Kings County Corn Bowl! Recap

For corn-lovers, Greenpoint was the center of the known universe this Sunday, as TBD Bar hosted the first ever Kings County Corn Bowl. This fiercely contested cook-off settled a question as old as time itself: “what are the weirdest, wildest, and mother-shucking tastiestthings you can make with corn?”

Brooklyn Star previewed the main event with incredible Chicken and Waffle-Cones, topped with a tangy corn-slaw and lathered in syrup.

Then came the main event. Twelve culinary kooks brought incredible offerings, all crafted from freshly picked upstate corn. The dapper Kendall Holmes of Cloud Coffee Carts wowed with his corn soda (stop by his weekend pop-up outside the Artists and Flea Market to try his incredible coffee soda). Art of Eating In author Carney Erway twisted a staple Asian congee porridge  – ditching the rice and creating a “Corngee”, topped with succulent roast duck. Another honorable mention goes Julie Tanous and Ted Rosen to the Corn “Gaznacho”: a corn gazpacho with parsley oil, whimsically entering the Corn Bowl in… an edible corn nacho bowl.

There were twists on old favorites too. Food stylists Ashley Berman and Ericka Martins impressed with their gritty “street corn chowder”, featuring the big bold flavors of chili oil, queso fresco and fresh lime, and served with a shot of corn whiskey and Mexican Coca-Cola. It was a witty nod to food politics, since most of the corn the public consumes comes in the gross, high-fructose syrup variety, which Mexican Coke famously avoids.

But the coveted Kings County Corn Bowl title was claimed by a truly exceptional dish. Allison Kave from First Class Pies and Keavy Landreth from Kumquat Cupcakery collaborated on a dessert to die for: sweet corn ice cream served over green chile cornbread, topped with ginger-cayenne caramel and salty candied pistachios. As you can see from the photo below… oh, wait. THERE ISN’T ONE. Despite the hundreds of smart phones and fancy cameras present, I can’t track down ANYONE in attendance with a picture of the thing. This sundae was literally so delicious, all the photographers present were too busy eating it and making orgasmic food faces to shoot a single image. And if that doesn’t make you want to eat this thing, you’re crazy. The pair are working on an artisanal dessert/cocktail bar called Butter & Scotch, opening next year, and the sundae is all set to be their breakout menu star.

The Bowl was the brainchild of seasoned competitive cooks The Brooklynauts – Mike Stewart and Charlie Mirisola – and also served as fundraiser for two great causes: the Food Bank of NYC, and seed money for a planned food competition league called Gastro Gladiators. So Greenpointers will keep you up to date with developments on that, and future Brooklynauts cook-offs. There are delectable rumors of a Cheese Bowl planned for the depths of winter: So Pester the Brooklynauts to beg them – nay, plead them– to make it happen.