Empire State of Mind

I’ve been absent, but I can explain. I’ve been having an affair… With New York. I never would have guessed those words would come out of my mouth. Growing up an hour outside the city, trips into the Big Apple were required each time our relatives came to visit. I loved the time with my Southern kin, but I loathed those obligatory holiday treks into the heart of Manhattan. It meant clumsy train rides, more laps around the island on the Circle Line “cruise ship” than I care to remember, crowded elevators to the tops of the tallest buildings, shuffling around a freezing Rockefeller Center and, one time, losing my baby sister for about five minutes at the Empire State Building. She ended up being fine, but I was not. I was terrified of the city. To this day the smell of midtown, a mix of roasted street nuts and sewer pipes, makes me cringe.

But my time in the Big City this fall has opened up an entirely different New York, one that I only knew existed a few years ago when friends started migrating to neighborhoods in the Village and Brooklyn. There are many, many things to talk about when it comes to exploring the city from the vantage point of lower Manhattan; the food alone is enough to keep us all occupied for months. Which, incidentally, is exactly what has happened to me.

I have been fully consumed with consuming as much of the New York food experience as I can, and I’ve been doing it all on a shoe-string budget. Luckily, it turns out that a shoe-string is all you need for a little taste of everything. I’ve tried spicy falafel sandwiches and pumpkin gelato in the West Village, chocolate chip cookies and baguettes from favorite Brooklyn bakeries, ripe pears from the Greenmarket and cheese from Murrays', and the most memorable pizza I’ve ever eaten at Di Fara (that alone, is the subject for another post). This weekend, Justin is coming up and I could not be more excited to explore the city with him while tasting more of what the city has to offer.

{ Di Fara; where the magic happens. Photo courtesy of the New York Times }

The good news is that Fresh will back with new posts next week, hopefully followed soon after by my old dress size. Enjoy the weekend everyone, and if you have a favorite NYC food spot to share we would love to hear about it here.

Movie. Coffee. Conversation.

On the heels of yesterday's post, I am excited to announce the details of our first Fresh event:

Join us for a community screening and discussion of

Wednesday evening, October 7th
Screening at 7:00pm, Discussion at 8:15pm
at Burlap and Bean
The Shops at Springton Pointe
204 South Newtown Street Rd
Newtown Square, PA
$2 screening donation suggested

*I should take a moment to say that the title of the movie, FRESH, is not related to this blog other than a common interest in food and good taste in names (wink, wink).

For those of you who haven't yet heard of FRESH; it's an inspiring documentary about the visionaries who are making positive changes in our food systems. I caught a screening of it over the summer, and immediately appreciated the film's focus on innovative solutions in the face of challenges. As I have mentioned here, I am sometimes overwhelmed by the complexity of the issues facing our food system, but I left FRESH feeling like there is a way out, and that there is much that each of us can do to make a difference for our own health and the health of our environment... Not to mention for better access to delicious food! After the screening next Wednesday, we'll be opening up the floor to questions and discussion about the film with local organic farmer Rick Fonda of Skunk Hollow Farm and Greener Partners.

As for the location, it's a no-brainer. When I began making plans, it made perfect sense to approach the crew at Burlap and Bean about hosting the film there. Given their own dedication to good food, they were immediately on board and excited.

So if you're interesting in spending an evening with a good movie, good coffee and good conversation, we would love to see you there. And you won't go home empty-handed, take home resources on local and sustainable food will be provided after the movie. Hope to see you soon!

For more information, click here or here.

Small coffee, large cookie.

When I first heard about Burlap and Bean Coffee in Newtown Square, it was as the new music venue that was getting buzz in our area. Justin was the one to tell me about it and he, being a musician, could not wait to book a show there. At the time, we were most excited about the location (good music venues are rare in suburban Philadelphia) and the fact that the coffee house is a BYO. But the more we learned about Burlap and Bean, the more we liked.


In the run-up to Justin’s first show at B&B, he commented several times on the kindness of the booker, Tara Endicott. As a young musician booking shows, it’s not unusual to work with, ahem, creeps. But Tara and her business partners, Brent, Ben and Christi, are not only welcoming to the musicians they host, they actually go as far as to feed them before a show. And when I say musicians, I don’t mean Britney Spears. An extremely talented line-up of local and national acts comes through Burlap and Bean, and most of them don’t have extensive riders. In other words, the owners don’t feed the bands because they have to; they do it to support their community. To wit, Tara told me that in Burlap and Bean’s early days she would spend hours before a show making huge dishes of baked ziti and green salad for the band. Over time, a gourmet pizza from down the block has replaced the homemade ziti, but no one seems to be complaining… More than one band has told me that they prefer to play at Burlap and Bean over any other local venue.

This tangible feeling of community at Burlap and Bean has everything to do with the café’s owners. Brothers Brent and Ben Endicott, along with their wives Tara and Christi Endicott, opened Burlap and Bean in November 2006. Tara describes the family partnership as a four-legged chair; without one of them, the rest wouldn’t work. And as Brent puts it, “You’re not opening a coffee shop to get rich.” Instead, he explains that the rewards have more to do with being able to facilitate artists and community connections.


So what does all of this have to do with sustainability or local food? The short answer is that Burlap and Bean’s sense of community responsibility extends beyond music to the food and drink they serve. The coffee served at B&B is 100% Fair Trade Certified and organic, and made from beans roasted in house. Though the rest were quick to get on board, it was Ben who championed the exclusive use of Fair Trade and organic beans early on. By partnering with Transfair, Burlap and Bean ensures that the farmers who produce their coffee are paid a fair price for their labor and harvest. And by extension, Burlap and Bean customers are supporting these same farmers.

Many of the accompanying snacks, salads, sandwiches and baked goods are sourced from local producers. One of my favorite summer lunches this year included a House Mediterranean salad and an oatmeal cookie, both from B&B. The cookie was big enough for a meal itself, and maybe the best I've had.


It's no surprise that Burlap’s coffee beans have been picked up by several Whole Foods locations in greater Philadelphia, the Coffee Club and Selene Whole Foods Coop in Media to name a few. Most recently, B&B became the exclusive supplier of coffee to the White Dog Café in University City, and soon to be in Wayne. Founded in 1983 by community activist Judy Wicks, the White Dog is celebrated in Philadelphia for its support of local food and social activism. That they chose to carry Burlap and Bean speaks to the micro-roasters’ success. Or in Tara’s words, “[Getting picked up by White Dog] was like winning the Oscar for local small business. We feel so honored.”

For more information on Burlap and Bean, visit their site. Or better yet, bring a book and stop in for a coffee. I hear they have an excellent espresso roast...

And stay tuned tomorrow for an exciting Fresh event announcement!

{ Photos courtesy of Burlap and Bean and Jeff Wojtaszek Photography }

Seattle on my mind.

It's a fairly quiet day in my neighborhood, but when I woke up this morning I couldn't help thinking about what I imagine is a considerably less quiet day in a neighborhood across the continent. Today at 5pm West Coast time, a favorite food writer of mine, Molly Wizenberg, and her husband, Brandon Pettit, are officially opening the doors to their restaurant, Delancey.

{ Screen shot of Delancey website }

The restaurant will be a pizza place, an apparent nod to Brandon's deep love for New York style pies. But according to Molly's blog, Orangette, the menu will be a mix of both his and her cooking styles. I'm guessing this will mean plenty of Molly's fresh salads and beautifully rustic desserts to complement Brandon's pizzas and pickles.

Now I don't want to be biased, but Molly, with Brandon at her side, has been guiding and inspiring my cooking since the moment I discovered her blog over two years ago. The woman has yet to lead me astray on a single recipe. So it's hard to imagine the restaurant NOT being fantastic... And the kind of comfortable place where you want to spend time with friends. All of that said, I wish there was some way to be in Ballard around 5pm this evening. For any of you in the Seattle area, I'm sure you have already made plans for pizza at Delancey at the first opportunity.

But though I can't eat there tonight, I can bring a couple of Delancey recipes to my own table. Since stumbling across this post a couple of summer's ago, I have made very few special meals that didn't include one of Molly's recipes. Tonight is no exception. We're celebrating a family birthday, and on the menu will be her caramelized cauliflower with salsa verde (though I'm going to try it with this version, as opposed to the one in her book) and, in an effort to use up the bounty of slicing and cherry tomatoes that we got in our CSA share this week, a tomato corn salad with shallot dressing that was on an earlier soft opening menu at Delancey.


Molly's writing has played a huge role in building my confidence in the kitchen, and I owe both her and Brandon a huge thank you for opening up so many new culinary doors for me. Wishing them the best as they open their own new doors tonight...

Sweet Capogiro

It's no secret; I have a sweet tooth. This seemed normal enough when I was growing up. Most of my family shared a similar affinity to sweets, so it wasn't until after I left home and roommates started commenting on my tendency to enjoy a bit of chocolate after breakfast when I learned that not everyone loves chocolate and ice cream quite the way I do. And oh my, do I love ice cream. So naturally, gelato also gets my attention.

I couldn't tell you about the first time I tried gelato. It must not have been a memorable iced-cream experience. This shouldn't come as a surprise since gelato is about the best dessert in the world when done right, but can be just "meh" when done wrong. Sadly, most of my pre-Capogiro forays were forgettable. But I can absolutely pinpoint my first experience with Capogiro, and many of them since then. It was post-sushi date in the city, spring of 2008 (I know, I was late to the game- the artisan gelato shop opened its doors in 2002). As usual, I needed something sweet to finish the meal and Capogiro's contemporary European storefront caught my attention. So did the line winding out the door and down the sidewalk. I figured whatever they had to offer must be worth the wait... And it was. Sweet Lord, it was.

{ the midtown village storefront, courtesy of the Capogiro website }

I was stunned by the variety of flavors; chocolate hazelnut, burnt sugar, rhubarb and avocado just to name a few. I settled on a Thai coconut milk and bittersweet chocolate combo that night, and the rest was history. I was hooked.

{ a peek at a few of the fruity flavors, photo by Richard Cress courtesy of GoPhila.com }

But here's the best part. Owners Stephanie and John Reitano craft their flavors seasonally and source local ingredients first, including milk from grass-fed hormone-free cows, from farms in nearby Lancaster County. And in the Italian tradition that inspired them, they make the gelato in small batches each morning. That's a sweet treat I can feel good about eating... Even if it is before noon.

{ a shot of my most recent Capogiro experience at Dujour Market in Haverford; Lancaster County mint with bittersweet chocolate }