Of late, Stamford’s “Alive at 5″ summer concert series has become a destination for one hit wonders from the 90’s looking for a paycheck so they can eat. Last year attracted the likes of Better Than Ezra, Tonic, and Sugar Ray. This years line up includes every other 90’s band that couldn’t make it last year.

Alive @ 5 Calendar

June 24: Gin Blossoms/Soul Asylum
July 1: Seven Mary Three/Marcy Playground
July 8: Rusted Root
July 15: George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic
July 22: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
July 29: Uncle Kracker
August 5: Beach Boys

I am most excited to see George Clinton, if just for the spectacle. On the other hand, the July 1st show will include Seven Mary Three with opening act Marcy Playground. Collectively, the two acts will play a total of two songs the audience can hum along to.

Arguably, the biggest draw this year will be the Beach Boys, and I am curious whether this incarnation of the band includes Brian Wilson. If he isn’t performing with them, then I hope the audience will at least be treated to Uncle Jesse on the drums.

Joking aside, Alive at 5 is always a fun time, and I think it is great Stamford Downtown strives to get local talent to also perform at the shows. If you haven’t gone before, I highly recommend making the effort to head to Stamford this summer to check one of these shows out.

In the meantime, I need to find where I put my Soul Asylum t-shirt.

Of late the rental market in Greenwich has been on fire, and if I can offer any advice to prospective renters, be prepared to act fast if you find something you like! While I recommend starting your search early, you shouldn’t hesitate if you find something you like at the right price.

All Greenwich rentals that have closed in the past two months were on the market for an average of 26 days, meaning if you start your rental search a month before you want to move in, you do not want to wait until the last minute to make your offer.

Of these closed rentals, few closed with monthly rent fees different than what they were listed at. On average the variance between list price and actual was 3%.

All my years in Greenwich, I have never been to the local Audubon. I have nothing against birds, and am always keen on the idea of a nice hike, but for whatever reason I had never been there. Until yesterday.

The Audubon hosted a screening of the movie “Fresh.” Similar to the highly publicized “Food, Inc.,” it examines the horrors of industrial farming and offers alternative sustainable farming models that are currently implemented in a much smaller scale around the country. The movie encourages a change in the way we consume food, and “voting” with our dollars by purchasing local and organic foods as they are much safer and healthier to consume.

Following the movie, a panel of local experts answered questions, and it was eye opening to hear from them about all of the local movements going on to encourage a healthier offering of food in our area. The panel was moderated by Analiese Paik, who runs a tremendous website called Fairfield Green Food Guide.Her website does a fantastic job following the local green food movement and keeps readers up to date and where and how they can purchase local and organic food.

The turn out was great, and the Audubon has really taken notice that the public wants an offering of similar events. In the coming months, the Greenwich Audubon will be offering similar events and I encourage you to try and make it out.

Upcoming events include

March 28- 3:30-5PM- A screening of “A Chemical Reaction,” which is a documentary highlighting Canada’s successful fight banning common lawn chemicals.

April 23 – 7-9PM- A screening of “‘Tapped’:A Movie About Bottled Water,” which is a movie about, well, bottled water. The movie examines the bottled water industry and from the sound of it, their findings aren’t pretty.

The event this past weekend also featured an organic wine and cheese reception, which was delicious. I’m not sure if this is regular thing at the Audubon, but it alone was worth the price of admission.

I highly recommend keeping an eye on what the Audubon has to offer. Personally, I now plan to regularly attend their events.

Norwalk has the right idea.

Greenwich Time reported today on a networking event hosted by the Norwalk Arts Commission next Thursday. The article also briefly mentioned plans for the commission’s second Annual “pARTy in the Park,” which is an art and music festival planned for the summer.

I’ve always thought Greenwich should hold its own arts festival. Block traffic from the bottom half of Greenwich Avenue, and create a block party feel with live entertainment, art, and food. I’m sure the businesses wouldn’t mind the extra foot traffic either…

What do you think? Should Greenwich attempt to embrace the local art community?

Trolling through the interwebs last night, I was determined to find an FAR calculator for Greenwich, CT. I quickly became discouraged, and decided to put this simple looking spreadsheet (link below) together to help me quickly calculate the FAR on residential properties. Hopefully it can help some readers too.

For those not in the know, here is a quick run down of what FAR (Floor To Area Ratio) stands for.

Simply put, FAR defines is the allowed square footage of a home determined by the size of land it resides on, with FAR being determined by a property’s zone. For example, if you are interested purchasing land in an RA-4 zone, the FAR you must abide to when building your home is .0625. That means if the land is 4.2 acres, you can build a home up to 11,907 square feet.

For a complete run down of the different residential zones in Greenwich with their respective FAR, click here.

Determining the square footage of your home and what is included in the FAR calculations can be much more confusing, so I will defer that to a later post. But for now, this calculator should quickly help you determine the FAR on a given property and I hope you will find it useful.

Greenwich FAR Calculator

Cheap eats in Greenwich? Yep, its true- you can score some delicious grub in Greenwich and still make your mortgage payments. This list will be most helpful to those new in Greenwich as some recommendations are famous already, but I think there should be some new discoveries in here for current townies.

Note that I have paid no mind to the nutritional value of these recommendations. In fact, some are down right bad for you.

Enjoy and let me know which other places I should add to this.

Brie et Herb crepe at Meli Melo – Better known for their incredible French onion soup, Meli Melo serves up a full line of delicious crepes worth trying. In particular, the affordable Brie et Herb crepe has always been a personal favorite of mine.

Good luck finding a table as this place is almost always packed, but the food is definitely worth the wait. In fact, if you take the time to wait for a table, you might as well splurge for the french onion soup too.

Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup at Penang Grill – The healthiest and cheapest option on this list, I have yet to find a tastier hot and sour soup. With large helpings of portabella mushroom and tofu, this is one hearty soup that definitely packs a kick. For under two dollars, you really can’t go wrong.

The “Special” at Garden Catering – Growing up in Greenwich, Garden Catering’s High School Special was a staple of my diet. You’d be hard pressed to find a better bag of fried chicken nuggets and French fries in the area.

For $7 dollars, you get ½ lb of chicken with a side of cones- far superior to their french fries and best described as fried mashed potato balls. Make sure you ask for their seasoning and honey mustard. I’m older now and can no longer indulge in this bag of fried goodness every day, but it is a great treat once in awhile.

Any Burger at Burger Shakes and Fries – A critic darling, Burger Shakes And Fries has quickly gained notoriety for serving up one of the best burgers in the area. Take a minute to peruse the Chowhound message boards and you’ll quickly see how many people love this place.

Off Exit 2 in Byram, BSF is an absolute must if you are a burger fan. A single patty will run you under $4, but beware of the toppings as they can add up fast. My personal favorite is a single patty with Gorgonzola cheese, grilled onions and special sauce.

The Garrino at Rinaldis – Grilled Cheese and spicy chili were made for each other, and after trying a Garrino at Rinaldis, you’ll agree. At my last job, we would order these by the dozen and hold Garrino challenges, eating as many of these sandwiches as possible in one sitting. Stomach pain aside, it is one of the better memories of my last job.

It is my understanding that the Garrino is available at all Rinaldi’s in the area, but my favorite is at the 470 West Putnam Ave location.