EDIBLE BROOKLYN, Issue 17, Spring 2010

What says Spring in Brooklyn more than smoked meat, right? I don't just mean the open aired grilling variety, but those that grace the Polish Butchers of Greenpoint (as seen on Edible Brooklyn's Spring 2010 cover, photo by Dina Kantor). From one enclave to the next, we see diverse backgrounds influencing the ethnic foods we eat. The BACK OF THE HOUSE series stop by Dressler in Williamburg, who's chef, Polo Dobkin, comes from Austrian and Spanish roots to revitalizes stodgy old American bistro staples, into contemporary inflected masterpieces, exempli gratia "steak and short rib, with whipped potatoes, creamed spinach & sauce bordelaise".

From classics to coops, we explore the backyard chicken coop movement, look in the Fridge of WNYC Radio personality Leonard Lopate, sip some joe from nearly hundred year old Dallis Coffee, taste fresh baked macaroons, and watch locally foraged wood became a coffee table for our magazine to sit on. Enjoy!

Edible Manhattan BLOG: Prime (Lunch) Meats, Or, Happy Birthday Dad!

Brooklyn Dispatch: Prime (Lunch) Meats, Or, Our Photo Editor Takes His Dad Out for a Memory-Filled Meal

“The specials today are pastrami and roast beef”.

“Wait, stop right there,” my father said after an eager glance at the menu. Often the mention of these (mostly mass-produced) cold cuts can leave people cold. But Prime Meats, the Germanic-influenced spin-off of Frankies Spuntino (profiled in Edible Brooklyn’s Summer 2007 issue ) on the corner of Court Street and Luquer Street, had just unleashed a lunchmeat program that is utmost prime! This comes on top of its already well-known revivalist sausages (bratwurst, knockwurst and weisswurst) and sauerbraten.

Growing up in Kensington on Ocean Ave, my father was within walking distance of the Prospect Park Parade Grounds. As documented in The Brooklyn Cookbook by Lyn Stallworth and Rod Kennedy Jr., he was weaned on the “hometown immigrant” foods like knishes and “sephardic vegetable pickles surrendered by Syrian Jews in Flatbush.” In the 1980s, my father moved less than an hour upstate with my mother to raise my brother and I, so we never benefited from the bounty of his Brooklyn heritage.

This Saturday is my father’s birthday. I attempted to make him a batch of my Grandmother’s Sweet and Sour meatballs, but as he corrected me with a pucker, “there’s a bit too much sour salt.” (Note to self: adjust recipe from 1T to 1t.)

It wasn’t until one afternoon, sitting in the sun-stroked banquets at Prime Meats–which are as dark-grained as the Bavarian pretzels they serve–that our collective and nuanced nostalgia set in. For my father, a time of watching the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field; for me, eating lunch at our kitchen table in Westchester listening to him reminisce about those very days.

The common ground was a carefully crafted sandwich, once thought of as the sodden contents of my brown paper bag during school recess, but now made, thanks to Prime Meat, with accoutrements like malolactic fermented dill pickles and sauerkraut. (Stressing that the devil is in the details.)

Who knew that this year, it would be with a sandwich, that I say, “Happy birthday, Dad.”

Edible Communities' 2010 Eddy Awards

Happy to announce, that I was a finalist in two photography categories during the Edible Communities' 2010 Eddy Awards.

Best Cover
Edible Manhattan, July/Aug 2009, Gray's Papaya hot dogs (recession special)



Best Photography, Non-Cover
Edible Brooklyn Fall 2009, BACK OF THE HOUSE: Roberta's




As a whole, Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan had quite a good showing, with one WINNER ...

Best Editorial - Beverage Focus
Edible Manhattan, March/April 2009, "Through the Drinking-Glass, and What Del Found There" by St. John Frizell

... and a handful of other finalists ...

Best Editorial - Website
Edible Brooklyn

Best Editorial - Political or Social Issue
Edible Manhattan, Nov/Dec 2009, "The Slaugherhouse Problem" by Ann Monroe

Best Editorial - Historical
Edible Manhattan, March/April 2009, "Net Loss: Shad Swim Against the Tide of Time" by Peter Hoffman

Best Editorial - Food or Cooking
Edible Manhattan, July/Aug 2009, "Iconic Foods: The Hog Dog" by Robert Sietsema

Congrats to our staff and the Edible Communities as a whole for another wonderful year of Edible.

EDIBLE BROOKLYN, Issue 16, Winter 2010

Right in time for the holiday stretch! Try not to pull those spirit muscles this year, and hopefully Edible Brooklyn's Winter 2010 Issue can assist with some cheer.

On the cover, Sugarbuilt's cast iron cookies (photo by Jacob Pritchard)

We visit the BACK OF THE HOUSE at Franny's and Brooklyn Larder, where it's not just about the pizza anymore.

Go "In the Kitchen With" one of my favorite local designers, Lotta Jansotter (Anderson).

Also, taste the beginnings of Scratch Bread, see how a Montreal transplant brings us smoked meat and poutine at Mile End Deli, plus more confections, proteins, and beverages to sate you through the New Year!

Cheers to 2010 in Brooklyn!

EDIBLE BROOKLYN, Issue 15, Fall 2009

Out this week, Edible Brooklyn's Fall 2009 issue.

Covering the BACK OF THE HOUSE, of Roberta's pizzeria eden and more in Bushwick.

An underground cult favorite hot sauce at Waterfront Ale House.

High spirits at Tuthilltown Grist Mill, Hudson's own Whiskey being produced only a few hour train ride from Grand Central Station.

And a roundup of Brooklyn's coffee "bean scene", dumpling factory tour, ...

MHT Photo Shows: BOH @ James Beard House, edible @ Whole Foods

A solo show of the latest "mise en place" edition in my BACK OF THE HOUSE Project is on the walls at the James Beard House, 167 West 12th St (5/6 Aves), Sept - Oct 2009 . Visit here, http://jamesbeard.org/?q=node/1514 for more info.




Also, curated a show for Edible Brooklyn / East End / Manhattan (which includes a few of my own works) on the walls of Whole Foods Union Square location, in the 2nd Floor cafe. There will be an opening tea party on Wed. Sept 15th, from 10AM-1130AM. It's free, though you need to RSVP via this link, http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/unionsquare/storecalendar.php
It will run until Dec 2009.

To follow, is a solo MHT show from Jan. 2010 - March 2010 (also at Whole Foods).

EDIBLE BROOKLYN Issue 14, Summer 2009

Cover, Truck Farm by Ian Cheney

As the humidity sets in for a spell, and thunder's heard in the distance, I present to you, the Summer 2009 issue of Edible Brooklyn.

BACK OF THE HOUSE at Superfine in Dumbo

"In the Kitchen With" Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields

A tour of the Rooftop Garden in Greenpoint

Cooking competiions, ice cream roundup, a welcome new bar (Fort Defiance) in Red Hook ...

EDIBLE BROOKLYN Issue 13, Spring 2009

A welcome Spring edition has sprung forth!

Photographed the cover, which was an outake from the BACK OF THE HOUSE: Egg. Took a trip around the Tortilla Triangle, and went to a tasting at the Red Hook Winery.

There's also ...

Long's Wine in Bay Ridge, (photographed by Miana Grafals)
Clay Pot Cooking, (photographed by Miriam Fogelson)
Made´casse Chocolate and Vanilla from Madegascar

... and that's just the beginning of the bounty, Find a copy here!

Edible Photo Show at Chelsea Market

Feast your eyes! No you can't eat the photos, but there is an "edible" photo show at Chelsea Market, which I curated, featuring works from Edible Brooklyn, Edible East End, and Edible Manhattan. It's up until the end of February 2009, so stop by and take a tour through the the halls' 70 framed images.

Edible Communities’ 2009 EDDY Awards

I am proud to say that Edible Brooklyn and Edible Manhattan had a great showing at this year's Eddy Awards, and am happy to announce that I won in the "Best Photography: Non-Cover" category, and was chosen as runner-up twice!

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY: NON-COVER
Winner: "Streetscapes: Eat and Ink," by Michael Harlan Turkell, Edible Brooklyn



BEST COVER
Runner-Up: Edible Brooklyn, Fall 2008, “Alicia Tate’s Homage to Salt,” by Michael Harlan Turkell



BEST EDITORIAL SPREAD OR LAYOUT
Runner-Up: "Back of the House: Fette Sau, Boro BBQ," Edible Brooklyn



and a bow to my collegues ...

BEST EDITORIAL - HISTORICAL
Winner: "Tap Dance," by Brian Halwell, Edible Manhattan

BEST EDITORIAL - FOOD OR COOKING FOCUSED
Runner-Up: "Homemade: Sohui Kim's Kimchi," by Rachel Wharton, Edible Brooklyn

Thank you for the honor and support, and here's to aiming higher and greater accomplishments in 2009!

EDIBLE BROOKLYN Issue 12, Winter 2009

The newest installment of Edible Brooklyn features the BACK OF THE HOUSE of Rosewater and a smoking hot piece written by Megan Krigbaum on The Woodman, New York area's best supplier of premium kiln-dried firewood and cooking woods, charcoal and other wood products. And that's just from the hearth ...

EDIBLE BROOKLYN Fall 2008

Edible Brooklyn 11 is here with the autumnal weather in tow.

A series on food-related tattoos, an Egyptian falafel master, D. Maldari & Sons, Inc., Pasta Extrusion Dies, Fette Sau BBQ( (the delicious Mason's Black Wheat from Sixpoint Craft Ales is on tap, which is named after my cat), Bees, Gingkos, and much much more ...

EDIBLE BROOKLYN Summer 2008

Shot the cover photo of the "Jessa-Molino" bike-mill at Hot Bread Kitchen for the cover of Edible Brooklyn Summer 2008, as well as a fantastic 4 page story. Other spreads include, Gabriel's Handmade (pates and charcuterie), The Oak "Farmacy", Hinsch's Confectionery (for a milkshake in Bay Ridge) with Anne Saxelby, The Jake Walk (wine bar on Smith St.), Fresh Fishermen in Sheepshead Bay, "The Brooklyn Fridge" with Kamara Thomas of the band Earl Greyhound, and the BACK OF THE HOUSE of The Queen's Hideaway.