Brooklyn: Greenpoint
Posted by Carey Jones, September 10, 2009 at 2:30 PM
'Tis the weekend for markets! The Greenpoint Food Market—a gathering of dozens of small-scale food producers, many of whom haven't sold publicly before—launches this Saturday, the 12th at the Church of the Messiah on Russell Street.
Particular highlights:
- Cookies from Sugarbuilt
- "A performance involving angel cake and deviled eggs by artist Hein Koh"
- Mini pies from Py-O-My
- Beer-poached bratwurst (bring 'em on!)
Greenpoint Food Market
Church of the Messiah
129 Russell Street, Brooklyn NY 11222 (map)
Saturdays, 12:00-6:00 p.m., from September 12 [via Fork in the Road]
Posted by Robyn Lee, August 13, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Photograph from newyorkshitty.com
An ice cream sandwich made with doughnut halves instead of cookies. Why didn't I think of that? Why haven't I ever eaten one before? Why aren't I eating one right now?
Heather of newyorkshitty.com reviewed this glorious marriage between the dessert families procured at Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint. Upon the manager's recommendation, she ended up with a cookies and cream ice cream sandwich in an old-fashioned cake doughnut (other possibilities include red velvet cake doughnut with strawberry or vanilla ice cream). Only $3.50 for this summer treat!
Related: A Guide to the Best Doughnuts in New York
The Diamond Bar is offering Bastille Day drink specials including wine and Normandy cider, and an $8 plat du jour: kebabs from Algiers, tabbouleh from Lebanon, Moroccan orange and carrot salad and homemade madeleines with ice cream. 43 Franklin Street, Brooklyn NY 11222 (map); 718-383-5030. [via Brooklyn Based]
Posted by Hannah Geller, May 27, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Annie Novak and Ben Flanner at Rooftop Farm.
Not just a tree, but a whole farm, grows in Brooklyn. Former E-Trade marketing manager Ben Flanner and New York Botanical Garden educational director Annie Novak started planting a whole salad full of veggie crops atop a former bagel factory in April.
Since the duo talked about the rooftop farm at last month's Brooklyn Food Conference, tattooed volunteers have flocked to the decidedly un-bucolic Greenpoint neighborhood. There, they seed, shovel, and sow, and are rewarded with quinoa for lunch and a sense of legitimacy. Some volunteers arrive lovingly clutching bags of compost, which they gratefully donate to the farm. “We had more, but our landlord made us throw it away!” griped one, holding a slightly skimpy sack.
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Posted by Barbara Hanson, May 27, 2009 at 3:00 PM
Editor's note: It's time for another dispatch from Serious Eats community member BaHa, aka Barbara Hanson, who checks in now and again about the various one-of-a-kind food stores and markets in New York.
Before I reached the top step of the subway station on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, I knew that I was in the right place. The very air was succulent with pork. The first block I walked held four meat markets, each of which had a variety of sausages swinging from the ceiling.
When I first arrived about a month ago, Manhattan Avenue was seething with people and cars were double-parked. Strollers and shoppers greeted one another in Polish. Many of the stores had lines down the block. I couldn’t believe how bustling, how thriving, this little ethnic enclave was. And then, some remnant of my Catholic school past caught up with me; it was Easter week, and Poles from all over the tri-state were hitting Greenpoint to stock up on traditional provisions for the most important day in the Polish religious calendar.
It also meant I couldn't get into a single store. (OK, I scored a bunny-shaped babka at one of the countless bakeries, but that was it.) But post-Easter, I returned on a lazy, warm afternoon and was more than ready to explore a less-crowded neighborhood.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, March 16, 2009 at 6:00 PM
This Sunday, March 22, fulfill your mac and cheese craving by hopping on the G train for the Great Greenpoint Mac Off. From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., chefs from Red Star, The Habitat, The Mark Bar, and t.b.d. Brooklyn will serve free samples of their version of macaroni and cheese (accompanied by drink specials). At 8 p.m., the mac and cheese crawl will end at t.b.d. Brooklyn where local "celebrity" judges and customer votes will determine who makes Greenpoint's best mac and cheese.
Red Star
37 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11222 (at West Street; map)
718-349-0149
The Habitat
988 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11222 (at Huron Street; map)
718-383-5815
The Mark Bar
1025 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11222 (b/n Green Street and Freeman Street; map)
718-349-2340
t.b.d. Brooklyn
244 Franklin Street, Brooklyn NY 11222 (b/n Freeman Street and Eagle Street; map)
718-349-6727
Posted by Joe DiStefano, February 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Today is Fat Thursday, not to be confused with Fat Tuesday, which doesn’t take place until next week. The Polish pre-Lenten tradition is also known as tłusty czwartek. Perhaps the Poles like to get their gorging started early because it revolves around pączki, a calorific treat that's larger than a child’s head. Well, not really, but since its origins lie in using up lard, sugar, eggs, and fruit before Lent, these steroidal jelly doughnuts might as well be bigger than a little girl’s noggin.
The dough tastes like a zeppole, but a tad breadier. I was actually glad that there wasn’t a lot of jelly inside my pączki, otherwise I might have gone into sugar shock. I’m pretty sure the filling was a mix of rose jam and prunes. It was really good, but not something you’d want to eat everyday. It’s called Fat Thursday for a reason. After the jump, where to find them in Rockaway Park, Greenpoint, and the East Village.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Or, 'Chicken-Fried Eggs, Uncaged'
We were all pleasantly surprised to open the New York Times Magazine last weekend and read that the notorious Kenny Shopsin was inspired to create his State Fair Plate (corn-dog sausage, s’mores pancakes, and chicken-fried eggs) by a post he saw here on the site. I'm guessing it was one of the many posts we've done on state fairs, maybe even this one that mentions a "not-so-typical chocolate-covered chicken stick."
Probably around the same time we were reading that article, Tina "The Wandering Eater" Wong and her friend visited Shopsin's for brunch and had ... the State Fair Plate! ("Helen’s favorite part of the dish was the s’more cakes since it’s very sweet. When I tried a wedge, I felt like I’m eating little pancakes that’s made with a pound of sugar.") Shopsins: Essex Street Market, Stall No. 16, 120 Essex Street, New York NY 10002 (b/n Delancey and Rivington streets; map); shopsins.com
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Posted by Ed Levine, December 6, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Today is the second day (and the third night of Chanukah), and I feel like I should share what I know about latkes in New York. The Manhattan latke world suffered a great loss recently when the Polish coffee shop Teresa's on First Avenue closed. Thank God the Teresa's in Brooklyn Heights is still open. Teresa's makes crisp, thin, oniony latkes that were to die for. Thin, crisp and crunchy on the outside, and soft and oniony on the inside. That is my latke Platonic ideal, and I hope you agree. I don't want my latkes to be more than an inch think. That's why I have so many problems with latkes at kosher-style delis. They make them too thick and they often don't fry them to order. That is a major latke sin. In fact, I think those deli owners are commiting latkecide. That's why you're likely to do so much better at Polish coffee shops, where they wouldn't dream of trying to get away with serving reheated latkes. So where does one go just such latkes worth the calories, the cholesterol, and the carbs?
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Posted by Ed Levine, November 4, 2007 at 2:15 PM
Seth Kugel plugs into New York's best coffee bars. Add this to Peter Meehan's picks from a year ago (the first four of the following guide) and you have a pretty comprehensive list of where to get a serious cup of joe in New York. Notice I said pretty comprehensive. Add your own favorites to the list and we'll try to put them on the map.
View Larger Map
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Posted by Ed Levine, October 9, 2006 at 9:18 AM
I don't even like espresso 
(in fact, I don't drink hot coffee of any kind.), but reading Peter Meehan's terrific story in the Times a few weeks ago made me think I should start downing double espressos at every opportunity. Meehan reported that a few New York-based baristas are markedly improving the New York coffeescape:
Ninth Street Espresso: 700 E. 9th Street (Avenue C), 212-358-9225
Gimme Coffee!: 495 Lorimer St. (at Powers), Williamsburg, 718-388-7771
Cafe Grumpy: 193 Meserole Ave. (at Diamond), Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 718-349-7623
Oslo Coffee Company: 133-B Roebling St. (N. Fourth), and 328 Bedford Ave. (S. Third St.), 718-782-0332
It's not surprising that all the serious espresso joints are in hipster havens. Read the whole story
Posted by Ed Levine, July 4, 2006 at 11:15 AM
When it's July 4th weekend and it's this hot, a man's thoughts turn to ice cream.
With the temperature and humidity levels ridiculously high this weekend, I am pleased to report that the Otto ice cream cart is back at the NW corner of Washington Square Park. I ordered a half lemon, half coconut cup last week and got a half lemon, half vanilla instead, but it didn't matter. This is truly great ice cream, made by Meredith Kurtzman at Otto, where the gelati and sorbetti are almost uniformly sublime. Otto is definitely one of the great NY ice cream spots.
Here are my other favorites:
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