Novelist StephanieDanler’s favorite depiction of food in literature comes from the Seamus Heaney poem “Oysters,” which begins:
Our shells clacked on the plates. My tongue was a filling estuary, My palate hung with starlight: As I tasted the salty Pleiades Orion dipped his foot into the water.
Danler mentioned the poem in a panel discussion on food in literature titled “Food and Fiction,” one of the events at this year’s Food Book Fair, which was held at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg on May 1st and 2nd.
Danler, who wrote Sweetbitter, was joined on the panel by Jessica Tom, author of the novel Food Whore, and Helen Ellis, whose collection of humorous short stories American Housewife came out earlier this year. Cathy Erway, host of “Eat Your Words” on the Heritage Radio Network and author of The Food of Taiwan and The Art of Eating In, was the moderator.
The sensory richness of the Seamus Heaney poem that Danler cited—“my palate hung with starlight”—set a fitting tone for the Food Book Fair, which felt like a celebration of all that is beautiful in food writing and publishing.Continue reading →
Have you ever been curious about how exactly cheese is made? It is, my friends, a true art form, as we learned Wednesday night at Edible Brooklyn‘s “How To Eat Cheese.”
About 150 cheese lovers gathered at the Brooklyn Brewery, eager to learn about everything cheese-related from some of NYC’s expert cheese makers. We got our hands on all sorts of tasty treats from the cheesemongers themselves, some of which had never been out of the vault! All about the cheese talks after the jump.
Now that it’s light in the evenings and actually fairly pleasant out, it’s finally time to contemplate doing fun things again. Just to ease you back into the swing of things, here’s info on three local dinner events that are worth staying out for over the next couple of weeks:
Done and dusted with your tax return? Pre-emptively spend your rebate on this five-course dinner at Dirck the Norseman (who celebrated their 1st Birthday yesterday…happy beer-day Dirck!). The evening starts with a brewery tour to help you work up an appetite, then diners sit down to enjoy five robust courses (menu above) each paired with a different delicious brew from Greenpoint Beer and Ale Co. The meat-heavy menu isn’t so great for veggies, but beer-loving carnivores will be in seventh heaven!
Picnic season is here! And, just in the nick of time, brand new store Greenpoint Cheese + Meat (192 Driggs Ave) has flung open its doors to provide us with a dazzling array of treats perfect for enjoying in the park on a lazy summer afternoon.
The store is run by friends and business partners Ursula O’Hara and Jessica Mark and, as the name suggests, they’re focusing mainly on specialist cheeses and cured meats (along with some exceptionally lovely Italian olives). Continue reading →
There’s plenty happening in Greenpoint’s food and drink scene right now. Here’s a few things you should know about:
NOW OPEN: Greenpoint Cheese + Meat Greenpoint Cheese + Meat softly opened their doors last week. We will have full coverage of all their tasty wares soon but in the meantime you should pop in and check out their delicious meats and cheeses for yourself (not to mention the fresh loaves from Bakeri)! The store is at 192 Driggs Ave and is currently open from 12-7pm Tuesday-Sunday (though these times are likely to change in the coming weeks…we will keep you updated). Continue reading →
In recent weeks a jovial string of tricolore bunting has appeared in the middle of Dobbin Street. This is not the world’s smallest street party but instead marks the site of The Tasting Room, a new store specializing in imported goodies such as olive oils, pasta and antipasti, all from Italy’s southern region of Puglia.
The Tasting Room owners Matthew Millner and his wife (who is from Puglia), have actually been importing and distributing these types of goods for the past three years, but it is only recently that they decided to open up a retail outlet. Continue reading →
Fancy bars and restaurants with all sorts of sexy food and drink (Tørst, Beloved, Nights and Weekends) are all over Greenpoint these days, but let’s face it – sometimes you just want get hammered on a budget, pay homage to the neighborhood’s longtime establishments, or just check out something different and new (or old). Greenpoint definitely has no shortage of dive bars, but where to begin?
This weekend I hung out in some of these dives (a.k.a. “old man” bars) in the neighborhood and got to know them and their clientele a little better. I scoped out the drink specials, watched Jeopardy with the regulars, and relaxed in some sweet backyards. And now I present to you, along with my little rating system, some of the neighborhood’s best kept secrets:
Irene’s Pub (623 Manhattan Ave)
Irene's Pub
Despite being so centrally located, Irene’s is somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps most Greenpointers are unfamiliar with the bar’s philosophy:”it’s happy hour all the time,” which I verified as TRUTH. Irene’s prices are actually equivalent to happy hour deals, all the time – we’re talking $2 drafts and dirt-cheap mixed drinks. I repeat: all day and night long. Continue reading →
A taste of things to come from Greenpoint Cheese + Meat
It’s almost time to haul out that blanket from the back of the closet and indulge in the first picnic of the year. And although picnicking is my absolute favorite way to dine, it always leaves me feeling a little jealous of those living close enough to Eastern District to be able to pick up lovely cheeses en route to the park.
Luckily, the southern end of Greenpoint is about to be blessed with a speciality food shop of its very own. Greenpoint Cheese + Meat is due to open at 192 Driggs Avenue (between Newell and Diamond St) on May 1st, perfectly located by McGolrick Park and just in time for peak picnic season. Continue reading →
Have you heard about this big sports game thingy tomorrow? As you can see by my drawing, I’m not much of a football fan. I thought a bronco was a bull. It’s actually a HORSE! Oops. I still don’t know what the activity of tailgating involves, but, as I’ve mentioned before, I am a definite fan of sporty snacks. Buffalo wings, nachos, queso, tater skins, fiery hot Cheetos, the obligatory platter of baby carrots and onion dip– I welcome it all. But Greenpointer’s own Jen G recently introduced me to a new addition to the world of finger foods. Do you remember the Bloomin’ Onion, made famous by Outback Steakhouse? Well its time you meet its distant cousin: Bloomin’ Bread. No deep-fryer required, it’s essentially a loaf of bread sliced so that it opens up like a chrysanthemum made of carbohydrates and cheese. You might say it’s a real game changer, a tasty touch down, perhaps even this years snack MVP? Enough already…let’s do this!
