Two weekends ago, I woke up early to tend to the hens. Okay, so they were not my own; and I only got up early because I had to get to the Bronx, where a chicken raising workshop was held. Part of the Edible Garden educational series by the New York Botanical Gardens that was sponsored by Just Food, it was a beginner-level crash course in keeping America’s favorite poultry for companionship, eggs, and more benefits which I’ll get into … Read More
To the BBQ and cook-off nation: A call to tongs! Slow Food NYC and The Good Beer Seal are hosting a benefit grill-off at Harry’s Water Taxi Beach Long Island City on July 21st, 6-9pm. This event is all about location, location, location: instead of focusing on a certain ingredient or dish, cook-off contestants must use locally-sourced foods and be prepared to tell which farms they got their grub from. There’ll be more food to go around than theirs, too, … Read More
The Unfancy Food Show, a celebration of local, artisanal food and tastemakers, has enacted its third triumphant year at the East River Bar in Williamsburg on Sunday. Launched by Tom Mylan and Sasha Davies as the underdog fest to the Fancy Food Show, also taking place this weekend, the festival has become an unique tradition of its own, and popular attraction for die-hard foodies and drop-in neophytes alike to meet and eat. I wish there was one every weekend.
Get your goat fix! Tomorrow, rain or shine, a block party takes place in Carroll Gardens to benefit the Greenhorns, a Hudson Valley-based non-profit that promotes and recruits young farmers. This event is just too packed with stuff to really fit on a poster, or a proper blog post. But there will be a screening of the trailer for the documentary about young farmers by Greenhorns founder Severine von Tscharner Fleming, also called The Greenhorns, a performance by Reverend Billy, … Read More
At the first-ever Curry Takedown, that is! And what a blend of spices we ate and smelled on Sunday. Forget the phrase curry in a hurry, these chefs were none to take the easy road, drop a Golden Curry cube into their pot and let it spread. What I saw was really a work of slow-simmered art — a United Nations of Currydom, convened at the Loki Lounge in Park Slope.
So we all knew that Brooklyn knows how to cook… off. But what of home beer brewing? Turns out that these are some mean streets for that trade, too. And we wouldn’t have known it if it hadn’t been for the Brooklyn Beer Experiment, the brainchild of two of my favorite cook-off fanatics, Nick and Theo. Joining forces, these once-rivals from many a local cook-off (just look at their resumes) decided to host a joint beer and food competition. Unlike … Read More
How to say… thanks? For coming out to serve delicious, unique and inspired food, for eating and enjoying the fruits of everyone’s labor, for lending your discerning criticism of said dishes as an audience member or one of the expert judges, for donating your money to Just Food, and for essentially making Karol and myself’s dream come true. From the bottom of our butter-clogged hearts, thanks to all for Risotto Challenging it up yesterday at Jimmy’s No. 43. Especially to … Read More
Last Tuesday’s Dining section in the New York Times said it all: “Cook-off mania has taken hold in New York,” Steven Stern wrote in the article that many have written to congratulate me on being mentioned in. Thanks so much! A “sizzle of triumph,” indeed! And judging from the proliferation of amateur bake-offs, pork-offs, guac-offs, tofu-offs and other organized food fights lately, the statement couldn’t be more true. For a while there, I’d thought cook-off mania had only taken hold … Read More
Now if only I could miniaturize myself after this string of cook-offs the past two weeks. Brooklyn Kitchen‘s 3rd Annual Cupcake Cook-Off, held Monday night at Union Pool, was the last straw — yes, the Risotto Challenge is still on, and yes, it will be still awesome, and will help raise money for our friends at Just Food. But until then, folks, I’m staying away from the trays and snaking lines of homemade eats for a while.
Nobody was to-fooled by what was in their food Sunday at the Highline Ballroom: it was the first-ever Tofu Takedown. As an antidote to last month’s Bacon Takedown, Matt Timms turned his popular Takedown series upside-down by taking on that versatile and very un-carnivoric delight. Tofu, in all forms, firmnesses and flavors found their way into the contestants’ 17 unique dishes. And as one half of the lucky (“celebrity“?) judging squad (the other half being my half-Asian sista, Akiko), I … Read More