Actor Jason Biggs to host City Harvest Gala: Good Day Today

Perhaps you could help me with my studies

Uh, yeah, absolutely. That would be great sometime. Perhaps I could come by your house afterwards

I could change clothes at your place. Uh, yeah. That's a young actor, Jason Biggs, in his starring role in American Pie

It celebrated last year its 25th anniversary. anniversary. Of course, the film went on to become an international hit, spawning three sequels

Since then, Jason has had numerous roles on stage and screen, and tomorrow he's going to take on a

big role as host at City Harvest's biggest fundraiser of the year. Jason Biggs, still fresh

face, but still fresh face, young, young, young girl with facial hair. I thank you. Hi, guys. Good

morning. Thanks for coming in. I wish I felt like that version of Jason Biggs, though. Man, I'm, Yeah

But, you know, 26 years ago. That's crazy, isn't it? Crazy. The people still identify you

I'm sure that you get that a lot when you go out in public. Oh, for sure

Yeah, absolutely. More than anything else. And I love it. I mean, yeah, for sure, more than anything else. Yeah

And people are, you know, a lot of people ask me, like, does it bother you to still be asked about that movie

I'm like, I'm so incredibly lucky that I did something that has stood the test of time in this way

I mean, I've got multiple generations of people who, you know, have seen that movie, who love the movie, who want to talk to me about it

Did the kids see it yet? Your kids? The kids have not seen it yet. Why not? My oldest is 11. That's probably why

That's one reason, yes. And my youngest is seven. But my oldest was talking about it recently

And he's like, because, you know, people have come up to me and said, oh, American Pie

So he's like, Dad, tell me, what is American Pie about? He's like, does it involve a pie

And I'm like, yeah. In a way. It does involve a pie

Yes, but you're not old enough to understand that. Yeah. Daddy will explain to you later

Yeah. You're here because of the work you're doing this year with City Harvest. Well, you've been with them actually for quite a while

You're hosting their gala tomorrow. Yeah, it's very exciting. Yeah, I'm hosting it tomorrow night. It's their biggest fundraiser of the year

And, yeah, it's very exciting. I mean, City Harvest, if you guys, I think you guys know about City Harvest

But for those at home who don't, it's an incredible organization. It's a food rescue organization, and they rescue like 80 million pounds of food a year

and they redirect it to families in need, to New Yorkers in need. It's pretty incredible

And so, yeah, tomorrow, Earth Day, we'll be there. It's also a big environmental impact, saving all that food and preventing the food waste

So you can go to real quick cityharvest You can check out information about the gala and you can donate Well any and all contributions are happily accepted But I was there last week donating out in Astoria Queens

and it's amazing to meet these New Yorkers who are so incredibly grateful for this organization

And it's, you know, unfortunately right now, soup kitchens and food banks

I mean, the numbers have gone up considerably right now. the people who have food insecurities in New York

It's really sad. So, Jason, you and your wife, Jenny, who we love, Jenny Mullen, are New Yorkers, live here, very active in our city

It's sad how much we need City Harvest. And the need keeps getting bigger and bigger every year

It doesn't get better. No. No, of course it's sad, but thank God for City Harvest

I mean, it's a wonderful, and City Harvest continues to grow. And that's why, again, you know, it's we need all the help we can get

It's a full nonprofit, relies on the donations of other New Yorkers to keep this organization afloat

But it's been 40 years now that this organization has been going. It's the first food rescue group in New York

It remains the largest. And, yeah, I've seen the work firsthand. It's really, really incredible

I mean, I was literally putting food in people's, you know, shopping bags

and they go home and they're able to make these meals for their families

And it's, you know, yeah, it's sad. Unfortunately, now more than ever it's needed, but thank God we have this group

Well, I saw last year's gala allowed them to feed 10 million meals to New Yorkers

So that's what you can do. And that's just one night. And it is the biggest night. As you said, cityharvest.org

Even if you're not going to the gala, you can contribute there. Yes, please. It would be wonderful

It's a really, really incredible organization, one of my favorite groups in New York to work with

And so, yeah, I'm excited to host tomorrow night. Hopefully we'll have some fun and raise some money

And, yeah, hope to see you guys there. We appreciate you stopping here today

That's tomorrow night. Your anniversary is the next day? My anniversary is tomorrow

Oh, it's tomorrow? It's on the gala night. So what are we going to do? I'm going to host this gala

There we go. Just for her. Just for her. Jason, you've got to have something else planned

I do, I do, I do. I will, I will. We will, yes. Something romantic? Of course, obviously

Come on, Rosanna, you know me. Thanks so much, Jason. Joining us right now to help us find the best food and wine pairing Citi Field has to offer are the regional manager of Copper Cane Wines and Spirits, Alexandra Zimmerman

Nice to see you. Nice to see you. Thank you. And senior executive chef of the Mets, Jason Eksterowitz

Nice to have you here. Chef, what are you doing this year at the stadium

Yeah so we really kicked it up this year We brought some of our fan favorites here for you to try today Here on the right we have our available in the Palafreda Chop House is our play on steak frites

So we take a potato, we press it in a waffle iron and then top it with a little bit of skirt steak

We got a couple of different sauces on there, a little cheese fondue, some crispy onions

And it's really a cool bite to have before the game. Meat and potatoes kind of pickle

We are. Exactly. Pairs perfect with the wine. And then next we have our arepa

So it's a pulled chicken arepa in partnership with Arepalicious. So there's some mozzarella cheese that's folded into the arepa

It's got a nice little cheesy bite for you, topped off with some pulled chicken and a little bit of cotilla cheese

Over here, we actually have a fan favorite that we brought back from a previous year

So everyone loves grilled cheese and tomato soup. We do it a little bit different. So we make a grilled cheese pinwheel

We serve it with a tomato soup, and it's kind of heated up right there

Is that it? Yeah, right here. Yeah, this one right here. Yep

That's grilled cheese? Yeah. So what we see is when you make grilled cheese, everybody kind of fights over that crispy cheese edge and everyone loves that crunch

So we said, how do we bring that all over? So what we do is we cut it and the cheese melts out and kind of, you know, forms that frico

I understand there's one less than there was about 20 minutes ago, one less grilled cheese

Yeah. Yeah, so it was funny. Cardinal came back and he said, these look amazing, and grabbed one to go

There's no pressure there to have the Cardinal. No, hey, listen, everyone can enjoy it

And then finally we have our viral egg rolls, right? So in partnership with Walk & Roll last year

you kind of saw the rainbow cookie egg roll that broke the Internet

So now we came back with the cinnamon roll egg roll. So everything you love with a cinnamon bun wrapped up and deep fried and served hot

All right, so Alex, you're with Copper Cane Wine and Spirits. You've got the perfect pairing for each one of these food items

We're going to go, well, my left to right. We're starting, these are all wines by Joe Wagner

We have actually been, it's our third year sponsoring and being partners with the Mets

and it's been a fantastic experience, really amazing to be a part of

So first we have the Elamon Rosé. It's an Oregon rosé, if you want to try it

It has wonderful. Okay, and now to point out, all of these are available at the stadium

Yes, correct. So they're available at all bars. and in Clover Club, anywhere where you can buy liquor and beer

All these four wines are by the glass. And then also... So when you go up to buy specific food

does it say this is the wine we recommend with it, or you're on your own? You're kind of on your own

It's really, I always say, it's what you're in the mood for. You know I can do pairings What do you like to drink and what makes you happy That kind of my Everyone always asks which is your favorite wine I like it depends on my mood which can fluctuate People love to know what to do with it

Of course, of course. Here's a little direction for us. So with the dessert, I'll have the rosé

It's not sweet. It's going to be on the drier side, but it has great strawberry notes and great structure

And then with the grilled cheese, we have our Sauvignon Blanc, which is really nice, crisp

great acidity that can cut through that cheese. And I agree with you that crispy, the crispy stuff is so good

Oh, I love that. Yeah, so this is going to be really nice, bright. And just, so now these three, these rosé and sauvignon blanc and the pinot noir are available also at the grab-and-go

There's three grab-and-go locations within the ballpark. So you can get those in a carafe to take to your seat

You can get it in a carafe. They fill it with ice. You can get the two glasses and you can bring it back to your seat

That's amazing. Easy, so you don't have to keep getting up. Exactly. It's easy

You just sit down and watch the mess, which is fantastic. And then with our chicken, we have our Bowen Chardonnay

And this is from California. Both these are from California. And it's from three different areas, from Monterey, from Sonoma, and Santa Barbara

So it's going to be a nice, creamy, wonderful Chardonnay that pairs great with that chicken

And now on to the steak, your kind of version of the steak frites

We have the Elowan Pinot Noir. So that's going to have some, while people think Pinot Noirs are lighter

Joe Wagner, who is my winemaker, makes really great, bolder Pinot Noirs that can stand up with that

So you talked about you've paired with the stadium for two years. You've been there how long

Ten years. Ten years. And the last three, you've been named the best stadium for food

Why do you think it's so special that compares city feel to everybody else

What makes it stand out more so? I think what makes it stand out is just, you know, our partnership with the Mets and the drive to, you know, give fans that ultimate experience

So, you know, coming in, it's awesome to meet with fans and hear about their journeys through the stadium on where they want to go and what they want to eat with dinner

You know, a couple years ago, we were talking to people and they're like, we just came here for a date night and we just want to eat

So, you know, they were coming to the stadium, and now the team's killing it

We're killing it. We've got a food dynasty going, three championships. So, you know, can't complain

It sounds good. You take input from the fans then, apparently. We do, yes. It's super important

They're the whole reason why we do this. It's working for you. Yes. Thank you so much for sharing

You can get this at Citi Field any time you go to a Mets game