The only good thing about cold weather in May is that my Staub cocotte gets more use this year, until hot temps make cooking beef bourguignon and coq au vin unbearable.
Food-themed art for the modern home
The only good thing about cold weather in May is that my Staub cocotte gets more use this year, until hot temps make cooking beef bourguignon and coq au vin unbearable.
“Whoa, Walt Whitman was a lifestyle columnist for modern-day Brooklyn hipster dudes,” my pal Cathy Erway tweeted today, linking to a fun NPR piece. Apparently, the legendary 19th century writer started an advice column called “Manly Health and Training" in 1858 during a period of uncertainty with his journalism career, possibly to rebrand himself as a lifestyle writer and lecturer.
Walt had very strong opinions on important topics such as beards, cold baths, and dancing. But what was most interesting were his thoughts on the optimal diet for the “hearty man”. Pork, lobster, butter, ketchup, and potatoes were among the many things to be avoided. What to consume instead? “A simple diet of rare-cooked beef, seasoned with a little salt, and accompanied with stale bread or sea-biscuit.”
You know you’re a design nerd when you’re writing recipes for class and half the time is spent picking the perfect typeface.
Oof! Where does the time go? I just realized it has been almost a year since I last blogged here and almost a year since launching Plate & Pencil. Between running the shop, promoting my cookbook, and teaching, blogging here and at Appetite for China has unfortunately been put on the backburner. My resolution for this month is go slowly get back into posting about food & design, and for next year to definitely blog more regularly again.
In the meantime, I've been very excited to have been featured in some wide-reaching press and shout outs lately, including Real Simple and the Etsy Finds, and a bit earlier in the year from Food & Wine. It's also been very fun and challenging to progress to doing wholesale with local shops, and thrilling mailing products to customers around the world (11 countries outside the US and counting!)
Soon I'll also be putting up new holiday products in the shop in addition to recent new fun things like the Food of France print and dumpling onesies in new colors. For now, I'll head back to the drawing board (literally!) to finish off some holiday cards.
It's been a little quiet here the past few months but here's a sneak peak of what has been going on in this neck of the woods. In addition to continuing with cooking classes and food writing, I'm starting up a shop for food-inspired gifts! There will be a site name change, but the blog portion will still be devoted to a love of food from all corners of the globe.
We're launching this month just in time for the holidays, so stay tuned!
Park Slope, Restaurants and Cafes
Winter is never my favorite time in Park Slope, but the saving grace is the return of The Soup Bowl by the 7th Ave. F/G stop. (During the warmer months of the year, the location is home to Uncle Louie G's.) Yes, it may be a takeout soup stand, but on weeknights when you've come back from Manhattan only to realize there is nothing in your fridge, this shop is a lifesaver. And the fact that there is a rotating roster of 10 to 15 freshly made soups, and a perpetually friendly staff, makes me a loyal customer.
I've tried practically everything on the menu, but the one I go back to time and time again is the lobster butternut squash bisque. At $4.50 for a small cup, it doesn't have any lobster pieces, but rather a strong lobster aroma from the shells used in the stock. It's rich, creamy, and reliably delicious.
Drinks, DUMBO, DUMBO, Restaurants and Cafes
Earlier last year my friends Max and Barb found a great new Mexican restaurant in DUMBO and couldn't stop raving about their Ensenada-style fish tacos. And to be sure, when I finally went with them, the tacos did turn out to be really great, the likes of which are almost impossible to find on the East Coast.
But the tacos aren't the only reason to go to Gran Electrica. They also have amazing cocktails. We tried many over the course of the evening, but the one that stood out was the Mexican 75, modeled after the French 75. Made with Tesoro Reposado tequila instead of gin, the drink also contained Lillet Rose, Cava, lime juice, and agave nectar. It was slightly fizzy, slightly sweet, and surprisingly potent for such a small amount.
It was definitely a new favorite cocktail, and this is coming from someone who is not normally a fan of tequila.
Gran Electrica
5 Front St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Neighborhood: Dumbo
Map
Bushwick, Restaurants and Cafes
There are few things better than hot pizza right out of a brick oven on a cold January day. When I went to Roberta's for my interview at Let's Eat In on the Heritage Radio Network, whose HQ is in a shipping container in the back of the restaurant, I got to try their margherita pizza for the first time (having tried the Famous Original a few weeks earlier.)
As a purist when it comes to pizza, I like to think that you can judge how great a pie is in its most basic form, in this case, with just tomato, mozzarella, and basil. And the one at Roberta's is pretty great. It's slightly charred around the edges, with just enough tomato sauce for flavor. The mozzarella comes in nice big pieces, as it should.