The Reader On Food

Serving Solidarity in these Trying Times

In the wake of the 2016 election, Liz Alpern knew she needed to tap into the power of community and hosted the first ever Queer Soup Night. 8 years filled with countless bowls of warm meals coupled with tens of thousands of dollars in donations to local organizations, Queer Soup Night is a true testament to the expansive impact we can make when we gather together with spoons in hand and open hearts.

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to chat with Liz Alpern, chef and founder of Queer Soup Night, a project that was set in motion after the results of the 2016 election. I recently reconnected with her to catch up after the results of the most recent one. As we head into winter, and an unpredictable four years, I want to share our conversations with you. Liz’s words remind me of how soup can be not only a wholesome source of nourishment, but a form of solidarity, and how we have to keep showing up for our local communities now more than ever to collectively build the world we believe in. I hope these interviews bring you comfort like they did for me

Angela: Hi Liz, thanks for chatting with me today. One of the first things I learned about you was your passion for soup. Could you share more about why you love soup so much?

Liz: I’ve always had a passion for soup, almost comically so. I’ve always loved soup as a medium for sharing culture and stories and also comfort. And I love how playful the format is.

I always wanted to do something with soup, but I struggled to put my finger on what it was. You know, I work in food full-time and I cook and I do events, but I was like, “What’s compelling enough for people to come to a place for soup?”

How did the election in 2016 inform your thinking?

After the 2016 election, it became immediately clear that queer folks, LGBTQ folks, were feeling particularly vulnerable. Like, are all our rights gonna be rolled back? It’s almost hard to imagine how scary that felt.

There was a cafe that I was working in at the time, and the cafe owner mentioned to me that the space was free in the evenings if I ever wanted to do an event there. And the idea to take over this coffee shop and throw a soup party for queers kind of came together at that moment.

There was something that unlocked in my mind, like, soup makes sense to bring people together in this time of feeling vulnerable.

And how did that first event go?

It was a really great gathering. I made three soups with some help from friends, and friends of friends came. The energy was really amazing. We ended up raising a lot more money than I expected.

And it also happened to be the weekend – and this certainly couldn’t have been planned – when Trump had established all these travel bans for people coming from majority Muslim countries. And so people were coming from the airport after protesting at the airport and having a bowl of soup at the end of the day.

So it ended up being a really successful first event, and it was very clear that this was something we could replicate.

And now it’s in eleven (thirteen, as of November 2024) cities across the country. Can you talk about how you grew the organization?

We developed pretty slowly and with a lot of intention. The party first moved to another city because one of the founding people who’d been organizing, moved to a new city. So we tested the waters and did two events there.

Before long, a friend of mine who’s a chef out in Portland, Oregon, was like, I kind of love this idea. So the first two chapters in Gainesville, Florida, and Portland, Oregon were started by chefs I knew personally, who really took time to learn the model.

After that, we started getting contacted by people we didn’t know. That’s how lots of these things grow: they start with your network, and then they go one rung out at a time. And that was when we really had to establish what this was. You know.

what are the guidelines?

Could you speak more to the guidelines? For example, are non-queer guests allowed to attend or to cook?

The short answer is yes, anyone can attend. We have always had in our mission statement that all are welcome at Queer Soup Night.

We have this threefold mission, and it has been unwavering: 

Strengthen your local queer community

Raise money for organizations in your place, and

Lift up the chefs in your place where you live.

At the same time, we definitely are not going out there looking for any chef. We really try to seek out queer chefs, but there have been plenty of instances over the years where someone who’s not queer-identified makes a soup. So I would say, 85% of the time everyone involved is queer, and there’s about 15% of people who may not be queer-identified, but are strong allies.

Bringing it back to the soup a little bit, I’m curious to hear what you think is the unique power of soup to express and also to connect.

No matter what culture you’re from – whatever your background is, whatever your story is, however you were raised – you are going to associate soup with comfort, with really deep nourishment, and with a feeling of home.

I’m an Eastern European Jew and I love matzo ball soup and chicken soup. They call it Jewish penicillin. But through Queer Soup Night, we’ve had Mexican chicken soup. We’ve had Vietnamese chicken soup. We’ve had Filipino chicken soup. We’ve had Korean chicken soup. We’ve had so many different versions of the same theme, right?

And the theme is, hey, this is what I’m going to serve you and it’s going to feel really good. It’s going to make your house smell like comfort and it’s going to stick to your clothes in a good way.

What has been your experience of being able to feed people such nourishing food?

You know, we’ve been doing Queer Soup Night for eight years, and I have never made money off of it. It’s purely a passion project for me; seeing people feel nourished by the food that we make for them is extremely motivating.

One of the things that I really like about Queer Soup Night is that it gives you an automatic inroad to chat with other guests. Soup is much more relatable than a lot of foods and easier for people to talk about, even if they’re not culinary minded. So I would say another part of the reward is just seeing other people be involved in conversations around soup. And that is another layer of nourishment, the connection.

Could you talk a bit about the collective impact that you’ve had on local grassroots movements here in New York?

Just in the last six months, we raised funds for more than 15 different local organizations. And I would say collectively, probably somewhere around $20,000 just in the last six months. 

We raised over $50,000 in total in 2023. And that came from thousands of donations that were $12. That’s the kind of thing that I think of as collective impact – that you can show up to an event and pay $12 to $20. And then when it comes to the end of the year, this collective queer community has raised over $50,000 for different organizations.

And we select organizations that could really use a small amount of funding, where $500 to $2,000 would make a huge difference.

What kind of initiatives do the recipients of the donations revolve around?

Our only criteria is that they have to be local. We don’t send funds outside of the community. So your $12 stays right in your community.

Now we are defining “community” by geographic boundaries and you could definitely say that community is so many different things, but our goal with Queer Soup Night was always to build something that strengthens IRL connections.

I really admire the focus on the local.

I will tell you, it’s not always easy to restrain yourself, because there are so many places that our money needs to go. But especially when our eyes are on global events unfolding, it is so important to remember all the work that’s being done locally.

Like we, as an organization, basically started during the (2016) Trump presidency out of outrage and fear and concern and resistance. But we always said, “This party is not going to become irrelevant when Trump is no longer president.” There were a thousand things we were activated about before, and there are a thousand things we’re going to be activated about.

When Biden became president, no one was like “I think we’re just going to chill.” And look at where we are in 2024 facing another.

 

Although the menu features a contentious rivalry of hot dog styles, Dog Day Afternoon offers a selection to satisfy even the vegan in the bunch. The restaurant’s decor and atmosphere welcomes film buffs, gamers, and hot dog fanatics alike to enjoy the classic hand-held meal together under the same roof.

Hide out from that Sirius summer heat, with some of the best franks in Brooklyn. What is a dog day afternoon exactly? We have all heard the expression, and most of the people reading this article will be familiar with the critically acclaimed 1975 film starring Al Pacino. Anybody who has lived through a summer in New York City has experience coping with the ‘dog days’ of summer, but where do we get the expression?  

Well it might surprise readers to learn that the expression originates in ancient Greece and Rome, where it was believed that in late July, Sirius’ rise in the sky alongside our sun contributed to the blistering temperatures seen in the northern hemisphere. Sirius being the astrological dog star, this period from Late July through mid August became known as the “dog days of summer’, a time for humans and canines alike to favor stillness and lethargy in merciful shade, far away from the ire of Sirius and our own beaming sun.

 And what memories do those sweltering city summer afternoons conjure up? Perhaps images of open fire hydrants, whose white jets of cool water quench the cast-iron heat of our neighborhood asphalt. Or the scent of a thousand charcoal grills wafting through the lush and shaded paths of Prospect Parks. For this writer, nothing pairs better with memories of hose water and the heat-advisory than an all-american hot dog and a cold beer.

And so for my article this summer, we move away from the formality of full service sit-down French bistros, and embrace a Brooklyn institution perhaps older than most of this Boroughs restaurants, the humble and ever versatile hot dog, and what I believe to be our neighborhoods latest and greatest purveyor: Dog Day Afternoon.

Situated between Prospect Ave and 17th Street, right off Prospect Park West, the small-yet-mighty storefront has been serving a variety of top-notch dogs to the residents of Park Slope and Windsor terrace since they opened in August of 2021.

I was first turned on to this spot last summer by a good friend of mine who had recently fallen in love with their Chicago dogs, and insisted on bringing me along to pick a few up for a movie night. Since then, my friend and I have been eating at Dog Day Afternoon with enthusiastic regularity.

 The storefront is small, but I would stop short of calling it ‘unassuming.’ On the contrary, the place is dripping with a unique and eclectic style that almost contradicts its size and spartan construction, inviting pick-up customers to linger and take in the vibes. And that vibe is good.

The walls of the shop are adorned with all kinds of NYC cinema classics; Dog Day Afternoon is there of course, right alongside another Brooklyn-classic, Do the Right thing. Ghostbusters, Rosemarys Baby, and a healthy dose of comic-book-chic transport patrons to a particular time and place.

 As a matter of fact, the first time I walked into Dog Day afternoon on a warm late summer evening, I felt the unique sensation that I had just stepped back in time, to a place and time in the city’s history not long before I was born. Despite having existed here for only three short years, there is an undeniable air of authenticity to the shop that makes one feel as if it has existed here for decades, and that it may well exist for decades to come.

On my most recent visit, I caught Jay of the owners, and I asked him about the inspiration for their establishment. The answer he gave me was equally authentic, unpretentious, and proudly matter-of-fact. “We decided we wanted to open up a hot dog shop, and I wanted it to have free games and just a good vibe.” That’s it. No grandiose marketing-heavy soliloquies common in the culinary business world. Just a good old fashioned vision, well-executed and expertly operated.

Jay and his partner Joe both worked together in the food service industry for a number of years, and when COVID-19 hit, they saw how badly restaurants and food industry workers were affected by the economic uncertainty. The experience left an understandable impression on them, and inspired them to take destiny into their own hands.

Their vision was to build something small and dynamic, with a lean-run operation and a focus on culinary specialization. Joe, who is from Chicago originally, had grown disappointed in New York’s lack of options for those partial to the Chicago Style dog, and so their idea for a dedicated neighborhood Hot Dog Shop was born.

For those New Yorkers unfamiliar with the Chicago style, a Chicago dog features an all-beef frank (Vienna Beef in the case of Dog Day Afternoon), on a poppy seed bun topped with mustard, pickle relish, diced white onion, tomato slices, dill pickle, pickled peppers and celery salt. The presentation is lavish, by hot-dog standards, a feast for the eyes as much as for the senses. 

As a proud New York-style food fan, I have to admit the Chicago dog is quite delicious, and a very welcome addition to our proud neighborhood (even IF I still narrowly prefer their New york style dog myself).

There is a bias in food writing toward featuring the new, the novel, and the trendy. It is important to draw attention to established places where chefs are trying out new things, or striving to elevate and reimagine cuisine.

I could argue that this place was the first neighborhood spot that made me realize how great this borough’s culinary offerings could aspire to be. And the ONLY reason I haven’t featured them in my writing yet, is because I have been distracted by what was new around the corner instead of appreciating what was great right next door.

n featuring the new, we often neglect the consistent, the classic, the local gems that grew with the neighborhood, and maintained their commitment to quality for their long-time patrons; those places that have found success long enough and maintained it, to become “staples” of their respective neighborhoods. 

I want to feature one such neighborhood gem that really deserves our appreciation.

Olivier Bistro has been serving the neighborhood of South Slope for over a decade now (August was their 10 year Anniversary). In a city with no shortage of French “brunch spots”, Olivier stands out for its truly authentic French menu options, its comprehensive listing of European liqueurs, and its rustic old-world ambiance.

When you visit, there’s a very good chance you will find Olivier Verdier, the passionate proprietor of Olivier Bistro, walking the floor of his establishment with purpose and professionalism. He is a local and a hands-on restaurateur, who appears most at ease dining at his own table. His journey traces back to his roots in Pezenas, France, where his love affair with the culinary arts ignited at the tender age of 11. He honed his cooking skills alongside his grandmother, Rose Marie, and that familial connection to the traditions of French cooking formed the bedrock upon which Olivier built his culinary dreams.

Fuelled by a storied tapestry of flavors and techniques, passed down from his family matriarchs, Olivier ventured into culinary school, refining his craft, moved to the US, and in 2013 founded his bistro.

Reflecting on his culinary pilgrimage, Olivier reminisces, “It was an accomplishment and a dream 

of many years… I opened my bistro because I wanted to give the people of Park Slope a French experience like my grandmothers used to cook!”

And Olivier’s dedication to his country’s heritage reflects in his offerings. While the Sunday brunch can contend with the best among them, where Olivier Bistro really shines is on its dinner menu, where you will find such delicacies as Foie Gras Torchon Maison with brioche toast points and a velvety apple puree, or  Escargots de Bourgogne, served in the traditional caquelon dish, each snail luxuriating in a rich emulsification of garlic butter and its own sweet liqueur.

While most French establishments content themselves to offer the American palate the classic brunch fare (and rest assured, Oliviers does), this unassuming haunt offers its more passionate patrons some of the finest French dishes, as casually and as confidently as a local diner might serve up eggs and bacon.

I am embarrassed it has taken me so long to write about this place. This review is well-earned and long overdue. I met my (now) mother-in-law for the first time at Olivier’s back in 2015. My (now) wife and I moved in together for the first time in 2017, two doors down from their fashionable, French Flag adorned storefront.

I can recall wandering downstairs on a quiet weekday afternoon, and discovering their charcuterie menu- a tightly curated assemblage of rare cow’s milk cheeses, aged salami, sweet spiced sausage varieties, and distinguished hams. 

I have enjoyed countless meals with friends and family in their establishment. In 2019 when my wife was laid off from her first job, we cushioned the blow with a visit to Olivier, and enjoyed some of the best red snapper we have ever had to date. Three months later we celebrated her new job with another meal there featuring their Moules Frites, a harmonious marriage of plump mussels steeped in white wine, shallots, and garlic.

The first time my parents visited Brooklyn, we took them to Olivier to show off what our newfound home had to offer. 

This winter, when the bitter winds blow, and the chill sets in, I look forward to the warmth that comes from returning to where my passions first began. Sitting down to eat in that establishment that first kindled my love for the food here. I want to revisit the bar where I tasted Grand Marinier, and Ricard Aperitif for the first time. I want to make friendly conversation with Olivier, his bartenders, and those professional, knowledgeable waiters; to indulge in a rare Hanger Steak, served with pommes frites and peppercorn bearnaise. And most importantly I want to share that joy that comes from appreciating the storied classics with friends new and old.

I want my share in Olivier’s dream, to have a taste of provinciale France here in New York, and to bask in the privilege that we all have living in this city where restaurants like Olivier exist. 

I invite my neighbors and my fellow readers to join me this winter, come celebrate one of the restaurants that first kicked off our neighborhood’s ascent into culinary excellence.

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.