Phew.
I mistakenly reported that Luscious Food, (delicious homemade comfort food with fresh ingredients) was no longer on Fifth. My bad.
That lovely eatery, which specializes in tasty sandwiches, soups, salads (all homemade) is alive and kicking. So sorry for the mistake.
Mile End is a Montreal style deli on Hoyt Street just south of Atlantic Avenue. Everyone is raving about it. I was wondering why there was a big line on that street one day. Turns out it’s a small place and it draws quite a crowd. Here’s their menu i.e. what you’ve been missing by not knowing about this place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They’re open 8:30 AM until 10PM weekdays except Monday and from 10:30 to 10PM on weekends. One more thing: they’re closed daily from 4:30 until 5:30PM. Got it?
breakfast and lunch
{until noon}
bagel & cream cheese 3/3.5
basic / tomato & onion
breakfast sandwich 6
chazzer {meat hook canadian bacon},
egg & 2 year quebec cheddar on rye
mish-mash 8
eggs scrambled with salami or lox,
onions & greens
the beauty 8/11
lox on a bagel with cream cheese,
tomato, red onion & capers;
closed / open-faced
{after noon}
sour pickle {brooklyn brine} 1.5
coleslaw 3
borscht 5
matzo ball soup 6.5
the ruth wilensky 7
salami sandwich pressed on an onion roll
{no mustard 10¢ extra}
smoked meat 9/16
beef brisket on rye with mustard
sandwich {7 oz.} / platter {14 oz.}
grandpa 8
smoked turkey breast on rye with mustard
frites 5
poutine 8/11
classic / smoked meat
{drinks}
stumptown coffee 2
direct trade french-press {refill 1.5}
stumptown iced coffee 2.5
direct trade cold-brew {refill 2}
orange juice 2
seltzer 2
virgil’s soda 2.5
cherry soda, root beer, cream soda
dinner
sour pickle {brooklyn brine} 1.5
coleslaw 3
borscht 5
matzo ball soup 6.5
the ruth wilensky 7
salami sandwich pressed on an onion roll
{no mustard 10¢ extra}
smoked meat 9/16
beef brisket on rye with mustard
sandwich {7 oz.} / platter {14 oz.}
smoked meat burger 10
poulet chaud 15
pan roasted half chicken, house-made challah,
chicken gravy & english peas
frites 5
poutine 8/11
classic / smoked meat
Par Slope Eatery, a new casual baker/deli is set to open on the fabled corner of Fifth Street and Seventh Avenue, the corner, which used to house La Bagel Delight before its move two blocks south.
Flyers posted on the window say: Apply Now Hiring. And there are menus available outside. The big sign boasts artisan bakery so I’m wondering if they’re going to have great bread.
Maybe.
On July 3rd Community Markets is collaborating with Rooftop Films, Umami Food and Art Festival and the The (Makers) Market at The Old American Can Factory to screen a series of short artists’ food films on the roof of the Old American Can Factory at 232 3rd St. and 3rd Ave in Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn.
The event will kick off at 8:30 PM with a live concert by the all-original indie rock group, Railbird from Saratoga Springs, hailed as “a great indie band set to break out,” by Billboard Magazine. After the screening there will be a Q & A with artists, and curator followed by an after party with refreshments for sale prepared by Communal Table.
The Umami films include contributions from different cultures and feature a variety of unusual approaches to food, highlighting its unique, multi-faceted nature. Some of the short films to be screened include:
Eggs and Bells (2008) by Annie Lanzillotto Lanzillotto’s fantastic irreverent performances (she sings, dances and writes…) celebrate her Italian American upbringing. In Eggs and Bells she pays homage to her Nonna and to traditional foodways.http://www.annielanzillotto.com/
Chickpea Masala in Four Movements (2010) by Steve Bradley Bradley soaks, sautés, and DJs his way through an aural/visual investigation into the preparation of Chick Pea Masala http://userpages.umbc.edu/~sbradley/
Miss Lucy (2007) by Tami Marks (Tami Ben-Shahar) Marks is an Israeli artist living in Massachusetts. Touching on themes of gender, faith, ritual and perhaps madness, this video follows Miss Lucy as she uses her kitchen as a temple and her oven as an alter. She indulges in sacrifice only to be resurrected as a modern woman. Derived from the sacred and the profane, Miss Lucy is both the name of a Christian saint and of an Israeli hot dog company.
“As farmers market organizers we’re aware and fascinated by the constantly evolving, culturally significant role that food plays in communities throughout New York,” says Rebecca Pedinotti of Community Markets. “Organizing this event with the Umami artists is an exciting way to explore food and eating beyond the market, as an enactment of community, identity and so much more.”
On the ground floor of the OA Can Factory from 6pm to 9pm there will also be a pop up (Makers) Market. The eclectic array of Makers who sell artisanal wares, art and design products every Sunday at the (OA) Can Factory, will be featuring their handmade products for sale before the film screening.
NYC Food film Festival: Effed in Park Slope
Can she bake a cherry pie?: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
New wine shop for Henry Street: Brownstoner
Dinner at Mai: Eat It
On becoming a tinner: Historic Cookery
Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain and Bread Meats Break: NY Times
English muffins in America: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Food news: Eat It: Brooklyn Food Blog
Breakfast at Four and Twenty Blackbirds: Eat It
Kids, curds and more: Historic Cookery
World Cup Fever at Fifth Avenue bars: All About Fifth
In an article in today’s Brooklyn Paper by young reporter Ben Kochman (full disclosure I know this young man) there’s a joke masquerading as news. Cafe Martin’s Martin O’Connell claims he never met his sister, who owns Cafe Regular.
I’d chalk it up to Martin O’Connell’s droll sense of humor. Well, the article in the Paper is good humored, too. Here from the Brooklyn Paper:
It’s a feud so overcaffeinated that a brother now claims that he’s never even met his sister!
The sour sibling spat that split the ownership team of Cafe Regular in Park Slope has boiled over once again, now that Martin O’Connell has opened Cafe Martin — a new joint on Fifth Avenue that’s only six blocks away from the original coffee bar that his sister, Anne, still runs.
“I don’t want to comment about that,” said Martin O’Connell, when asked about his sister’s cafe. “I wouldn’t want to cause consternation for someone I don’t know.”
Someone he doesn’t know?
For years, Martin O’Connell was the popular public face of Café Regular, which is located on 11st Street near Fifth Avenue, known mostly for his wry humor and “life-changing” cappuccino.
But last fall, he and his sister feuded over whether modernizing with wireless Internet and an electric cash register would sacrifice the old-school Parisian authenticity of the café.
One rumor suggested even suggested that the spat occurred after Anne demanded that the baristas wear uniforms!
The tension between the two became so heated that now Martin flatly denies any former association with Café Regular.
“No, I don’t know them at all,” said Martin of his former abode, while he served up customers at his new café on Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street. “I don’t know anyone who worked there.”
Martin has a new cafe in a great new location — on Fifth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets. It’s a lovely place with pews for seating, an attractive tin roof, a standing room only cafe/bar and black and white photography on the wall.
And the coffee?
Well, Martin is a master barista and the brew is strong and good.
The Blogfest Backlash is in full gear as critics snipe that this was the year the gathering of Brooklyn bloggers sold out to Absolut Vodka, the event’s sponsor.
Controversy aside, for a first-time attendee like myself, it was an opportunity to meet fellow bloggers and to be inspired by the community. Sure, Spike Lee’s chat made it clear he was there to shill Absolut Brooklyn, the new vodka blend “inspired” by Brooklyn. And it was also painfully apparent that he knew nothing about blogging or the purpose of the event.
Still, I appreciated the fact that Spike Lee brought a more diverse audience to the blogfest. And, to be honest, I also appreciated the free entry fee, vodka, and food (and no, I didn’t get a flip camera or a bottle of vodka to take home). Producing an event like this isn’t cheap. Kudos to blogger/Blogfest founder Louise Crawford for helping to make it accessible to all.
Ultimately, the cocktails were not as memorable as the conversations. During the “Blogs of a Feather” sessions where bloggers broke up by subject matter, I got to know fellow food and home bloggers, including:
Carolina Capehart of Historic Cookery, who cooks over an open fire, using the equipment,the ingredients, and the receipts (recipes) of the early 19th Century.
Phyllis Bobb of Reclaimed Home, who blogs about low impact housing and renovations options for thrifty New Yorkers.
Heather Johnston of SoGood.tv, which features videos about wine and food for the home cook.
Susan LaRosa of A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn, who revisits American home cooking in the era before convenience foods became popular.
Chattting about the state of blogging in Brooklyn was fun, but the highlight of the night came after I left Blogfest and I stumbled upon an inflatable couch on the sidewalk outside the Brooklyn Lyceum. It was after 11 pm and the man reclining on the couch was handing out free cookies.
“Want a cookie?” he asked.
I eyed him suspiciously. My mom always warned me about taking cookies from strangers, but it was a homemade orange chocolate chip cookie and he assured me that not only was it safe, but it was gluten free. I couldn’t resist. It was delicious.
He handed me his card. Turns out the cookie man’s name is Scott Alexander. Apparently, he’s a musician who makes friends and contacts by setting up his couch and handing out cookies. He’s got a 24-hour Free Cookie Hotline, 347-829-4YUM and a web site, FreeCookies.Net.
Scintillating conversation with old friends and new, strong cocktails and free cookies. I couldn’t ask for much more in an evening out in Brooklyn.
My best friend Dori was a foodie before being a foodie was cool. She is the sort of person who phones just to tell you she made the most fabulous Potatoes Au Gratin with Gruyere that you just have to try. When we eat out, she knows where to go and exactly what to order (and how it should be cooked).
When her children were infants, instead of relying on store bought baby food, she mashed sweet potatoes and peas from scratch. As her kids grew into toddlers, Dori insisted on cooking them homemade chicken nuggets since she couldn’t stomach serving them the frozen kind.
Dori always makes cooking seem effortless and fun. Somehow, she manages to whip up dinner for eight with two kids underfoot while still looking as glamorous as a movie star (some see a resemblance to Meg Ryan). Not surprisingly, she has always been baffled – if not a bit irked – by my culinary ineptitude.
After years of rolling my eyes and listening patiently as she recounted her latest success in the kitchen, I finally have begun to take an interest. Now that I’ve begun to cook myself, I appreciate her passion for food and cooking even more. I’m lucky to have her on hand to (well, by phone or e-mail) to answer my questions about grilling, sauteing, steaming, and everything in between.
I’m proud to say that after years of dreaming about it, Dori has finally taken the leap and begun cooking school at the Institute for Culinary Education in Manhattan. She had taken recreational cooking classes there before, but this one is for pros. Of course, I thought Dori already knew everything there was to know, but I’m sure they can teach her a thing or two.
Dori is chronicling her journey on her blog, She’s Fried, which, like Dori, is funny, smart, animated, and always surprising.
In her most recent post, Dori tells of how she took on a lobster — and lost. Well, to be fair, she won (the lobster is dead), but she lost some blood in the process.
Check it out and see She’s Fried for yourself.
Brooklyn food & drink round up: Brownstoner
Moutarde set to reopen this week: All About Fifth
Strawberry shortcake cream on top: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
The Pink Teacup returns to Greenwich Village: Eater
The 6th Annual Food Heritage Festival: Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog
Celebration at the edge of decay: NY Times
Dinner at The Vanderbilt: Eat It
Another coffee controversy on Fifth: All About Fifth
Yesterday I went into the brand new Cafe Martin on Park Slope’s Fifth Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets. And a lovely place it is run by two Irish gentlemen, one of whom is the barista Martin O’Connell, formerly of Cafe Regular on 11th Street.
It was great to see Martin, wearing his signature blue striped button down shirt, in the big, bright space that used to be the Pink Pussycat. In renovating the space, he and his partner tore down the drop ceiling, which revealed a gorgeous tin roof. They put in a beautiful dark wood floor, added church pew seating, cafe tables and black and white photographs.
Voila. A perfect cafe.
There’s no seating at the coffee bar, just a high counter suitable for standing while drinking a cup of strong espresso, reading the newspaper and conversing with the barista.
And that would be Martin, who, it is no surprise, has a following of sorts. For his coffee, of course. But also for his droll wit and wisdom.
Union Street is now The Park Slope Foodie Triangle (see below for explanation).
Lucas is the nabe’s new prepared foods shop run by Misty Kurpier (pictured above). a Park Sloper, who’s yummy sounding food offerings include grilled chimichurri hanger steak, gazpacho with grilled shrimp, roasted beets with mustard seed, lentils and onions, as well as pasta and fish entrees. Also available: espresso drinks and drip coffee. She’s also got: mac-and-cheese, Balthazar pastries and Ample Hills Creamery ice cream (made in the shop).
The shop is located at 847A Union Street (between 7th and 6th Avenues) which happens to be across the street from the Park Slope Food Coop and not far from the famed Blue Apron Foods.
I’m calling it the Park Slope Foodie Triangle.
I have fielded SO many questions about what happened to Martin O’Connell, the beloved (by some) barrista at Cafe Regular (on 11th Street just west of Fifth Avenue in Park Slope) and brother of the owner.
I knew there had been a falling out with his sister, when Cafe Regular did a swank redesign and added a north Slope location (on Berkeley Place off of Seventh Avenue).
Mystery solved. Sort of.
The storefront that used to house the Pink Pussycat on Fifth Avenue near 5th Street, is now Cafe Martin, co-owned and operated by Martin.
Prime Meats in Carroll Gardens: NY Times
Fornino Vs. Trulli: Brooklyn Brood
The Upstate Brooklyn: Brownstoner
Red Velvet Cake: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Choice Kitchens & Bakery in Dumbo: NY Times
Hepcat and I stopped into Fornino last Sunday night after the Fifth Avenue Fair. Suffice it to say the joint was packed and there was a 30-minute wait.
We decided to sit at the bar. The restaurant, owned by Michael Ayoub (pictured above with co-owner Christopher Walsh) is in the old Cucina location on Fifth Avenue between Carroll and Garfield Place, that then became Tempo. It’s a big space with a lovely bar and appealing wall colors, decor and lighting.
The bar has these hanging amber colored light bulbs, which I love. There’s also an interesting black and white glass sculpture hanging that I took to be a bouquet of balloons.
We ordered pizza because pizza is the thing to order and it was FANTASTIC! The bartender, who was friendly, helpful and attentive, gave us a few recommendations. He suggested the clam pizza or the black truffle (the priciest pizza for $45). “I’d actually like to have those combined,” he told us.
I was curious about the black truffle but thought it was a bit pricey so I went with the Vongole with clams, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, oregano and Hepcat had the Gorgonzola with fresh fig.
Omigod. The pizza was fantastic.
I can’t even describe the crust but it’s a crust revelation. So this is a rave for my first pizza at Fornino. Oh and each pizza cost $14. and it was totally worth it and a delicious and FILLING entree for one. Fornino also has anti-pasta, salads, pasta dishes and MORE—a full menu—and a kid’s menu as if you didn’t know—and lots to choose from plus a great wine list.
It’s amazing how quickly I’ve fallen into my old undomesticated habits. Now that I’ve got a job, I’ve been seriously slacking off around the house. There’s a pile of dishes in the sink and while the laundry is folded, I haven’t had time to put it away. I don’t remember the last time I cooked dinner that didn’t come from the frozen foods section.
When pressed for time when something’s gotta give, it seems cooking and cleaning are the first things to go.
Somehow Avo manages to find time to go to the gym, work a full-time job, and cook — even when he doesn’t get home until 8 p.m. Last night, I was prepared to have cereal for dinner, but he was determined to come up with something more nutritional and satisfying. Using the few ingredients we had in our fridge, he whipped up the best omelet I’ve had in my life (no kidding) — eggs, ham, onions, and mushrooms never tasted so good. Or maybe I just appreciated the fact that I was eating a home-cooked meal for a change.
For the past week, I’ve been harboring plans to cook chili. I have all the ingredients on hand, but I still haven’t gotten around to it yet. I fear that unless I start cooking soon, I’ll forget everything I’ve learned (and the meat will go bad).
I’d hate to come this far only to settle back into my old undomesticated life. Sometimes I wonder if there are two types of people: those who cook because they love it and those who cook because they have no other choice. Maybe I’m just not hardwired to cook. What do you think?
Yamato, the Japanese restaurant on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and they’ve introduced a new menu and a nice new decor.
Its current location on Seventh Avenue near 1st Street used to be a “doomed restaurant spot. Too many short lived restaurants, too numerous to even remember their names were there in rapid succession. Yamato broke the spell and has been serving delicious food there for 10 years.
I’m a longtime fan of the mostly sushi restaurant. But now they’ve turned a slightly more Pan-Asian direction and their new menus offers dim sum assortment, including pan-fried lobster and spinach dumplings and steamed sea bass and carrot dumplings.
New entrees include: mango chicken and pan-roasted miso Chilean sea bass, complement the modern, elegant ambience — and provide a seasonal touch as the restaurant reopens its waterfall garden.
“We’ve updated in a way that keeps what customers have loved for a decade while adding a new dimension in modern Asian cuisine,” Yamato spokesman Peter Wiegand said in a recent press release. ”
Wiegand called the redesign “romantic chic,” with a nod toward comfortable. I’m glad to report that their food is as good as ever and the restaurant is a much more comfortable place to be. The new sculptural light fixtures are very lovely.
Tunnel of fudge: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
I’ll be back: Undomesticated Me
Fatty ‘Cue: NY Times
Fornino, River Deli, Brooklyn Bridge Park concessions: Off the Menu
Breeders complaining about Forninos: Effed in Park Slope
Of course it’s good it’s my mother’s: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Films on Fifth movies in restaurants schedule: All About Fifth
Mehmet’s Fruit Cart: Ditmas Park Blog
Karloff coming to former Tea Lounge space on Court Street: Pardon Me for Asking
Trois Pommes Patisserie in Park Slope: Brownstoner
Not eating out in Park Slope: FIPS
Specialities de Mason: Casa Cara
Last night walking past the now defunct Tempo Restaurant site on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope I saw activity! A striking new sign, a beautiful interior, three storefronts worth of space (one for take out, one for the bar and pizza and a large dining room).
Inside workers were hard at work renovating and getting the restaurant ready for its opening in a week or so (I apologize for the terrible iPhone photo).
Previously reported here the owners of Stone Park Cafe and a member of the Cucina family (Fifth Avenue royalty and owners of much of Fifth Avenue real estate at one time and a pioneering restaurant called Cucina) were going to team up to open a Asian style restaurant.
Well, that ain’t happening but something else is. Something BIG. Very BIG.
A little bird told me that someone connected to the Cucina family is part owner of Fornino, a new Fifth Avenue restaurant that will serve pizza, salads, small plates, and dinner entrees.
Fornino? Isn’t Fornino an ACCLAIMED pizza restaurant in Williamsburg (and elsewhere) owned by award winning chef Michael Ayoub? Here from a 2007 article about Ayoub and Fornino in the Brooklyn Paper
Pizza is the great common denominator among people,” Michael Ayoub told GO Brooklyn this week. The crazy thing is, he may be right.
Sitting at a table in his award-winning Williamsburg restaurant, Fornino, Ayoub was rightfully proud to be discussing his growing pizza empire. To call Fornino, or its newborn Manhattan sibling Cronkite, a “pizzeria” is a mighty understatement. What he offers — gourmet pies with homegrown and high-end ingredients, including homemade mozzarella and three types of specialty flour — is about as far from a plain old slice as you can get.
And that’s just the way he wants it.
“When I was a kid,” he said, “a slice of Sicilian at Pizza Wagon on 86th Street [was the best in town], but that was a different time and an uneducated palate. At this point, I’m a little bit of a pizza snob.”
Growing up in Bay Ridge, Ayoub began cooking at an early age. After teenage stints working in delis and restaurants, he opened his first eatery, Skaffles, at the age of 20. While the restaurant had to hold off on a liquor license until its owner was of age, Ayoub was intent on making it a success.
From what I can see it looks gorgeous in there. I was especially impressed with the bar which has a golden glow thanks to beautiful cone shaped light bulbs. The place looks atmospheric and fun, like somewhere I’d want to go for a glass of wine or dinner with friends.
It’s the space next door to the popular Bar Reis on Fifth Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets in Park Slope. For a while it was the Reis 100, a tasty sandwich shop. Now it’s Kitchen Reis.I found this on NY Metromix:
“Brooklyn small plates” is the concept at this next-door spin-off of Park Slope’s Bar Reis. General manager Jeremy Mustakas, a Gottino alum, can explain it better: “We’re showcasing the food that have been in pork stores and provision shops and Italian-American bakeries here in Brooklyn over the last hundred years.” There you go! That philosophy translates into dishes like pork tonnato sandwich (braised pork shoulder with a tuna-mayo-caper sauce), duck hash (confit’d duck leg with fried turnip cake and quail egg), and baccala mantecato (salt-dried cod with potato and pepperoncini). (They’re BYOB for now.) At least they’ve got the cred to back everything up: Chef Joseph Aponte (Jimmy’s No. 43) grew up in Williamsburg, Mustakas was from Bay Ridge, and owner Reis Goldberg has been a Park Slope local for about 15 years now
When the entire staff of Gorilla Coffee on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope submitted a letter of resignation and walked out en masse two weeks ago, the world took notice. The staff vowed never to return and I’m assuming they never will.
Now the New York Times reports that the shop is reopening on Monday. Well, we never found out exactly why staffers were so angry although they did say that there was a problem with a co-owner and that the work environment was “hostile” and “malicious.”
So a new staff begins on Monday. Hope they have better luck than the last one.
Will local coffee drinkers, who adore the coffee there, return to their caffeinated haunt after all they know now about the management? Will the owners of Gorilla come forward with an explanation, an apology, a vow to do better next time?
Maybe they’re banking on their customer’s coffee addiction or those who are clueless. There are people who don’t read blogs and newspapers. Then again, this story had legs…
Gorilla Coffee, the juggernaut Park Slope java-and-lifestyle dispensary that has been closed since April 9 after the entire staff quit to protest a “perpetually malicious, hostile, and demeaning work environment,” will reopen Monday. So said the smiling woman inside the half-rolled-up gate of the shop at Fifth Avenue and Park Place at 7 Friday evening.
Inside were buckets of paint and several workers scurrying around and making ready. The sign that’s been in the window since last week says that the staff will be all new (other blogs have noted this Gorilla-ish sounding want ad). It will be interesting to see how the neighborhood’s fiercely loyal fair-trade-sipping customers receive the reincarnated operation.
Sisters open a pie shop on Third Avenue: NY Times
Traif in Williamsburg: NY Times
Not cheaper by the dozen but worth every penny: A Cake Bakes in Brooklyn
Carmelized scallops: A Kitchen in Brooklyn
Slow food NYC book Club: Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog
Blue Ribbon: order smart, leave happy: Between Courses
Frankies 457: Out to Eat
Brooklyn Based, a thrice-weekly e-newsletter about Brooklyn culture, has a great list of places to drink outdoors around Brooklyn. The following is their list of spots in Park Slope. To see the rest go to Brooklyn Based.
Mission Dolores: World’s most brilliant conversion of an auto shop. Big courtyard, 24 beers on tap, pinball, dogs. 249 Fourth Ave., no phone
Commonwealth: A neighborhoody bar with a good juke box and a sweet patio. 497 5th Ave., 718-768-2040
The Gate: An easy place to watch Park Slope stroll up and down 5th Avenue. Large patio, lots of beers. 321 5th Ave., 718-768-4329
Excelsior: Very cute back deck and garden, filled with cute gay men. (390 Fifth Ave., 718-832-1599) At Ginger’s, the lesbian bar near by, the garden is more spacious and the vibe more laid back. 363 5th Ave., 718-788-0924
O’Connors: Lovable dive with bottled beer, stiff drinks and a huge backyard that’s a relatively new addition to this north Slope staple. 39 5th Ave, 718-783-9721
“Cooking ennui is an inevitable test of your character to which you must rise.”
At least that’s what my friend Beau, says. Beau cooks a full meal for his wife and kids every night and makes it seem effortless.
“What’s your secret?” I ask. “How do you manage to maintain your enthusiasm for cooking when it’s so routine? And how do you come up with something to cook every night?”
“The secret is pre-planning for easy predictability occasionally interrupted by novelty,” said Beau. “You’ve got to plan a handful of days at once, so you won’t have to think about it all too much. Then, most of those meals have to be things that are relatively easy and well-liked, so going on auto-pilot isn’t too taxing. Add one (relatively easy) thing you’ve been meaning to try (you may have to dig for this: another reason to subscribe to Fine Cooking) that keeps the week from seeming like endless repetition, and you’re good. time will pass and suddenly, you’ll find you’re over the hump. definitely takes deliberate planning and will, though.”
Of course, relatively easy is all relative. For me, it means taking out a bowl of cereal and pouring in milk! Maybe some fresh fruit to add some color.
With Beau as an inspiration, I’ve come up with the following ideas. Keep in mind that I don’t practice what I preach, so let me know if you have any ideas to add to my list:
Ten Tips for Easy Meal Planning:
1. Designate a “Meal Planning Day,” where you compile a list of recipes and ingredients you’ll need for the week. Try to pick at least one recipe that you can incorporate in several meals.
2. Keep your pantry, freezer and refrigerator organized so that you can cross-reference the ingredients needed for a recipe with what you have on hand. Plus, this way you’ll be sure to toss old stuff before it becomes rancid.
3. Plan for every night of the week (and lunch if you prepare that too). Try to mix it up so you don’t have pasta or red meat two nights in a row. Designate one night “Leftover Night.”
4. Create a recipe binder to organize recipes from magazines, friends, and family. We use a photo album to store favorite recipes and keep it handy in the kitchen
5. Rely on old favorites, but be sure to experiment with a new recipe at least once a week. Or else you’ll get bored fast.
6. For new recipes, rely on websites such as CookingLight.com, myrecipes.com or allrecipes.com where you can enter a particular ingredient (or a list of ingredients) and get recipe ideas.
7. When in doubt, just cook something. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. Make the effort and it will be worth it.
8. Cheat with household gadgets like a rice cooker, a microwave and a crock pot to speed things up.
9. Cook in bulk and freeze individual portions.
10. Don’t feel bad about ordering in or going out to dinner every once in a while. You deserve it!
There are days when I slack off on my domestic duties and can’t even bear to make the effort to toast a slice of bread or make my bed. Other days, I frantically scrub, bake, and neaten. On those days, I’m a whirling dervish of domesticity. Friday was one of those days.
Here is a rundown of all of the useful things I did:
1. Washed and folded two loads of laundry
2. Went shopping at the Park Slope Food Co-Op (and lugged the groceries home)
3. Loaded the dishwasher (and unloaded it once it was done)
4. Cleaned the bathrooms
5. Made the beds and generally tidied up
6. Baked uber-hearty banana muffins (using honey, canola oil and whole wheat flour)
7. Cooked up a big batch of carrot ginger soup.
In hindsight, I realize I made the soup simply so I could have an excuse to finally bought a hand blender. The kids were intrigued by the new toy, but I knew Avo would roll his eyes as yet another kitchen gadget crowding the pantry.
I was just finishing up with the soup when Avo walked in the door. I shoved a spoonful of the soup in his mouth and pretty much begged for praise. Before he could swallow the soup (or compliment the soup), I hurried out the door — on my way to Manhattan to celebrate my friend Becky’s 40th birthday. As I ran down the hallway, I called back to Avo, “eat the soup and then freeze the rest!”
“So how was it?” I asked the next morning before he even had a chance to drink his coffee.
“Not gingery enough for me. And I don’t think you pureed it enough. I got some big chunks of carrot,” he said.
Oh well. I guess I need to practice some more with the hand blender.
Luckily, I liked the soup just fine and will surely make use of the frozen leftovers. Here’s the recipe for that soup:
Continue reading Undomesticated Brooklyn: Whirling Dervish of Domesticity
Last Wednesday, I was walking on Fifth Avenue when I ran into a Park Slope mover and shaker and she told me about Four & Twenty Blackbirds, a new pie shop on Third Avenue near 8th Street. She’d just walked over and it wasn’t open yet.
“My daughter is visiting Vietnam but she emailed me about it?” this PS mover and shaker told me.
“She must be reading Brooklyn blogs in Vietnam,” I said.
We agreed that we’d have pie together when the shop opens. She thought the name was especially great. So do I.
Four & Twenty Blackbirds is owned by sisters Emily and Melissa Elsen, who make sweet and savory pies by the slice or by custom orders. They’ll also have rotating daily special breakfast pastries, quiches, and sandwiches.
In other words it’s a place for breakfast, lunch or a snack as well as a bakery.
Look at what they’ve got: Lavender-blueberry and apple-pear with rosewater pies, Irving Farm organic coffee roasted upstate. The shop just opened this past Friday. So it’s brand new. Let’s show our love.
Tues.-Fri., 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Where: 439 Third Ave., at 8th St. (718-499-2917).
Here is their spring and summer list of pies to look forward to:
SPRING
Sour Cream Lemon Tart with Cornmeal Crust
Apple & Pear with Rosewater Pie
Lizzie’s Lemon Cream Pie
Pear Ginger Pie
Pear Frangipane Tart
Mixed Berry Tart
Farmer’s Cheese Tart
For the Love of Lemon Tart
SUMMER
Apple Pie
Cherry Pie
Peach Pie
Apricot Pie
Blueberry Pie
Rhubarb Pie
Pear Pie
Peach Berry Pie
Lavender Blueberry Pie
Honeyed Apricot & Lavender Tart
Fresh Fig Tart
Plum with Almond Créme Tart
Blood Orange & Rhubarb Pie
Fig & Rhubarb Tart
Indeed, the shop was closed for the second day in a row and the owners say they won’t be reopening anytime soon. The owners told the New York Times that the total staff resignation came as a surprise. Darleen Scherer, one of the owners said over the phone. “They made an unreasonable request, and then they didn’t have any way to go but out.”
Here is the statement from the Gorilla Coffee staff about their recent walk-out. They make it clear that it is not a strike. They have quit and have no intention of returning.
We the workers would have preferred to keep this between the people involved, thus our silence towards the press. However, we do feel it is important to clarify the situation for the friends and patrons of Gorilla Coffee.
The issues brought up with the owners of Gorilla Coffee yesterday are issues that they have been aware of for some time. These issues which have repeatedly been brushed aside and ignored have created a perpetually malicious, hostile, and demeaning work environment that was not only unhealthy, but also, as our actions have clearly shown, unworkable.
Several staff left not only recently, but also in the past few years due to these issues. The staff was recently told that the business partner to whom these issues have been repeatedly attributed was no longer affiliated with the business, and the environment was going to change. For 6 weeks nothing was seen nor heard of this business partner. This separation changed the dynamic of the business so drastically one of the departed staff quit their other job to return with the understanding these changes were permanent, and those who had tendered their resignation, or were drafting it, decided to stay. When the business partner returned without explanation, staff approached the owner hoping to find out the reason for this sudden and unannounced return. Work environment and workplace issues aside, the workers collectively felt deceived and that they had been shown a lack of mutual respect. This only served to highlight and reemphasize the previously expressed concerns. As the staff was well aware, both through experience and through conversation with past employees, Gorilla Coffee has a history of this pattern repeating itself.
It should be emphasized that the intent of the meeting was above all to find a solution to this unhealthy situation, a solution which involved the maintenance of these improvements to the work environment, and that would prevent any future returns to the previous unhealthy dynamic. Above all the attitude of the staff involved in the meeting (who were representing the rest of the staff) was one of respect and positivity. A collective instant resignation was an agreed upon last resort and not a bargaining chip. It was simply that without change, we all felt unwilling to undergo another day in that environment. Hence, out of a collective feeling of self respect and job insecurity, the staff decided it would be in their best interest to find employment elsewhere.
This isn’t political and it isn’t a strike. The staff quit and the matter will not be resolved. It’s a matter of business, and a personal matter for each of the staff. Everyone at Gorilla Coffee, including the owners and the staff, are skilled, passionate, and hard working. It is unfortunate for everyone involved. The workers are grateful to the many wonderful patrons over the years, and we apologize that it was necessary to inconvenience them in this way. All we can say is “thank you for the support and all the best.”
Sincerely, The workers of Gorilla Coffee
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/gorilla-coffee-workers-arent-coming-back/
Gorilla Coffee, the coffee supplier/cafe on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope has closed. For the time being anyway. Apparently, employees gave written resignation and walked out after the owners refused to meet their demands.
Gorilla Coffee—Park Slope coffee house and bean supplier to indie Brooklyn dripperies—appears to have suffered a total employee walk-out last night. What kind of sweatshop was their “oppressive hipster-in-chief” (a local blog’s designation) running?
And: Who will step up to fill the vacuum in Brooklyn’s locally-roasted coffee mafia wars, now? (coffia? cafia?) Coffee blog Sprudge and neighborhood blog Fucked in Park Slope report from the scene of the insurrection.
From Fucked in Park Slope:
We got intel from the dudes at Sprudge that Gorilla Coffee had every employee walk out last night on their oppressive hipster-in-chief. Baristas, roasters — everyone!
I went on a down-n-dirty inFIPStigation this morning, and it’s true: Gorilla is indeed closed. I guess indefinitely (???), since there’s not a note or anything on the door…
Jeffrey Tastes, is a food blogger, who records and documents his experiences eating food in Queens, Brooklyn, New York City and Long Island
Recently he came to Park Slope and ate in a lot of the neighborhood’s classic pizza shops. Clearly the man loves to eat and he ate a whole lot of Slope pizza.
I was lucky enough to take nearly a full pie’s worth of people on my Park Slope exploratory pizza tour. I’m not used to it, usually it’s just me and my Schwinn, but I’m happy to have such support on these missions.
Luigi’s is already slated for the tour, but I wanted to explore the many other pizzerias here. We hit the Slope hard.
Jeffrey started his tour at La Villa and went on to Tomato and Basil on Fourth Avenue near Union, Peppinos on Fifth, Lenny’s also on Fifth, Peppe’s and Toby’s Pizza House on 20th Street.
The guy knows how to write about pizza that’s for sure.
