The Reader On Food

Emerging from their homes, ex-hibernators in Brooklyn have many options to choose from when it comes to gathering with their friends and family and enjoying the long days of spring and summer. The new additions to our neighborhood strive to promote innovations in food, community, and—most importantly—having fun. Butter and Scotch promises to provide all the best things in life under one roof at their dessert-meets-cocktail bar, while Nightingale 9 and Fletcher’s serve up innovative updates on Vietnamese cuisine and barbecue.

Butter and Scotch

Allison Kave and Keavy Blueher were following parallel paths before ever meeting each other and teaming up to create their boozy baking business, Butter and Scotch. As Blueher was working towards her degree in Illustration from Parson’s School of Design, she was working in bakeries and restaurants. “My unhealthy obsession with creating the perfect cupcake developed during this time,” she says. What started as a hobby wound up taking over her spare time, and she began to sell her creations at markets like Artists & Fleas and Brooklyn Flea. The Kumquat Cupcakery was born. Meanwhile, Kave was reevaluating her career as the recession hit the art world hard. Throughout her years spent as a gallery director, curator, and writer, she found herself growing increasingly fixated with the food scene in the city. And it’s no surprise, since it seems to run in the family; her mom owns Roni-Sue’s Chocolates, and her brother is a chef. She had been spending Sundays baking pies and experimenting with recipes for fun, and a year after she found herself out of a job, she ended up winning first prize at the inaugural Brooklyn Pie Bake-Off Benefit. Kave started selling her first prize pies at her mom’s shop and in markets.

Blueher was introduced to Kave the same way we all were—by trying a bunch of Kave’s pies at Smorgasburg last Spring and becoming obsessed with them. She hit a lull with Kumquat Cupcakery and imagined opening a place where people could enjoy cupcakes, pies, and wine in one setting—a more grown-up version of the traditional bakery. She approached Kave with the idea of teaming up to open a brick-and-mortar space, and Kave was immediately on board. “I ran with her initial concept of desserts and wine and added on craft cocktails, house-made bitters, and even artisanal jello shots,” says Kave. “It’s all about using great, seasonal ingredients in both the desserts and the drinks, but above all, we want people to come in and have fun.” Blueher agrees. “While we plan to serve expertly-crafted drinks and sweets, we’re not interested in intimidating or overwhelming our clients. Our style is rustic, and above all, fun.”

Their quirky creations come from a variety of sources of inspiration. Many of their ideas come from looking at classic desserts and dishes and finding new ways to play with them. For example, their PB&J Three Ways is a trio of desserts inspired by the sandwich, including a slice of pie, a mini cupcake, and a sundae. They will also turn their cravings into new recipes. Blueher explains, “I’ll say something like, ‘I really want something with sesame.’ And then Allison will say ‘Oh yeah, and I bet that would go well with port!’ And then all of a sudden we have a Tahini Thumbprint Cookie with sesame seeds and port jelly.” Their friends’ and familys’ cravings and tastes work their way into Kave and Keavy’s creations as well. The Mary Ellen, which is a dry vodka martini paired with a hot fudge sundae, is inspired by Blueher’s grandmother.

Butter and Scotch will primarily focus on their dessert and liquor pairings, but will be open throughout the day to serve coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. Other items to look forward to are homemade ice cream for floats, shakes, and sundaes, as well as killer cocktails. A selection of savory snacks will also be available to balance out the sweets. As of press time, Butter and Scotch has not finalized a location, but they have been scouting Franklin Avenue in hopes to be a part of the burgeoning community come late summer. Check out www.butterandscotch.com for their updates and more information.

Nightingale 9

Having already earned the love of Carroll Gardens residents with his southern-inspired restaurant, Seersucker, and his café, Smith Canteen, Chef Robert Newton has expanded his repertoire to celebrate his love of Vietnamese food with Nightingale 9 (345 Smith Street). Last year, Newton ate his way through Vietnam, diving into the food culture through street food, home cooking, and restaurants meals. He met chefs, farmers, artists, and business owners all across the country from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, discovering the diversity and regional influences of the expansive Vietnamese cuisine. A particular favorite was Da Lat, a town in the Central Highlands with a heavy French influence to its cuisine and a big focus on vegetable farming.
Newton incorporates inspiration from all around the country in the dishes at Nightingale 9 and always stays true to the principles of sourcing good ingredients—the chicken, duck, beef, and pork are all from New York. The foundation is the soups—such as a beef and rice-noodle soup—with rich, complex broths as the cornerstone of the menu. Smaller dishes include Pork Rolls, Crab and Mushroom Turnovers and, of course, updated takes on banh mi, while entrees offer takes on traditional Vietnamese fish dishes such as Catfish with Dill. For something sweet and refreshing, try the condensed milk ice cream desserts, or the house-made sugar cane juice.  With communal seating, salvaged wood, and reclaimed items, the environment is warm and inviting, a perfect place to get away.

Fletcher’s

A barbecue boom has come to Brooklyn, and thank god for it. One of the latest and most exciting additions to the scene is Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbeque in Gowanus (433 3rd Avenue). They had originally planned to open the day Sandy blew through, but they managed to avoid any damages and by opening a few days later. “We were unsure if it was the right thing to do,” says Bill Fletcher, the owner of Fletcher’s. “But the neighborhood welcomed us openly. It ended up being a place where people could come together and find some comfort.” In turn, Fletcher’s gave back to their new community by participating in Operation BBQ Relief, providing food for those hit hardest by the storm.

Now, settled in after their dramatic beginnings, Fletcher’s has become an anchor in the developing foodie enclave of Gowanus. Fletcher works together with Matt Fisher, pitmaster and chef, to develop their niche, which they refer to as Brooklyn barbeque. “I grew up in the Northeast. I don’t want to lay claim to any existing barbeque. Barbeque is a religion. People believe the only true barbeque is the one they grew up with. So, we’re here to make it our own.” Originally from an advertising background, Fletcher started entering barbeque competitions for fun and ended up meeting Fisher at Grillin’ on the Bay, the Brooklyn barbeque competition that Fisher had helped found. Now they have teamed up to create an innovative twist on the classics.
Far beyond the burgers and dogs most associated with barbeque in the North, Fletcher’s serves rotating specials like pork belly, lamb shank, and hoisin duck, as well as the usual ribs, brisket, and pork. Slow-cooked over an open-fire red oak and maple pit, their meat has an unexpected complexity compared to those coming from other commercial kitchens. They also stand out for their commitment to using locally-sourced, humanely-raised meats free from antibiotics and hormones. Their sides. like the Pit-Smoked Baked Beans, Mac’ and Cheese, and Pickles, also use seasonal, local ingredients when possible. Even their drinks are locally-sourced, mixed with spirits from King’s County Distillery and Breuckelen Distillery, which is only a few blocks away.

“When you think about what ties all of the regional styles of barbeque together, it’s not really about the food. It’s more about people coming together and enjoying themselves, relaxing,” Fletcher says, and the atmosphere of Fletcher’s holds true to the heart of barbecue. With family-style seating, everyone picks out their food at a counter from the rotating menu displayed on a blackboard, piles it directly onto paper-lined trays, and gathers around picnic tables. With the true feeling of a neighborhood spot, Fletcher’s is a welcome addition to Third Avenue.

The cookbook is to food artisans as the signature fragrance is to pop stars; a rite of passage, a sign that you’ve made it. This being Brooklyn and all, there is no end to the options of ways to recreate what you love most about our markets, food trucks, shops, and restaurants in the comfort of your own (very small) kitchen. In this issue, we’ve highlighted just a few new releases for cookbooks brought to you from our borough’s best to help you with your menu planning.

Give into your cravings with Liz Gutman and Jen King, who bring you Liddabit Sweets—an innovative candy brand that started as a side project a mere two years after first meeting at the beginning of pastry school and “accidentally” bloomed into their full-time career shortly afterwards. Keep your fingers on the pulse with brothers Max and Eli Sussman who cook for Roberta’s and Mile End Delicatessen, respectively, and have been named on both Forbes (for Max) and Zagat’s (for both) lists of top thirty under thirty food professionals. Or, check in again with Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, now veterans of the cookbook racket with their third publication inspired by the beloved Baked.

The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook

I consider myself a good baker and cook. But for some reason, making candy has always been my downfall. Every single attempt—from the time I tried to make Fluff by microwaving marshmallows when I was seven, to when my caramel sauce never made the transition from a mass of melted sugar a few months ago—has resulted in complete disaster. As a candy lover, this has always upset me greatly. I would have given up on the idea entirely if it had not been for The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook, by Liz Gutman and Jen King. See, this isn’t just a collection of scrumptious recipes (we’ll get to those in a minute), it’s the best textbook you’ve ever had.

The first chapter is a fifty-five page crash course on Candy 101 and it’s packed with both practical and entertaining information. There is a surprising amount of science behind your sweets, and Gutman and King lay it out for you in a way that’s simple to understand and easy to translate to all of your endeavors in the kitchen. There are ten pages alone dedicated on how to melt chocolate—if something this deceivingly simple can be so complicated to warrant that word count, then no wonder candy-making can be tough to master! This section is full of tips, tricks, and troubleshooting, so it’s useful for both your practical needs and for arming you with the knowledge to truly understand what you’re doing in the kitchen. Reading about breaking down your dessert into chemical processes may sound like a bore, but fear not. Gutman and King’s voices are inviting, encouraging, and full of charm. You would think reading all this would make the idea of candy-making even more intimidating but, while they make no effort to hide that (it is complicated and requires a good deal of effort), I’ve never felt more ready to take on the challenge than after reading this book.

Good thing they provide you with an awesome collection of recipes to try while you’re all pumped up. They’re broken down into candy categories: Chocolates, Gummy and Chewy (caramels, jellies, marshmallows), Creamy (fudge, maple candy, pralines), Crunchy (lollipops, toffees, brittles), Homemade Candy Bars, as well as a catch-all category for Party Favorites (candy apples, cake balls, caramel corn). If you’re familiar with Liddabit Sweets from their stands at the Brooklyn Flea or Amsterdam Market (or pretty much anywhere in the city where the cool kids buy food), you’ll recognize their tendency to take something we all know and love and make it better by translating it to a more homestyle feel. You’ll find the recipes to their signature offerings here, including Snacker Bars—the creation that started it all with their take on Snickers, King Bars (a riff on Elvis’ favorite sandwich of peanut butter and banana), Beer and Pretzel Caramels, and Honeycomb Candy. But there are plenty of new things to try like Chocolate Toffee Matzo Crunch, Chai Latte Lollipops, or Hip-To-Be-Squares, which are, to put it in their words, “a creamy-crunchy combination of chocolate, hazelnut, and delicately crispy feuilletine wafers.” If you’re one of those people who, like my dad, lament that “you can’t get just chocolate ice cream anymore!” and are tired of all these crazy concoctions, there are tons of classics, too. We’ve got your truffles, turtles, cherry cordials, marzipan, Turkish delights, and their adorable homemade gummy bears, just to name a few.

Whether you’re looking to impress people with your array of homemade sweets at potlucks or to impress people with your newfound knowledge (I look forward to an opportunity to reference the “thread stage” of sugar in casual conversation), there’s something here for you. Even if you never try a single recipe, you’re sure to have fun simply spending time with The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook.

This Is A Cookbook: Recipes For Real Life

The essence of Max and Eli Sussman’s This Is A Cookbook can be summed up in a single sentence: This is a cookbook with a foreword by Rob Delaney. Everything—from the range of recipes to the not overly stylized photographs, to the fonts—makes you feel like you’re hanging out with your coolest friends. Both brothers are hard-working food industry professionals (Max is the chef de cuisine at Roberta’s, and Eli is a line cook at Mile End Delicatessen) who live together in a sweet Brooklyn bachelor pad and, accordingly, the recipes have the feel of what cooks make for themselves at home on their day off—simple but not plain, comforting, nothing too labor-intensive, and just the right amount of trendiness.

Their introductory brunch chapter alone shows their wide range of cuisines, but it manages not to feel haphazard. A flip of the page goes from Chilaquiles (or “breakfast nachos” as I believe they’re traditionally called), to Fried Chicken and Waffles, to Latkes. The variety continues through the rest of the chapters: Backyard Grub, Night In, Dinner Party, Midnight Snacks, and Sweet Stuff. Korean Short Ribs, Turkish Baked Eggs, Avgolemono, Thyme Spaetzle, and Nutella Buns somehow all blend into a cohesive narrative. Along with the recipes, there are lessons interspersed throughout the book on how to tackle the culinary trends, including how to smoke your own bacon, pickle your own vegetables, and make your own pasta.

The mélange of recipes, the DIY element, and the design of the book itself are all quintessentially Brooklyn, but one bump in the road is that there’s a whole section on grilling. It seems a bit out of place in a book that otherwise assures you that great food can be made in the smallest of kitchens. But that’s not to say that the recipes themselves are unappreciated—hello, Grilled Figs with Burnt Honey and Pistachio Yogurt! Fifth-floor walk-up dwellers can easily adapt most of the dishes in this chapter to their stove tops or ovens with some know-how and creativity. Other than that, This is a Cookbook would fit right into the urban twenty or thirty-something lifestyle that it aims to reach. It’s accessible, but not boring. You’ll likely learn about a few new dishes, and it’s not restricted by expensive or hard-to-find ingredients. It’s the kind of book that you can pick up and actually use to make dinner on an average weeknight of your real life, not that fantasy version that you’ve portrayed on Pinterest that so many other cookbooks cater to. And for all you tablet-lovers, the digital version sounds incredible. It’s loaded with behind-the-scenes videos, pop-up tips and stories, step-by-step galleries, and even links to iTunes playlists curated by each brother. Overall, This is a Cookbook is a fun, charming, and useful book that would make both a great addition to a cook’s collection or an introductory volume for someone first making their way into the culinary world.

Baked Elements : Our 10 Favorite Ingredients

Baked Elements, the third cookbook from Baked owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, presents its recipes organized by ingredients, which is kind of genius. The urge to bake almost always comes from a craving for a certain ingredient. For Lewis and Poliafito, they were quickly able to come up with their shared top ten ingredients that grace their creations time and time again: peanut butter, lemon and lime, caramel, booze, pumpkin, malted milk powder, cinnamon, cheese, chocolate, and banana. (They do include recipes for homemade peanut butter, pumpkin puree, chocolate syrup, and three different caramels, if you want to be totally impressive.) There are seventy-five recipes here, and almost all of them manage to feel new and fresh. Dessert recipes often seem to be recycling the same ideas over and over again, but even the classics have their own Baked twist to them—like how their Key Lime Tarts have a pretzel crust. This book is presented more on the Martha Stewart side of the spectrum, but despite the fancy packaging, the recipes aren’t particularly high-end or pretentious. Most of them are pretty manageable, and have the added bonus of making it look like you spent a lot of time and effort on them.

Each section begins with a bunch of fun facts about the ingredient and an ode praising its value (Did you know that Milton Hershey’s initial venture was the Lancaster Caramel Company, opened in 1886, and he only learned about chocolate-making because he was looking for new ways to coat his caramels?). I especially enjoy the introductory sentence to the recipes: “If you have ever woken up with a slight hangover and a dubious, half-remembered, half-eaten jar of peanut butter at your side, we can empathize.” There’s a part of me that feels a bit guilty saying that some of their best recipes are to be found in their Booze section, from their Whiskey Peach Upside-Down Cake to their S’more-Style Chocolate Whiskey Pudding with Whiskey Marshmallow Topping to the Triple Rum Black Pepper Cake. But I was most intrigued by the malted ilk section, since it is an ingredient I think it’s safe to say most of us have very little experience with. It seems a bit old-timey to me, mostly associated with the malted milkshakes of old-school soda fountains (there’s a recipe for that), so it’s fitting that the chapter opens with homemade Devil Dogs With Malted Buttercream Filling. It also features updates on old favorites like Malted Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème and Malted Madeleines.

Their range of recipes transcends seasons and occasions. Of course, the lemon and lime recipes are suited to be enjoyed in the summer (oh for the Lemon Lime Champagne Granita on a hot day) and the pumpkin recipes in the Fall, but for the most part, you’d be able to turn to Baked Elements throughout the year. They also strike a nice balance between lighter and richer offerings and between more casual treats and decadent affairs. And while this is, in essence, a book of desserts, there are a handful of recipes that are just savory enough to be enjoyed as a breakfast or snack like their Good Morning Sunshine Bars, Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, Honey Banana Poppy Seed Bread, and their brilliantly named Lacy Panty Cakes—which are essentially pancakes amped up with graham crackers and whiskey sauce. They subtly incorporate a few trends like the boozy milkshake (bourbon, vanilla, and chocolate), whoopie pies (banana), and pretzels (whole-wheat cinnamon sugar) too so it feels especially current. (Okay, so pretzels might not be a full-on trend yet, but they’re on the cusp of being the next big thing—you heard it here first!) This comprehensive collection leans towards being a companion for special occasions, but is rarely so far-reaching that it couldn’t be picked up to add some delight to an average weekend.

They say that one out of seven Americans can trace their roots to Brooklyn. As “America’s hometown,” the multicultural heritage defines the borough.  To me, the center of culinary nostalgia may be Brighton Beach, with its blintzes and pierogies.  For others, it may be the Italian bakeries and butchers of Carroll Gardens, the taquerias in Sunset Park, or the oxtail stew in Crown Heights.  When you’re in Brooklyn, you can always go home again.  Not only do these restaurants and shops celebrate where the people of Brooklyn have come from, but where they are going.

To Schlep No More

“I think it’s the smell that really draws people in,” Peter Shelsky says from behind the counter of his appetizing shop, Shelsky’s (251 Smith Street), in Carroll Gardens.  “That sense of nostalgia hits them right when they walk through the door.”  But, really, all five senses are transported back in time.  The store looks like an old black-and-white photo come to life: glass jars of nuts, dried fruit, and penny candy by the window, halvah and rugelach under domed glass, trays of pickled herring, latkes, lox, and schmear, shelves filled with matzo meal and rye bread, a refrigerator with Dr. Brown’s and Cel-Ray. Shelsky — a New Yorker, born and raised — grew up with the same memories as his growing base of regular customers.  He lived in the Upper East Side, but would accompany his grandmother to the Lower East Side for bialys and appetizing, and the Upper West Side for groceries at Zabar’s.  As an adult in Brooklyn with a family of his own, he grew tired of having to schlep over the bridge to recreate the experience. After years of working in the food industry, he decided to open a place of his own.

The big draw at Shelsky’s is the lox, particularly the pastrami salmon, and the sandwiches it adorns. But, Shelsky considers his specialties to be the appetizing underdogs, like his whitefish salad and pickled herring. While the salmon may be smoked elsewhere, the salads and pickling are done in-house.  Some of the baking is homemade as well, including the rugelach with a modern twist of unusual flavors like clementine or ginger.  They also update the classics with their unique sandwiches. Take the Dr. Goldstein Special, for example: duck fat-laced chopped liver and apple horseradish sauce, served between two schmaltz-fried latkes.  Or, there’s the Sweet and Smokey Blintz: lean kippered salmon, apples, red onions, and horseradish crème fraiche rolled in a crepe. Don’t worry, they have bagels and bialys too, from Kossar’s during the week or Davidvich on Shabbat.  Try the Holy Mackerel, which is smoked peppered mackerel with cucumber salad and vegetable cream cheese.

It was important to Shelsky to help revive the tradition of Jewish foods in the wake of its near disappearance from the borough.  This has always seemed like a strange phenomenon to me.  After all, so much of New York City is even more quintessentially Jewish than Jerusalem. Shelsky attributes it to a few things.  First, is the obvious change of the skyrocketing prices of living in Brooklyn, as well as the ingredients. But, he also notes that the people you would expect to support appetizing stores most are the least likely customers.  “I’ve gotten complaints from the religious community about not being Kosher.  They can’t eat here.”  But, he bristles at the accusation that this disqualifies him as running a Jewish store.  “I refuse to accept the idea that Jewish food begins and ends with what’s Kosher.”  (This is true, but the day Katz’s started offering Reuben sandwiches was still a tragedy.)  Shelsky continues, “Eastern European Jews brought this food to this city and this country.  It’s what our ancestors ate. It’s our heritage.  People connect with the food more than anything else.  There’s this saying that captures the Jewish attitude about food perfectly: ‘They tried to kill us.  We survived. Let’s eat.’ That’s what I care more about.” Amen.

Complimenting the Heart and Soul

If Brooklyn’s food scene is defined by its multiculturalism, then Kimchi Grill (766 Washington Avenue) perfectly encompasses this classic feature in a fresh direction.  The restaurant, which opened in the spring at in Prospect Heights, serves up the unusual and intriguing fusion of Koren and Mexican cuisines, with a dash of Italian and Middle Eastern influences thrown into the mix.  Food truck fiends will recognize this combo from the popular Kimchi Taco Truck, which has been a favorite since its arrival on the scene in March, 2011.

The plan was simple: Make Korean cuisine more accessible.  Phillip Lee had been working in the restaurant business for years with different types of foods, but when he decided to break out on his own he knew that it would revolve around the dishes of his heritage. Korean food, it seemed, was difficult to approach for the average American audience, with the main exception of Korean barbecue. He thought back to his uncle, who owned one of the first Japanese restaurants in Long Island in the late 80s, and how that food began to become such a hit.  Most of the patrons started out slowly, with California rolls and tempura, before they worked their way up to sushi or sashimi. He figured it would be best to take the same approach with Korean  cuisine, making it a bit friendlier and more casual by combining it with more familiar dishes.

Lee knew that the foundation of his menu would be kimchi, which he calls “the heart and soul of Korean food.”  (Kimchi comes in many different varieties depending on the season and the region, but is generally a combination of fresh, pickled, or fermented vegetables and meats with spices and condiments.)  Knowing that the concept of kimchi was still foreign for most of his would-be customers, his dishes are mainly rooted in barbecue.  When choosing which cuisine to experiment with, Mexican seemed like a natural fit.  Both nationalities love their spice; the possibilities for combinations were endless, giving him a lot of room to work with toning down or amping up different flavors.

While Kimchi Grill does have the fan favorites from the truck, the menu has been greatly expanded to include dishes that require the space of a full kitchen.  Lee worked with his chef, Mike Calderon, to create new dishes. They both drew on their childhood favorites, pinpointing the best part of their best dishes and finding room to grow.  After a ton of trial and error, they’ve developed a menu that is a truly unique experience.  Of course, there are the tacos, like the Korean BBQ Beef Short Rib (with red cabbage apple pear kimchi slaw), and the Korean Fried Chicken (tossed in blue agave nectar and ginger garlic Korean pepper sauce, with pickled daikon, queso blanco, and sesame seeds).  You can get any of their tacos in a burrito, bowl, or ssam (lettuce wrap) as well.

But, where you can see Lee and Calderon really having fun is with their side dishes. The six current items are split between Korean and Mexican standards being given a twist with elements of the opposite cuisine. Popular Korean street foods, like rice gnocchi or arancini (crispy rice balls), are paired with queso blanco and quesa Oaxaca, respectively. The Kimchi Goat Cheese Quesadilla is one of the most elaborate dishes, with goat cheese, provolone, and sautéed kimchi in the tortilla, and fresh kimchi, pico de gallo, kimchi, chipotle aioli, and miso crema on top.  The BBQ Nachos are another highlight, with marinated barbecue beef and pork with queso blanco, cheddar, black beans, kimchi, pico de gallo, and miso crema. The combinations of flavors and textures of each of these offerings are expertly thought out, and the ubiquitous kimchi really makes each dish with the addition of a delightful crispness and freshness.  Despite kimchi’s reputation for heat, it tended to be what toned down the spice, and essential to balancing the flavors.

Keep an eye out throughout the Fall: Lee and Calderon are still hard at work, and the menu’s only going to get bigger.

Breaking Bread

Peter Endriss of Runner & Stone (285 Fifth Avenue) has been infatuated with food his whole life.  As a little kid, he would hang out in the kitchen with his father while he prepared dinner, or prepped for parties.  At 13, he began working in restaurants, and he knew it was what he loved to do.  But, when it came to choosing a career path, he ended up as a civil engineer.  “It wasn’t so much how I transitioned from being a civil engineer to a baker, but a question of what I was doing as a civil engineer in the first place. But everyone told me to pursue an academic career.  They warned me about the hours of the food industry, and the difficulty of the job, so I tried something else.”

But, after 10 years as an engineer, he could no longer stand it.  He left for Germany, where he worked in a bakery.  His father was from Germany, and Endriss went there every year with him to visit his family.  Every morning, his father would walk to the small town’s bakery to buy bread and pretzels for the day, and now, Endriss was learning to make them himself.  From Germany, Endriss spent time in different bakeries and restaurants in New York, France, and Italy.  After a few years, the entrepreneurial tradition of his family was too strong to ignore, and he decided to open up a place of his own.

Back in New York, Endriss teamed up with Chris Pizzulli (of Blue Ribbon) and came up with the concept for Runner & Stone, a neighborhood gathering place that will carry you from early morning to late at night.  The day begins with a coffee shop and bakery.  This is Endriss’ specialty.  Using techniques he learned in Germany and France, he’ll offer a selection of breads, pastries, and pretzels.  You may have seen these at Smorgasburg and the New Amsterdam Market.  The almond croissants with seasonal fruits, walnut bread, and olive ciabatta were all smash hits.  Liquid sourdough gives the breads a greater depth of flavor.  Around lunch time, soup and sandwiches will be available, providing an outlet for their charcuterie that’s made in-house, including pastrami, lox, and pickled herring.

In the evening, the café will open up for a full dinner service, accompanied by a full bar.  This is where Pizzulli steps up to the plate, with a menu mostly inspired by his Italian upbringing. The star of the show will be the homemade pasta, perfected by the combination of Pizzulli’s childhood memories and Endriss’ education in Italy.  The details of the menu will change with the season, taking care to reflect what’s happening in the markets, but you can expect a big seafood presence and updates on traditional dishes.  “We were really drawn to the old-school Italian feeling of the neighborhood, and we want to do our best to blend in and serve that community,” Endriss says.  Runner & Stone will be opening late September.

444 Dean Street btw 5th Ave & Flatbush

Nestled in the shadow of Atlantic Yards is an unexpected surprise. Va Beh’ is a sophisticated oasis in the sea of quick bites and fast food restaurants, quietly waiting to serve you delicious, affordable, Italian cuisine. It’s a crisp, intimate setting of three wooden communal tables that sit six each and a row of ten stools along the bar. The whole front wall is a window, which lifts up in warmer weather, giving you the feel of a European café. Vases of fresh yellow tulips and tea candles dot the tables, along with little silver buckets of unshelled nuts and small plates of marinated olives that replace the ubiquitous bread basket. When the waiters (dressed in button-downs, bowties, and jeans and chattering in Italian behind the bar) catch you reading over their wine list written directly onto the marble wall behind them, they offer to do a table-side wine tasting of your top three choices. It’s an extensive list, which also includes prosecco on tap.

The menu is not quite as large, but it still proves difficult to narrow down. While it’s not particularly creative, it manages to hit all of the Italian classics. With only a few options for entrees, Va Beh’s strength lies in its range of appetizers which include crostini, salad, cheese, salumi, and small dishes. It would be easy to treat Va Beh’ as a tapas restaurant, rather than sticking to your standard courses. For the main dish, their homemade pastas shine, with a selection of simple sauce and vegetable or meat combinations. I have trouble choosing between the cavatelli with sausage and broccoli rabe, and the rigatoni with eggplant and primo sale, but I finally decide on the rigatoni, with mussels to start.

I can smell the mussels coming from the kitchen five minutes before they arrive at the table. When they’re set in front of me, simmering in their pot, I can hardly wait for them to cool down enough to eat. The tomato sauce is light, with parsley and whole cloves of garlic, and it compliments the mussels just so without overpowering them. I can still taste the ocean. And while Va Beh’ is a place that inspires you to be on your best behavior, I can’t help but lick the sauce from my fingers, not wanting to waste a drop on my napkin. This is the only moment I miss a bread basket, wishing I could scoop up the remaining sauce after the mussels are devoured. I manage to sneak a few spoonfuls before the pot is replaced with the pasta.

Happily, the sauce for the rigatoni is the same, but I have to pause after my first bite to sit and appreciate Va Beh’s homemade pasta, which has the perfect al dente chew to it. It’s a modestly sized and simple dish, but nonetheless very satisfying. The eggplant brings an earthy smokiness that adds the most interest, which is wonderfully complimented by the light-as-air crumbles of primo sale, a young lightly-salted sheep’s cheese. It’s not difficult to have a three-course meal for $30 at Va Beh’, so by all means you should finish off with one of their traditional desserts, like the sinfully creamy panna cotta, or the tiramisu. What really elevates the meal throughout each course is the standard of excellence for their ingredients. The freshness immediately transports me from the dreariness of my late-Spring visit, to when you’re likely reading this on a long, peaceful Summer day.

In their own words

About
Va Beh’s concept is simple — highest quality ingredients, uncomplicated dishes, no pretense.

Description
Natives of central Milano, owners Andrea Alari and Qiana and Michele Bi Bari grew up immersed in the cuisine of Italys’ Cosmopolitan Metropolis. Milano, much like New York, is a multicultural city whose palette reflects its diversity. Michele and Andrea grew up surrounded by families who migrated to Milano, a city that seemed to always transcend regional divisions. This pride is reflected in the diversity of Va beh’s menu.

With over twenty years of experience in the culinary arts, hospitality, design, and entertainment arenas, Va beh’ was a meeting of the minds for these three. Nostalgic for home, they painstakingly created “one of the most authentic Italian restaurants in New York.” Housemade pastas and desserts, crostini, salumi, are all made even tastier by the enchanting and boisterous atmosphere. Greeted with an enthusiastic “Buona Sera!” by an animated and gracious Italian staff who both nurture and entertain, the atmosphere mirrors the elegance of the menu with marble walls, communal tables, and wine on tap.

Toughest critics- Italian natives and frequenters of Italy have described Va beh’ as their “go to when they are homesick,” a “mood lifter” and a “mini vacation overseas” The goal was to create dishes that stay true to what Italian cooking is all about “ simple dishes that highlight the natural taste of the ingredients…mangiare… “Mangiare Bene”.

Summer is a particularly fun time to live in Brooklyn. Whether it’s exploring innovative flavors and formats for pie, offering an opportunity to churn ice cream with a bicycle, or serving up a quirky dim sum brunch, these lighthearted shops, restaurants, and bars should be added to your ever-expanding list on how to make the most of our borough’s time to shine.

Join the Pie Corps

When Cheryl Perry and Felipa Lopez became friends ten years ago, they knew they were meant to go into business together. With a shared love of food, they began throwing around ideas on how they could fit in the burgeoning artisanal food scene. They would get together and spend days in the kitchen, baking bread, making sausages, or experimenting with candy making. None of these ventures seemed just right, but thankfully for us, it dawned on them one day to try baking pies. Cheryl, who had been working in the food industry for years as a chef, culinary arts teacher, and food service consultant, had been making a pie a day because “making a good pie is integral to being a good chef.” She discovered that Felipa, who was an acupuncturist that loved to cook, had also been making a pie a day, and the idea for Pie Corps was born.

“I feel like people are trying pie, but aren’t quite getting it yet,” Cheryl suggested to Felipa one day. They were excited by the endless potential for creating new and exciting pies, and liked the idea of not being limited by choosing something that had to be either savory or sweet. Pies could move through the seasons, and be able to reflect what was happening in New York if they used local ingredients. They spent a summer together in Cheryl’s home in Barryville, baking pies and experimenting with ingredients and flavors. The summer resulted in an amazing crust recipe – perfectly flaky with just the right amount of sweetness – and about twenty different fillings. They started to bring their pies to the local farmers’ market to test their popularity, and they ended up being a big hit, which gave them the confidence to bring the business back to the city. Their presence at the farmers’ market had another important effect on Pie Corps. Working side-by-side with the local farmers introduced them to new ideas. Farmers would come to them with produce they had a surplus of. “I have these ingredients I don’t know what to do with. I’ll give them to you, if you give me one of the pies you come up with in return.”

Now, Pie Corps has a plethora of pies that tend to be “sweet with a savory attitude,” or savory options that are conscientious of what’s in season. Their most popular sweet pie is their chocolate pudding pie, which updates a childhood favorite with a top layer of ganache, a drizzle of rosemary caramel, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Other options include an apple whiskey crumb pie with candied pecans, a lemon buttermilk chess pie, and a ricotta cheesecake with candied lemon. A favorite savory pie that has been offered is their fried chicken pie with baked beans and gravy, or a bulgoki style beef pie with turnip kimchi. Other creations have included a caramelized onion and goat cheese pie and a curried potato and peas pie. All of their pies are made with as many local, in-season ingredients as possible, and they take care in using high quality ingredients. An added benefit is that their pies are sugar free; they use evaporate cane juice instead.

It didn’t take long for Pie Corps to expand their offerings beyond traditional pies, coming up with different takes on pie that are as creative as their flavors. Pie pops and pies in mason jars have been popular for weddings, and their bags of Pielettes are a great snack to sample their wares in miniature two-bite pies. After their success at farmers’ markets like the New Amsterdam and Hester Street markets, they began to be approached with wholesale inquiries, which sparked the idea to open up a permanent location of their own. So, this summer, fans can rejoice in the new Pie Corps store opening in Greenpoint on 77 Driggs Avenue, where you’ll be able to find all of your favorite pies, pops, and Pielettes.

Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry for Ice Cream

It’s fitting that the name of an ice cream shop owned by a writer references a poem by Walt Whitman. The poem in question, “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry” – which is also etched into the railing of the current ferry landing in DUMBO – is Whitman’s love letter to a city in its infancy. 150 years later, Brooklyn has plenty more to be inspired by than farmlands and corrugated cardboard factories, including the Ample Hills Creamery on 623 Vanderbuilt Avenue in Prospect Heights. Brian Smith wrote sci-fi screenplays, not poems, but still lived a life Brooklyn writers ever since Whitman are all too familiar with: enjoying infrequent success, constantly combating anxiety and rejection, and feeling unfulfilled with what it takes to make writing full-time work. So, he got to thinking what he could be doing instead. He wanted something that was still creative, but more hands-on and community-oriented than the lonely and isolated life of a writer. The answer was ice cream.

Smith started with a Cuisinart machine in his kitchen, experimenting with bases and flavor combinations. Coming up with new flavors was a natural fit. “You borrow a little from here. You steal a little from there. It’s just like writing.” As Smith grew more comfortable with the process, he knew he didn’t want to lose this homemade feel to his product once he was making it for the masses, so he decided to boil it down to a science. He enrolled in the Ice Cream Short Course at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Science (the course, which has been around since 1892, has a roster of notable alums like Ben and Jerry’s, Good Humor, and Haagen-Dazs) to study the technical chemistry involved in ice cream-making and manufacturing. Feeling confident, Smith tested the product out of a cart in Prospect Park and was quickly bolstered by its popularity to open up a shop nearby with his wife.

Now, Ample Hills serves a rotating cast of 24 flavors of Smith’s lovingly made small-batch ice cream. Sure to be on the menu is the shop’s most popular flavor, Salted Crack Caramel, which pushes the classic salty-sweet combination to its limit with the addition of a friend’s invented “crack cookies” made of Saltines, butter, sugar, and chocolate. Other standouts are Stout and Pretzels (made with Sixpoint Otis chocolate stout and chocolate-covered pretzels), Black Cow Float (root beer ice cream with a chocolate swirl), A Lovely Day (white chocolate ice cream with rainbow cookies), and Peppermint Pattie (peppermint ice cream with homemade peppermint patties). The freshness of the ingredients elevates the painstaking process to another level; the dairy products are local, all-natural, and from hormone-free animals.

Ice cream always makes summertime extra special, but what about those of you who are lucky enough to have a summer birthday? If you’ve felt stifled by the same-old ice cream cakes and sundae bars for years, try something different this year by having Ample Hills host a make-your-own ice cream party. Guests work together to design their own flavor of ice cream, then take turns churning it with the help of the creamery’s awesome ice cream bicycle, which powers the ice cream maker attached to it. When it’s all set, the party ends with a sundae bar to enjoy eating the finished product. Of course, it’s a wonderful idea for kids (who come up with flavors like gummy worm ice cream), but Ample Hills also offers after-hours adult parties (who come up with flavors like bourbon ice cream).  It’s services like this that separate Ample Hills from other ice cream shops as a true community-gathering spot, where you’re encouraged to linger, catching the ice cream drips in between catching up with your friends, sharing a milkshake with your date, or reading a story to your kids.

Culture Clash

When Dale Talde, David Massoni, and John Bush converged to create Talde (369 7th Avenue, Park Slope) they had decades of experience between them. Talde, known for his run on Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars as well as his work at Buddakan,  had been working in the industry since he was nineteen, inspired by his fond memories of eating delicious potluck meals with his large family. Bush had risen through the ranks of bartending to owning neighborhood-favorite, Thistle Hill Tavern, with Massoni. Massoni had big names on his resumé, like opening Chelsea hotspot Lotus and working with Mario Batali at Esca and Babbo, as well as a year-long stint in Italy. The three of them had been friends for years when Talde finally decided to make moves on opening his own restaurant, a lifelong dream of his.  He turned to Massoni and Bush for advice after seeing their success with Thistle Hill, and they realized they made a dream team. “I like to say that Dale’s the talent, Dave’s the brains, and I’m the mouth,” says Bush as we sit at the bar, a quiet finally settling over the restaurant after one of their first brunches is over. Together, they created a vision that was authentically Asian-American, in that it reflected the experience of that particular culture, rather than dumbing down Asian cuisine for a (stereotypically) American palette. Talde says, “I wanted the food to draw on what I ate growing up – my mom’s wonton soup, my aunt’s oxtail stew – my travels, and my American point of view.”

Originally, they were imagining a quick noodle joint that was more of a neighborhood hangout than an upscale restaurant. But when they found the carved mahogany pieces that are featured throughout the room, the image quickly escalated into a sleeker, hipper space. Jazz completes the intimate atmosphere. Nonetheless, friends and family are endlessly streaming in and out, along with patrons who are flocking to Talde thanks to his TV credentials and rave reviews. Not to mention, the food itself is exciting. Take the brunch menu, which includes pretzel pork and chive dumplings, lobster bao buns, everything bagel spring rolls, and Korean chicken wings and waffles with a coconut brown butter syrup. This East-meets-West aesthetic continues in the dinner menu with the Singapore chili soft shell crab banh mi, char siu smoked spare ribs with Thai basil and pears, and a crispy oyster and bacon pad thai. The menu is market-driven and incorporates local ingredients, so it changes throughout the year.

You can tell the difference between walking into a place that’s opened by a businessman who has dropped into a neighborhood because it’s trendy, and walking into a place that’s owned by someone who actually lives nearby. Talde, Massoni, and Bush like being able to see the same faces every day, knowing their customers and the other business owners in the area. “I keep opening up places that I want to go to,” says Massoni. “This is my community, I want to be a part of it.” So, the team has decided that they’re not stopping with Talde. Coming this summer to the vacancy left by Aunt Suzie’s at 247 5th Avenue is Pork Slope, a bar that suits Talde’s original vision. “We want Pork Slope to be the bar that we all grew up in,” says Talde, who goes on to describe a local dive in the neighborhood of Chicago he grew up in, where he’d go for pitchers, beer, wings, and sports. For Bush, it was Max Fish.

The scene will be unpretentious with some flair, focusing more on creating a comfortable place to hang out after work than a pristine gastropub. TVs and pool tables will be present, as will 25 beers on tap, an even more extensive beer list in bottles and cans, and a cocktail list that focuses on dark brown American liquor. But with Talde involved, of course there will be good food, available until 2am. While Talde’s menu is Asian with Southern stylings, Pork Slope will flip the formula upside down and serve classic Americana bar food with a touch of quirkiness. Early talks of the menu include bigger dishes like pulled pork, ribs, and wings, but Talde is most excited about the Chicago style hot dogs and, of all things, the tater tots, which will be fried in pork fat. There will also be food served during the day on weekends, but don’t you call it “brunch.” Talde prefers it to be called hangover food – think breakfast burritos, scrapple, and egg sandwiches. Talde, Massoni, and Bush like to say that they’re creating Pork Slope for themselves, as their own bar to retreat to when their shifts at Talde and Thistle Hill are over, but there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be sitting in there alone.