Monthly Archives: May 2012

The Brooklyn Standard: An Organic Locavore Bodega

The Brooklyn Standard

The Brooklyn Standard is the organic, locavore version of a classic New York bodega. With a chandelier. But instead of corn syrup laden sweets, preservative packed products and neon orange processed snacks they offer a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich made with farm fresh eggs and tempeh or seiten bacon, and bagels with tofu cream cheese. The eggs are sourced from local farms, the pasta is organic and the coffee and ice cream are artisanal. They also carry numerous made-in-Brooklyn products like spice rubs, sodas, and granola.

The shop is especially great for vegetarians and vegans. Instead of a mayo-drenched tuna wrap or meatball Parmesan hero like you’d find in many bodegas, they offer tofu banh mi, jerked seitan sandwiches and tofu Reubens. Finish the meal with any number of vegan desserts, including peanut butter or raspberry mousse, cheesecake and a Mexican chocolate cake.

Omnivores will also find plenty of satisfying options: There’s roast beef with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese; a spicy version of a classic Cubano sandwich with pepper jack cheese and picked jalapeños; and turkey, avocado and provolone on focaccia.

Bodegas at their best offer a sense of community, down-to-earth energy, reliability and reasonable prices. The Brooklyn Standard aims to embody all of these values, but with an added commitment to organic and sustainable practices — they even compost the food waste and reuse it as fertilizer.

Yet despite this elevated philosophy, The Brooklyn Standard still possesses the true symbol of the iconic New York store — a scraggly, dark grey ATM machine in the corner.

Images courtesy of The Brooklyn Standard.

A Rooftop Chat with Chef Jacques Gautier of Palo Santo

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Moments after arriving at the Brooklyn townhouse that is home to Clean Plates-approved Palo Santo, I was staring at a steep ladder: Chef Jacques Gautier was leading me to his rooftop garden.

We passed rabbits he breeds, stepped over aromatic herbs and one shaky step at a time climbed to reach the sunny rooftop. As Chef Gautier weeded the chives and pointed out where he composts organic waste, we chatted about the brilliance of tortillas made to order, volunteering with NYC schools and how the body craves what it needs. Continue reading →

Bright Farms: Bringing Fresh Produce to Brooklyn

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Is Brooklyn becoming the new epicenter of the local food movement? It’s possible: Bright Farms’ CEO Paul Lightfoot, a host of politicians, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz and chef Mario Batali (both clad in Crocs) gathered recently to announce a new project: The world’s largest rooftop greenhouse. Continue reading →

On Our Radar: Frej and YUJI Ramen

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One location, two pop-up restaurants? That’s right: The folks behind Tokyo’s Kinfolk Lounge and cultcycles play host to visual and culinary artists at Williamsburg’s Kinfolk Studios, and they don’t limit themselves to one cuisine. Monday through Wednesday evenings one of the Wythe Street garage doors becomes a gateway to art exhibitions and pop-up Nordic restaurant Frej; Thursday through Saturday, YUJI Ramen takes over the studio’s small kitchen. Continue reading →

Butter Beans Grow in Brooklyn: Refreshing Healthy Kids Programs

Image courtesy of Butter Beans

Between the first lady creating the organic White House garden and spearheading the national Let’s Move! campaign to the controversial ruling by Congress that qualified tomato sauce on pizza as a valid vegetable in school lunches, a lot has been going on in the conversation about kids and healthy eating.

While those are big national headlines, a mom-led, Brooklyn-based organization, Butter Beans, takes their fight against childhood obesity and unhealthy eating local. Continue reading →

The Incredible, Edible Jenna Spevack: 8 Extraordinary Greens

"8 Extraordinary Greens" exhibition by Jenna Spivack

Brooklyn-based Jenna Spevack is an artist, foodie and sustainability advocate who combines all of these passions simultaneously in her work.

Her ideas are conceived in a studio residing in a corner of a 45,000-square-foot space on the top floor of the seven-story building known as the Metropolitan Exchange, or MEx, on Flatbush Avenue. The building’s rich history boasts a variety of creative entrepreneurs who let their genius juices flow.

With roots in permaculture certification and master composting training, Spevack’s artwork, specifically in her 8 Extraordinary Greens exhibit, is informed by thoughts on urban agriculture and the value of growing food in small, urban spaces. Continue reading →

Fort Reno’s Grilled Free-range Chicken with String Bean and Garbanzo Salad

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Fort Reno Provisions offers classic barbeque but with a sustainable (and delicious) twist: they serve organic, grass-fed pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Nearly everything on their menu is sourced locally and organically (read our full review here).

The juicy grilled chicken is sought after by carnivores of all stripes; Pitmaster Lia Forman was kind enough to share her eco-friendly and tasty recipe for grilled free-range chicken served with a fiber-rich string bean and garbanzo salad. Continue reading →

The People’s Chickens: Squawking Soon in Cypress Hills

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Over 100 vacant lots act as al fresco dumpsters in East New York. One such lot, too small to live up to its affordable housing zoning, will soon be a hotbed of healthy, affordable food.

Faced with a lack of accessible fresh food, East New Yorkers have taken matters into their own hands by turning waste into compost. Inspired by more than ten flourishing gardens that have popped up in nearby lots, Cypress Hills residents are building Pollos del Pueblo, or The People’s Chickens.

Supported by The People’s Food Project and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, the coming chicken coop and nascent community garden are sourcing funds and volunteers via eco-crowd-resourcing platform Ioby.

Yanet Rojas, the project’s team organizer, came to New York thirteen years ago from Peru with years of community gardening under her shovel. Alongside her neighbors, Rojas is building a chicken coop and enclosed run for a brood of heirloom birds, plus 25 raised plant beds for the neighborhood and ten plant beds for schools. Children and teens will learn about plants and poultry care in the garden, and take home the skills to grow their own leafy greens.

When I visited, the group of volunteers ranged from young men to grandmothers who noted that the construction process had already brought them together as a community. They see this as one of the project’s key benefits: “We’ve come together doing something to benefit our children. We hope that with the chickens it will become a community gathering place all year round.”

The volunteers are learning about each other’s heritage as they plan to grow species from their native lands. Rojas, for one, is excited to grow aji panca, a Peruvian pepper. “These pockets of nature bring us back to our roots,” she reflects.

The real buzz, however, is all about the chickens. The children are eager for their new pets and everyone in the neighborhood seems hungry for organic eggs. The Pollos del Pueblo are set to arrive at their new home in early June. Rojas smiles with anticipation: “We’re counting eggs, but we don’t have the chickens yet!”

Photos courtesy of Jaclyn Einis.

The Sustainable Side of the GoogaMooga Festival

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You’ll want a ticket for this ride. The Great GoogaMooga Festival takes place in Prospect Park on May 19-20, and this year the music, food, and drink festival features several Clean Plates-approved restaurants: Craft, Colicchio and Sons, Dirty Bird To-Go and Vinegar Hill House. Each can be found in the themed food and drink pavilions designed by the Rockwell Group. Anthony Bourdain and JustFood, an organization that champions the growth of sustainable food programs, are collaborators for the festival.

The festival has a number of activities, programs, and food vendors focused on sustainability and making healthy choices, with educational experiences planned as part of the fun. The UrBarn experience, with its “Farm-to-Fork” emphasis, will host workshops and interactive demonstrations focused on nutrition, sustainability, and the journey of ingredients from the earth to the table.

The GoogaMooga Festival is free to attend, but tickets must be reserved in advance. Tickets are also on sale for ExtraMooga, an area where chefs will offer tastings along with music and comedy performances, and celebri-chefs like David Chang and Marcus Samuelsson are scheduled to make appearances.

Image courtesy of the GoogaMooga Festival.