Bodega Down Bronx showing in Brooklyn tonight

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on April 7, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Bo-de-ga. For New Yorkers, these convenience stores strewn across the city are the backbone of the neighborhood. At any hour of the day or night, pop are the corner for necessities from toilet paper to milk, laundry detergent, beer, deli sandwiches, and sometimes more illicit items.

It’s this kitchen sink approach that makes bodegas a mainstay of New York’s 24/7 culture, but have you ever asked where the food in your bodega comes from? That’s the subject of the documentary Bodega Down Bronx, produced by the Center for Urban Pedagogy, which makes educational projects about places and how they change. Created by a group of students from the Bronx, the film will examine the supply and distribution chains of bodegas in the South Bronx and how they impact the eating habits of the community.

The student filmmakers travel from the largest cash-and-carry wholesaler in the United States, Jetro, to the largest fruit and vegetable market in the world, Hunt’s Point Terminal Market, to the bodegas and their patrons themselves. The corner markets owe their success in part to the fact that one-third of New York’s supermarkets have closed over the last five years, making grocery shopping difficult to travel to by foot or public transportation. With food prices rising across the country, bodega owners are caught between keeping prices low and providing quality goods. The film also speaks with U.S. congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who sponsored H.R. 5952, the Bodegas as Catalysts for Healthy Living Act (which would have provided grants to bodega owners to install refrigerated cases to stock more perishable produce).

Stop by V Ultra Lounge in Bushwick tonight at 7:00 p.m. for the screening of Bodega Down Bronx. There will be organic snacks and drink specials. In the meantime, you can view the trailer here. 

What: Bodega Down Bronx produced by the Center for Urban Pedagogy and presented by theBushwick Food Coop.

Where: V Ultra Lounge (44 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn)

When: April 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

$5 suggested donation

[Photo by cck]

Moby reads “Gristle” tonight at the powerHouse Arena

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on April 6, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Moby is probably better credited as the commercial might behind electronic club hits like “Porcelain” and “Bodyrock” than as a pioneering force behind where our meat comes from. That honor probably goes to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (or Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle for all the muckrakers out there).

However, tonight Moby adds an amicable addition to the genre with Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat). The book release party will take place from 7-9 p.m. atpowerHouse Arena, a lofty space in DUMBO that doubles as an independent bookstore and gallery. Moby and his co-editor, Minyun Park, will be discussing the book and signing copies amidst (locally sourced?) refreshments.

Gristle is not—thankfully—Moby’s one man diatribe on healthy eating, though he has been a vegan for 15 years and started the loose leaf tea café and subsequent iced tea line, Teany. Instead, he cedes the stage to “15 of the country’s leading food-minded folks who lay out a hard-hitting and eye-opening guide to the meat you eat.” This gang of 15 is comprised of “the country’s leading foodies, doctors, policy makers, business leaders, and activists” who tackled the issues surrounding industrial farming from a kaleidoscope of viewpoints. Moby’s co-editor Minyun Park also has eco-friendly chops to stand on as Executive Director of Global Animal Partnership, a “nonprofit organization dedicated to continuous improvement in farming for higher animal welfare.”

While Gristle bills itself as being about social justice and ethics for animals in the agricultural industry, Moby obviously takes strides to keep this book accessible to omnivores and vegetarians alike. Test this theory by grabbing a Big Mac at the nearest McDonald’s and coming on by tonight.

What: Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat) book signing with Moby and Minyun Park

Where: powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street (corner of Water & Main St.), DUMBO, Brooklyn

When: Tuesday, April 6 from 7-9 p.m.

RSVP: gristle@powerHouseArena.com

Spotlight on First Prize Pies

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on April 5, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Some families are just more gifted than others when it comes to all things culinary. Allison Kave, founder of First Prize Pies, is the sister of Corwin Kave, executive chef at the West Village Malaysian-inspired Fatty Crab (which has recently opened a copy on the Upper West Side and a barbecue-inspired spin-off in Williamsburg). They are both the children of Rhonda Kave, maker of Roni-Sue’s Chocolates on the Lower East Side. Safe to say, their Thanksgiving dinner will probably make your Thanksgiving cry.

Kave’s First Prize Pies is gaining critical acclaim and key partnerships across the city. She won the first annual Brooklyn Pie Bakeoff last November by a landslide with her bourbon-ginger pecan, apple cheddar, and spicy hot chocolate pies. The win motivated her to open a shop of own.  Today, you can find chocolate peanut butter pretzel pies combining tried-and-true ingredients to great effect, a s’mores pie filled with creamy milk chocolate ganache and topped with handmade toasted marshmallow fluff, and Jay’s apple cider cream pie with creamy apple cider infused custard infused topped with cinnamon whipped cream.

Kave’s often offbeat flavors are currently created to satisfy cold weather cravings (put her sweet potato pie on your to-do list circa November).  But with warmer temperatures, First Prize Pies will surely take advantage of spring’s bounty.

First Prize Pies are currently available online (they will also do custom orders) or at Mom’s Roni-Sue’s Chocolates or Brother’s Fatty ‘Cue outpost in Williamsburg. Beginning April 24, it will also have a booth at the Hester Street Fair on Hester and Essex in the Lower East Side.

Keep an eye on these pies for future blue ribbons.

[Photo by benimoto]

Spotlight on Greenpoint food market

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on April 2, 2010. You can view the original post here.

The Greenpoint food market will be welcoming in the spring season on April 10 at the Church of Messiah (129 Russell St between Nassau and Driggs). From noon to five p.m., there will be plenty to taste among the market’s 42 vendors, many of which espouse the artisanal, homemade devotion to food that is pervasive throughout Brooklyn.

People’s Champs will provide a hip-hop and samba soundtrack to the degustation. Below is a sampling of vendors who will be in attendance:

Anarchy in a Jar will sell jams, chutney, and preserves by Brooklynite Laena McCarthy.

Taza Chocolate makes stone ground, organic, and intense discs influenced by the Mesoamerican approach to chocolate. While best used in baking or to make hot chocolate, these luxurious bars are so good they may not make it home.

Bacon Marmalade not selling bacon at a Brooklyn food market is like not serving matzo at a Passover Seder. Does adding bacon to anything not, by definition, make it better?

Mombucha sells homemade batches of kombucha, a fermented tea that is a little bit fizzy, a little bit vinegary, and a little bit controversial.

You Can’t Eat Bread? isn’t a taunt but a solution for those allergic or just leery of gluten. They sell inventive ginger bread, cookies, and cakes, so you’ll never get beaten up at recess again.

Brooklyn Brine vies for the title of best Brooklyn pickler with hot heirloom cucumbers, Moroccan beans, and Chipotle carrots. 

Arirang Kimchi offers another take on pickling with their pickled cabbage that can be used in everything from salsa to omelettes.

[Photo by Greenpoint Food Market]

Drinking in and around Brooklyn tonight

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on April 1, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Okay guys, you have three options for (mostly) free boozing tonight across the borough. Hurry up and punch your time card, so you can head out to party.

Door #1: Gnarly Vines is holding a tasting from 6-9 p.m. tonight and inviting their Fort Greene neighbors to go Greek for Easter. Anyone wearing a toga or a tunic will receive 15% off their purchase and anyone purchasing a wine features at the tasting will receive 10% off. Owner Brian Robinson subscribes to the laid-back, accessible model of a wine shop, as evidenced by his maxim: “Wine is first and foremost about enjoyment.” Robinson has selected top Greek wines at reasonable prices. It’s enough to make you tell opa!

Gnarly Vines is located at 350 Myrtle Ave (between Carlton and Adelphi).

Door #2: Williamsburg’s The Brooklyn Kitchen is combining meat and martinis at this audaciously retro seminar featuring Tom Mylan of The Meat Hook and James Moreland, master Bombay Sapphire mixologist. Some pair wine and cheese, but real mean pair chorizo stuffed duck heart with gin cocktails. If you miss out on tonight’s event taking place from 6:30-9:30 p.m., there’s always the April 8th class on gin, which will give guest the chance to “touch, taste, see, smell, and discover the ingredients first-hand.” You might even discover a sixth sense.

The Brooklyn Kitchen is located at 100 Frost St. (between Leonard St. and Manhattan Ave.).

Door #3: Back in Fort Greene, The Greene Grape is gearing up for Easter brunch with the bloody Mary, a potent mix of McClure’s Bloody Mary mix and Tito’s vodka. It’s the beginning of an action-packed weekend. On Friday from 5-8 p.m., they will feature a tasting of wines for ham or lamb, including Leth Gruner Veltliner (2008) and Friedrich Becker Estate Pinot Noir (2007). On Saturday,Tang’s will be by to dish out some pot stickers from 2-6 p.m. Festivities continue online with how to hard-boil and dye eggs instructions and throughout the month with Thursday tastings listed here.

The Greene Grape is located at 765 Fulton Street.

Raw Milk movement cowered by controversy

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on March 31, 2010. You can view the original post here.

While it’s tempting to think raw milk is a pseudonym for some strain of nefarious drug (think china white?), the reality is far more benign. The raw milk movement, comprised of locavores praising the benefits of unpasteurized milk, may seem like the natural progression of Brooklyn’s new culinary movement (celebrating small-batch, artisan, local, and slow food) to some and straight up crazy to others.

First, the pros. Though it would make Louis Pasteur blush, raw milk believers cite the health benefits from eschewing enzymes, so long as the cow is grass-fed, not from a factory farm, and hormone free. They also subscribe to the fact that pasteurization destroys valuable nutrients (just as raw vegetables are more nutritious than cooked ones), though there are numerous arguments against this claim. In particular, pasteurization reportedly kills off the very kinds of “good” bacteria now being marketed as probiotics in yogurt and baby food. Beyond the health benefits, converts claim in just tastes better—richer, creamier, and purer— than processed milk.

Raw milk devotees have gone to great lengths to obtain their dairy. In 2008, there was apparently araw milk cartel in Bay Ridge. At one point, an Amish supplier from Pennsylvania was arrested for trafficking in butter, milk, and cheese across state lines—a federal offense. There are also tales of amilk mafia of sorts trading insider tips on where to find pickup places across the city.

The underground nature of raw milk might give pause to anyone used to going no further than a supermarket shelf for their cartons. In fact, the FDA has cited the risks of drinking unprocessed dairy products, which include diseases like “tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio, strep throat, scarlet fever and typhoid fever.” In the past, there have been 18 outbreaks affecting 451 people. “[Raw milk] should not be consumed by anyone at any time for any purpose,” said Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the FDA, explaining that “it may contain many pathogens … that may be especially problematic for infants, young children, the elderly.”

For those who maintain a healthy curiosity (though this author’s has expired), Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma offers a scholarly nod for raw milk, and the Westin A. Price foundation has been lecturing at the Astor Center on the benefits. You can also check out LocalHarvest.org for a list of local farmers who might be willing to give up the goods.
 

[Photo by markhillary on Flickr]

Brooklyn food and drink internet roundup: Greenpoint meat, Brooklyn Heights coffee, Fort Greene deli

This post originally appeared on Examiner.com on March 29, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Greenpoint’s Polish Meat Marvels:

Over at Edible Brooklyn, Scott Gold is a shameless carnivore. In fact, he’s written the book on shameless carnivores (The Shameless Carnivore: A Manifesto for Meat Lovers), which makes him the perfect tour guide for Greenpoint’s Polish meat markets. Greenpoint, home to the largest U.S. Pole population outside of Chicago, isn’t home to your local greengrocer. Gold navigates non-English speaking butchers, unmarked sausages, and headcheese in this well-written paean to pork. From his essay, here are the top Polish butchers worth the trip:

• Podlasie Meat Market (121 Nassau Avenue) paradoxically enough, is the spot for “smoked salmon, catfish and even eel.”
• Polski Meat Market (726 Manhattan Avenue) has premium kielbasa, stuffed potato dumplings (pyzy) and stuffed cabbage.
• Staropolski Meat Market (912 Manhattan Avenue) stocks a wide selection of cold cuts and galareta, an aspic mold of shredded chicken, peas, and carrots.
• Meat Market (922 Manhattan Avenue) specializes in frankfurters, which is made from a combination of beef, pork, and veal in their own smokehouse. 
• Kiszka Meat Market (915 Manhattan Avenue) is apparently infamous for smoked meats.

For more information on must-see meats, check out Gold’s guide to Polish treats.

A Soup to Nuts Coffee Shop:

Brownstoner reports that Crop to Cup, a longtime Brooklyn flea vendor, will open a retail store tomorrow at 139 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights. It’s caffeine you can feel good about with a 20% premium above market prices going to farmers. They’ll be selling their robust blends alongside fellow Brooklyn flea friends like Kumquat Cupcakery, McClure’s Pickles, and Early Bird granola.

Mr. Coco Comes to Fort Greene:

We can all agreed Mr. Coco is a bizarre name for a bodega, no? Brownstoner concurs by reporting that this “health food deli” has opened at 414 Myrtle Avenue.

Flea Eats: Breakfast

This post originally appeared on The New York Times “The Local” on April 2, 2010. You can view the original post here.

These days the Brooklyn Flea is so popular that it tends to get a little crowded at certain times of the day. In late-rising Brooklyn, the early bird gets the worm, and the best time to peruse vintage gear and handcrafted goods. Luckily, the Flea boasts an excellent breakfast.

Crop to Cup: “I tell people we don’t have the best hot coffee in the world — because there are a lot of hot coffees — but we do have the best iced coffee,” boasted Crop to Cup co-founder Taylor Monk. The coffee is not only wonderfully rich and robust, it’s also a tool for positive economic development. Crop to Cup offers 20 percent premiums above the market purchase price to small-batch farmers around the world, who, in turn, produce higher quality coffee for the company. Five percent of each purchase is then reinvested in the coffee’s origin community. This model of reciprocal good also extends to Crop to Cup’s newly opened co-op café, which features products from fellow Flea favorites McClure’s Pickles, Nunu Chocolates, and Kumquat Cupcakery. The café will feature fancier drinks than you can find at their Flea outpost, like espresso and iced horchata, but the world’s best iced coffee can be found at both locations.

Crop to Cup is at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays. The newly opened Crop to Cup Café is located at 139 Atlantic Ave., near. Henry Street. 

SCRATCHbread: Matthew Tilden makes baking badass. First off, serious devotion to your craft is needed before you tattoo the company’s name on your forearm. Fortunately, Tilden’s loaves live up to the ink. Unfortunately, the uniquely bubbled sourdoughs and whole grains he’s built his rep on are on hiatus until SCRATCHbread finds a new baking space to call home. Even without a permanent space, Tilden continues to churn out breakfast-worthy biscuits and scones in flavors like chocolate with currants, and crystallized ginger with lemons.

Choice Market: The Choice Market mini-chain started in 2006 and this salad, sandwich, and baked goods boutique is still just as tasty. Choice Market has the most complete selection of edibles at the Flea, though it still represents only a tasting menu of what the Choice stores have to offer. They bake organic pastries daily and their scones are moist with a nice assortment of flavors, like orange with chocolate and cheddar with scallion — the latter crispy and salty on the outside and peppery inside. Raisin Danish are eggy and light. Blueberry muffins come crumbly and dotted with pecans. And ham and cheese croissants ooze with gruyere under a flaky, buttery crust. While Choice Market is a great first stop before diving into the vintage clothing vendors (as it is also conveniently placed on the first floor), their Intelligentsia coffee is no match for Crop to Cup.

Choice Market is at the Brooklyn Flea on Saturdays and Sundays and every day at the 318 Lafayette Ave. location.

It’s Peat Week at Brandy Library

This post originally appeared on Manhattan Style on April 7, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Whether throwing a corporate gala or a soiree for someone you love, Brandy Library is the ultimate spot for both

Ahh, the weather is warm and whiskey is in the air.  Through Saturday, Brandy Library will be celebrating Peat Week on behalf of the fermented grain.

This Tribeca bar is something of an imbiber’s dream.  With ample wood paneling and leather, Brandy Library substitutes books for spirits—they have an ample collection of brandies (ranging from the $12 VS Hennessy to the $340 Richard, Very Rare), whiskeys, and rum.  It’s precisely the kind of setup to make a non-smoker wish for a cigar in one hand and a smartly made Sidecar in the other.  Brandy Library also offers Dark & Stormy’s, Bermuda rum and ginger beer, which are perfect for sunny days as well.

The hors d’oeuvres are elegant with a healthy sense of humor.  They don’t serve wings, because “we could never match the ones at Hooters,” the menu declares.  Instead, there’s foie gras (scandalous!), prosciutto wrapped figs (“pigs and figs”), gougeres, and lambs in a blanket.  For dinner, tuna and steak tartar and more foie gras.  Brandy Library even makes the burger classier by offering two 2.5 oz sliders with bacon.  For dessert, what else but a crème brulee or Dulce de Leche topped éclairs?

But, of course, you’re here for the whiskey.  Tonight there’s the enigmatically named Whisky Live NYC and there will be tastings of Isle of Jura Scotch, Connemara Irish Whiskey, and single malts through the end of the week.  Check out their Web site for a full listing of what’s going on when.  Of course, there’s always the recurring “Single Malt Saturdays” from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Read up on the dos and don’ts of mixology etiquette from the Village Voice’s interview with Brandy Library beverage director, Ethan Kelley.

Sailors, step aside.  Peat Week is here to stay.

Brandy Library 25 N Moore St (between Varick and Hudson).

[Photo by flickr4jazz]

Alice Waters in Town Today for Book Signing

This post originally appeared on Manhattan Style on April 7, 2010. You can view the original post here.

Top chef and founding father of the locavore food movement, Alice Waters is in town today to promote her new book, In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart.

It’s a cookbook that should be a companion to any farmer’s market goer.  Waters draws upon her nearly forty years of experience at the helm of Chez Panisse, the Berkeley, California bastion of haute couture sustainable and local cooking.  She is also the founder of the Edible Schoolyard, a garden and kitchen classroom for middle school students, and Slow Food USA, a nonprofit dedicated to “linking the pleasures of food with the community and the environment.”

In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart seeks to translate this ethos for the home kitchen with more than 50 seasonal recipes covering the basics of cookery (e.g. roasting a chicken, steaming vegetables, making stock, filleting a fish, cooking fruit).  You can also check out http://alicewatersgreenkitchen.com/for a collection of video recipes from her highly decorated peers like Momofuku’s David Chang and Per Se’s Thomas Keller.

Stop by Book Court (163 Court Street (between Pacific & Dean))–a gem of an independent bookstore in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn—at 7pm to hear Alice Waters share some of her recipes and sign copies of In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart.  Then go out and explore the “new Brooklyn cuisine,” restaurants that take local, organic, sustainably farmed ingredients as seriously as the Gospel.  One prime example is nearby Frankies 457 Court Street Spuntino, recently featured in Food & Wine.

[Photo by Sbocaj]