(The Choucroute Garni, courtesy Bark)

Hydraulic fracturing, a.k.a. fracking, is a hot topic right now in NYC, because plans to drill for natural gas upstate could pollute our city's relatively pure drinking water supply with awful chemicals. Joining the movement to stop fracking is Bark Hot Dogs, which is presenting a special dinner and film screening a week from tonight, Wednesday November 9th.

Bark's anti-fracking dinner will coincide with a screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Gasland, in which filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for gas drilling for $100,000. Instead, he "embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. A recently drilled nearby Pennsylvania town reports that residents are able to light their drinking water on fire." There's amazing footage of that in Gasland, which won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at Sundance.

Bark's dinner will feature food sourced from regions of New York that may be effected by the process, plus local Sixpoint ales on tap. The appetizing entree, seen here, is Choucroute Garni: Hawthorne Valley Sauerkraut braised with Riesling wine, apple, onion and smoked bacon. It comes with Ham Hocks, Bratwurst, Young Potatoes, and grainy mustard, and there is a vegetarian option which substitutes potato-apple sage sausage. Tickets for the two seatings that night cost $30, with 25% of the proceeds going to Gasland, which is suing to stop fracking in watersheds, and raising awareness by showing the film in effected communities.