Julia Child and James Beard awards for "1,000 Vegetarian Recipes." Now she's simmered that down to a select 100 recipes in a pocketbook-size package. Gelles provides several-course menu plans for entertaining and a primer for keeping a well-stocked vegetarian pantry. She marks the recipes with icons so that vegetarians of all stripes — vegan, lacto and lacto-ovo — know what they're getting before even reading the ingredients. Many non-vegan recipes come with vegan variations. The recipes themselves range from lasagnas and risottos to the "Jamaican curry" below and other world cuisine options. Beyond being a cookbook, this is a useful handbook: concise, convenient and delicious.

— Evelyn Shih

* Okra, plantain and sweet potato curry

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sliced onion ( 1/4-inch thick)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups water
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
2 cups sliced, peeled green plantains
2 teaspoons dried lemongrass
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups whole okra, tops trimmed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup peas (optional)

In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, paprika, cardamom and cinnamon.

Add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes, plantains, lemongrass and basil. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Add the okra, cilantro and salt. (If you want to use peas, add them now.) Return to a boil.

Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until okra is tender.

Servings: 5 to 6.

Per serving: 247 calories, 10 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 39 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams protein, 105 milligrams sodium, 6 grams fiber.

"Love Letters" at the Bergen County Players

Stars return to Bergen County Players for benefit performance
Monday, May 12, 2008Last updated: Monday May 12, 2008, EDT 7:59 AM
BY EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER
When she stepped into rehearsal for Disney's Broadway musical "Beauty and the Beast" in 1993, original cast member Beth Fowler already had a fan: the director, Robert Jess Roth. Both Fowler and Roth were former members of the Bergen County Players, and he told her that he'd always admired her work.

"Oh God," she recalled thinking to herself. "He's impressed."

Fowler has been a legend at the community theater organization since she made the leap into professional theater. The New Milford resident was a 29-year-old school teacher when she got a role in the musical "Gantry" in 1970. When she began work with Roth, she was already a Tony nominee for her role of Mrs. Lovett in 1989's "Sweeney Todd."

But Fowler, who was cast as Mrs. Potts in "Beauty and the Beast," was not looking for a fan.
"I said, 'Get over it Rob,' " Fowler recalled. " 'This is show business. Don't be afraid to tell me what to do.' "

"And he wasn't," she added with satisfaction. Roth, then a first-time Broadway musical director, kept his cool, even though the production budget was dizzyingly large at $10 million.

Roth will once again be directing Fowler and another local thespian legend, Philip Bosco, in the Bergen County Players' benefit performance of "Love Letters," by A.R. Gurney. The one-night-only performance, which also commemorates the Players' 75th anniversary season, takes place Sunday.

"I, for one, am very much looking forward to hearing Philip Bosco's voice reading these lines on stage," said Fowler, who has never worked with Bosco, a Haworth resident. "His is one of my favorite voices in the English language, and I will be very gratified to feel his voice in my body — because you do feel that on stage as an actor."

Their collaboration will be startlingly brief: The director and the two actors will get together to rehearse — at the earliest — the day before the performance. The play is structured as a series of letters between two people, crossing decades of their lives, and the actors are forbidden from memorizing a single line.

"The impact should be that [the actor is] reading this for the first time," said Bosco, who performed the two-person play when it was off-Broadway in 1989. "...It should have an unforced look, of a letter being read out loud. That was [Gurney's] only note to us."

The two actors sit across from each other on stage at a desk but consciously avert their eyes from each other for almost the entire length of the play, Bosco said. At the very end, when the woman has died and the man reads the last letter, she is allowed to look straight at him, but he is instructed not to reciprocate.

"It's a beautiful relationship that's funny and sad," said Roth. "They don't connect all the way through their lives — but you feel that maybe they should."

Roth says he is excited to be working with Fowler and Bosco in his old stomping ground. At age 12 and in the sixth grade, Roth became one of the Bergen County Players' youngest members in 1976. He still remembers the life-changing experience of playing Hughie in the play "Finishing Touches," by Jean Kerr.

"I had the first line of the play, as I recall," said Roth, who grew up in River Edge. "I remember you could hear the audience through the curtain, and you could see the houselights go down underneath it. There was this adrenaline rush, this excitement."

Roth continued with the Players, doing everything from the lights to assistant directing, for the next six years. He thinks of his experiences there as the most formative force in his childhood, other than his parents.

"The mechanics of creating a show are the same," he said, comparing the Players' productions with his work on Broadway. "It's just a lot more money involved, so there's more of an element of risk on Broadway... That's actually been comforting for me at times when it gets stressful: it's just the same thing, just a larger scale."

*
"Love Letters" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Little Firehouse Theatre, 298 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell. Tickets $75. 201-261-4200 or bcplayers.org.
E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

kanye basks in his own glow

Kanye West's space-age style coming to MSG

Friday, May 9, 2008
Last updated: Friday May 9, 2008, EDT 6:28 AM

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Manhattan
SPACE-AGE STYLE
The Grammy-winning Kanye West invades Madison Square Garden on his Glow in the Dark tour.

TELL ME MORE: Time warp: Last summer, when Kanye West announced the theme of his new tour, he hadn't yet released September's Grammy-winning album, "Graduation." This was before the record sales duel with rapper 50 Cent and before his mother died from complications after cosmetic surgery.

None of these events had occurred in West's tumultuous year, but he planted the "Glow in the Dark" seed early, reportedly to lay claim to that name.

This May, he delivers on the neon promise. In large concert venues across the nation, West has been performing with Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco on a futuristic spaceship of a set. The concept is complete with a huge LED screen and a talking spaceship computer named Jane.

Though Kanye fans have been supportive, the entertainer created new controversy last Friday when he attacked Entertainment Weekly magazine on his blog. The magazine's reviewer, Chris Willman, had given his concert a B+ rating.

"Never come [to] one of my shows ever again, you're not invited and if you see me ... BOW!! This is not pop, it's pop art!" wrote West.

Sunday, he took back some of the venom: "I'm sure there are some cool people who work over there and had nothing [to] do with that review. With all that said ... 'I'm still the greatest!!!' lol!!"

In the same post, West admitted to using "profanity" when he had technical difficulties with his set at a Houston concert.

DETAILS: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan. $49.50 to $129.50; sold out on Ticketmaster.

— Evelyn Shih

Gallery Walk in Englewood

Fine art and dining at gallery walk

Thursday, May 8, 2008
Last updated: Thursday May 8, 2008, EDT 10:25 PM

BY EVELYN SHIH

STAFF WRITER

Watch out, Soho, Englewood has you in its sights. And the North Jersey town has something that New York will never have: relatively cheap parking.

Left: Jewelry at Ayesha Studio Jewelery

The number of art galleries in Englewood has grown in recent years, and the owners have joined forces to create an all-day gallery walk event on Saturday. Not only have seven galleries coordinated their exhibits to open the same day, but they have also invited restaurants to participate with discounts and deals. Artists will be present at the galleries’ daylong receptions, and guests will be treated to light refreshments. The Jewel Spiegel Gallery will even have a jazz trio performing from 6 to 7 p.m.

“The idea is to let people get the idea that Englewood is a place to see and buy art — not just shoes,” said Anat Klebanov, owner of Midday Gallery and organizer of the event. “With the addition of the new galleries, it’s really coming up nicely.”

Klebanov worked on a similar project two years ago, but only four galleries participated. Of the original four, only Midday is taking part this time around; six new galleries have gotten onboard. Participating this year are Arielle’s Gallery, Ayesha Studio Jewelry, Borghi Fine Art, Gallery 270 at Bergen County Camera, Jewel Spiegel Gallery, Mark Gallery and Klebanov’s own Midday.

“I think a lot of people, if they have the choice not to go to New York, will be happy to stay in New Jersey and get the same service and merchandise,” Klebanov added.

Englewood has become a destination in recent years, she said, and a springboard for galleries.

“At least one gallery that opened here within the last two years has already opened a second location in the city,” Klebanov said.

Gallery 270 will offeran exhibit of Rolling Stone magazine covers by photography legend Baron Wolman. Wolman’s new book featuringthose covers will be on sale, as well as large-sized prints. Those who purchase a print or the limited edition book($450, comes with a signed and numbered print) on Saturday will also get another print, priced at $350.

Above: Jerry Garcia, portrait by Baron Wolman.

“We’re giving away the store that day,” said Tom Gramegna, who has owned the gallery for 10 years.

Gramegna is a strong believer in collectible fine art photography. Ansel Adams prints that he purchased with paper route money at age 13 sold a few years ago at auction for tens of thousands of dollars. An Adams print on the coverof his Herb Alpert record “stopped me in my tracks” and inspired him to love photography, Gramegna said.

His parents thought he was crazy to spend $25 per print and refused to allow him to take $250 out of his college fund for that purpose.

“I still bring it up with my mother,” said Gramegna with a chuckle.

In business for 43 years, Jewel Spiegel has been selling art and frames in Englewood for longer than Gramegna has been collecting. Her offering this time will be traditional representational and impressionist-style paintings by Louise Hafesh of Cliffside Park and Adele Grodstein of Haworth.

“We also tried this about 10 to 15 years ago,” said Spiegel of the gallery alliance. “It seems every 10 years we get a resurgence.”

Although it’s too soon to tell how long the current boom in art galleries will last in Englewood, Spiegel is not worried.

“Build it, and they will come,” she said.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

On the Border

Questioning their existence
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Last updated: Tuesday May 6, 2008, EDT 7:33 AM
BY EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

When Steve Ives was a student at Fair Lawn High School, a teacher gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." It wasn't on the English class reading list.

Picture: A still from Ives' play, "Bordertown."

"You would really like this," Ives remembers the teacher saying.

Over the next 10 years, it would become his Bible. Ives traveled all over the country, living in his Saturn and taking odd bartending jobs. When he reached the Southwest, he was captivated. There was just something about it that he never experienced growing up in North Jersey.

"It had a certain peculiar romance to it," said Ives, who now lives in New York. "There was almost a mysticism to it, when you're the middle of nowhere, and it's nowhere as far as the eye can see."

The Southwest is the setting for his play, "Bordertown," now playing off-off-Broadway. In a place called Calexico, on the border between California and Mexico, Ives has created the Last Exit Café, a diner that becomes an existential meeting point for a motley crew of characters. All of them, including a young man who was abandoned as a baby, an escaped criminal and a policewoman, have heartbreak in their lives and must decide their fate.

There's even a character who may or may not be God.

"Throughout the play, you have these people whose lives — whether through God or through their own doing — have been sort of brutal," said Ives. "And they have to decide whether to believe or not believe."

Ives has settled — for now, at least — in New York City. But he, like his characters, still constantly questions his existence. His journey is far from over. "I still feel far from my goal," he said.

Ives has written two yet-unsold screenplays with best-selling novelist Jodi Picoult, as well as a collection of poetry and stories for DC Comics. His definition of being successful involves being a novelist.

But "Bordertown" is his first play, and as moments go, this might be the proverbial "it."

"This is the moment where if someday I am or am not a successful writer, I'll still look back on this and think, wasn't it exciting? Wasn't it fun?" he said. "Not knowing what the future is going to be, not knowing whether you were or weren't going to be successful, but having all these people reading your words, playing your characters; and all these people in the audience reacting to them. Maybe that's what it all means."

Many muses

When he's writing, Ives says, he wears his influences on his sleeve. "But because they're really disparate, I think I get away with it," he added. Not many people count among their influences Kerouac, Geoffrey Chaucer — the Bordertown characters each get a monologue in which they tell their stories, as in "The Canterbury Tales" — and Picoult.

"What [Picoult] does is she makes great literature and great fiction simultaneously," said Ives. "I try to do that in 'Bordertown,' to make it literature even though it's theater.

"I try to make the person who comes in to see the play think," he added. "I don't tell them what to think, but I try to get them to do it. That's definitely an influence from Jodi."

Ives isn't shy about citing these influences, and he also isn't too shy to say that he likes powerful women. He's worked on the Wonder Woman comic, and he inserted Hillary Clinton as a cultural reference in "Bordertown" because he admired "something that was cutting-edge sexy about her" in 2003 when he wrote the play.

Clinton wasn't in the news at the time, but "it's become almost ridiculously politically relevant," said Ives. "She's got this power surrounding her."

But relevant or not, successful or not, Ives believes he can change his own fate and that anyone can do the same.

"If people reading can take away anything from my life, it's that it's all possible," he said.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Everywhere a Curry!

A new leaf: Black chickpea stew
Monday, May 5, 2008
Last updated: Monday May 5, 2008, EDT 8:40 AM
Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"660 Curries," by Raghavan Iyer (Workman Publishing, 2008)

Curry is a catchall for spicy deliciousness, says Raghavan Iyer, and vegetarians who love Indian food heartily agree. The 362 pages of this hefty 800-page collection are dedicated to paneer, legume and vegetable recipes — and that's before you count the vegetarian selections among the contemporary and biryani curries. Iyer scoured the subcontinent for a wide range of curries and includes interesting trivia. The chickpea, featured in a pressure-cooker recipe below, is especially valued in Kajasthani and Parsi curries.

— Evelyn Shih

Black chickpea stew

1 cup dried black chickpeas, rinsed and soaked overnight
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium-size red onion, finely chopped
2 fresh green chilies, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise. Seeds preserved.
1 cup shredded fresh coconut
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 to 4 dried red chilies, stems removed
1 large tomato, cored and finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
12 to 15 fresh curry leaves
Drain the chickpeas and transfer them to a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Skim off and discard any foam that forms. Seal the cooker shut and allow the pressure to build. When the cooker reaches full pressure, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and allow the pressure to subside naturally before opening.

While the chickpeas cook, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and fresh chilies. Stir-fry slowly until the onion is brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour 1 1/2 cups water into a blender jar with coconut, coriander seeds, and dried chilies. Purée to make a slightly gritty, thick paste. Add this paste to the onion. Wash out the blender with 1 1/2 cups water, then add the water to the pan. Add the tomato, salt and curry leaves.

Drain the cooked chickpeas, and stir them into the mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Keep warm until served.

Servings: 6.

Per serving: 232 calories, 11 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat, no cholesterol, 27 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams protein, 496 milligrams sodium, 8 grams fiber.

Bucky Pizzarelli

Jazzman Bucky Pizzarelli to perform with Bergen Youth Orchestra

Saturday, May 3, 20084 p.m. Sunday, Manhattan

82 Years young
Bucky Pizzarelli heads up the Bergen Youth Orchestra.

TELL ME MORE: Since the '50s, John "Bucky" Pizzarelli has collaborated with the likes of Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He's also worked with his son, John Pizzarelli Jr., who is known for his jazz vocals and guitar music.

But Sunday, the legendary guitarist and Saddle River resident will pit his classic jazz tones against the 85 high school members of the Bergen Youth Orchestra (BYO). The concert at Symphony Space is a benefit for the non-profit organization, which develops young musicians.

Pizzarelli will play the classical "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo and various jazz standards with the BYO and his trio, which includes Wayne Dunton (drums) and Jerry Bruno (bass).

Pizzarelli's daughter-in-law, Broadway star Jessica Molaskey ("Sunday in the Park with George"), performed in a BYO benefit three years ago and was instrumental in getting him to participate this year.

DETAILS: $25 to $55. Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway (at 95th Street), Manhattan. Call 212-864-5400 or visit symphonyspace.org for more information.

— Evelyn Shih

Cinco!

Meaningful Cinco de Mayo in N.J.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Last updated: Thursday May 1, 2008, EDT 2:41 PM

BY EVELYN SHIH

Staff Writer

Web special: More Cinco de Mayo recipes

Staff art, left, by Peter Monsees

We all know Cinco de Mayo. We know that “cinco” means five in Spanish, and “Mayo” is May. And we know that there will be more than a fair number of margaritas and nachos ordered in the coming days at bars and restaurants in the area.

Or do we only think we know Cinco de Mayo? Will anyone know what we are toasting as we hoist tequila-filled, salt-rimmed glasses? Like St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo has become an occasion to consume alcohol and celebrate a particular flavor in America’s melting pot. Just substitute tequila for Guinness.

Although Mexican-Americans make up only 6 percent of the Latino population in Bergen County and 15 percent in Passaic County, restaurants and bars throughout North Jersey — even some that don’t serve Mexican cuisine — will be dishing up Cinco de Mayo specials and decorating with festive colors.

Tamara Morales’ 22-year-old son, Martin, probably will be partying with his friends, but he tells her that he also uses the day to spread the word about the day’s original meaning.

“He’ll have a couple of drinks with his Italian and American friends, but he’ll remind them, ‘Hey guys, this isn’t a holiday for drinking, you know,’ÿ” said Morales, spokeswoman for Casa Puebla in Passaic. Her organization works to preserve and promote Mexican culture in North Jersey.

“This is a day that helps you remember who you are and what it means to be Mexican,” said Morales.

For Mexican-Americans, Cinco de Mayo has come to signify the triumph of David over Goliath: the local campesinos, or farmers, rising up in arms to beat back the imperialist European power.

Although May 5, 1862, was not the day Mexico declared independence from Spain, it was the day of the Battle of Puebla, when 5,000 Mexican troops beat back the French army of Napoleon III. (With the United States occupied by the Civil War, France was looking to expand its colonial holdings.)

Morales, like many of the Mexican-Americans in the North Jersey and New York area, traces her family to the city and state of Puebla, near central Mexico. “Poblanos,” as they call themselves, are especially proud of Cinco de Mayo because it is a part of their local history.

“When you’re from Puebla, you feel more proud to be celebrating Cinco de Mayo,” said Juan Rojas Campos of Palisades Park. Campos owns Mama Mexico restaurant in Englewood Cliffs. “Yes, I’m Mexican, but I’m from Puebla.”

“If you’re Poblano, you’ll make sure to tell your children the story,” Morales said.

While most of mainstream America is out at bars and restaurants, traditional Poblano families will be having private parties with neighbors and paesanos, or countrymen, she added.

The dish of the day is “mole poblano,” which is turkey smothered in a rich sauce of chocolate, peanuts and raisins. It originated, according to one legend, at a convent where the nuns who needed to entertain an archbishop had nothing to serve. They put together the best ingredients they had, and the synergy of the materials created an instant success.

Campos has implemented another Poblano tradition at Mama Mexico: The manager makes rounds, tipping guests’ heads back and pouring in a mouthful of sweet tequila. The mild pineapple-flavored drink is brewed on the premises and is a way of creating a festive atmosphere, said Campos.

As for Morales, don’t look for her at a bar or restaurant.

“I’ll be home cooking up a storm,” she said.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

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CINCO DE MAYO MYTH-BUSTERS
MYTH: Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day.
REALITY: Mexico declared independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates a battle won in 1862 against Emperor Napoleon III’s French army, which was attempting a takeover of the city of Puebla. On May 5, about 5,000 Mexican soldiers under Texas-born Gen. Ignacio Zaragoza held off nearly twice as many French soldiers in the “Batalla de Puebla” (Battle of Puebla).
MYTH: Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s biggest holiday.
REALITY: In Mexico, the day is celebrated locally in Puebla and Mexico City (the capital), but is not a big event in other parts of the country. When compared with American holidays, Cinco de Mayo is more like Flag Day, whereas Mexican Independence Day is more like the Fourth of July, said Tamara Morales, spokeswoman for Casa Puebla, a Passaic-based group that promotes Mexican heritage in North Jersey.

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CINCO ON THE TOWN
Want to know where to go for your Cinco celebration? Here are a few local venues that will be spicing it up for the day.

• Mama Mexico,464 Sylvan Ave., Englewood Cliffs, 201-871-0555. The house mariachi band plays live with the addition of traditional Mexican dancers and spotlights in the parking lot. Specials: guacamole Cinco de Mayo and flaming margaritas. Starting 7 p.m. Monday.
  
• Blue Moon Mexican Café,Old Tappan: 316 Old Tappan Road, 201-263-0244; Englewood: 21 E. Palisade Ave., 201-541-0600; Wyckoff: 327 Franklin Ave., 201-891-1039; Woodcliff Lake: 42 Kinderkamack Road, 201-782-9500. Happy hour, live music and open mike at Englewood, 5 p.m., Friday; Cinco family brunch with clown entertainment at Wyckoff and Englewood, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday; mariachis, giveaways and specials, all locations, Monday.
  
• Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, 973-744-2600. World Culture Day: Mexico will be included through a performance by the Ballet Folklorico of Casa Puebla, traditional mariachi music and a presentation of food and history by Englewood author Nora Melendez. 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday.
  
• Fiesta Hut,227 Park Ave., East Rutherford, 973-316-4965. The restaurant will be serving perennial favorites, including soft-shell tacos and a mole poblano sauce. From 5 p.m. Monday. (Restaurant is closed Mondays except May 5.)