2012 September – Brooklyn Artisan

Hot Time at the Brooklyn Botanic’s Chile Pepper Fiesta

September 29, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith

GRAY SKIES, WHO CARES? That was the attitude of the crowd at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden‘s 20th Chile Pepper Fiesta today.

At lunchtime the Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum ensemble played under a tent on the Cherry Esplanade; visitors sat inside or out under the cherry trees, and children hopped and danced around. It was good laid-back Saturday time for couples, friends and families.

Co-chef Johnny Mclaughlin of Heartbreaking Dawns.

Strangely, “Chocolate Debauchery” had me enthralled up in the Osbourne Garden just when Hazmat Modine – billed as “dueling harmonicas, funk tuba, and eclectic blues” – was scheduled to take the stage at 2:15. On the grassy Osbourne plaza there was plenty of vendor action not only with spicy samples to taste, but picklers and sauciers to chat with and learn from. Nearly 50 tents in all.

Everyone has a story, it seems, about how or why they started their artisanal businesses. Some have been in business for decades, like Grace Foods, which boasts of “quality since 1922.” With its Jamaican roots through Grace, Kennedy, & Co., there’s plenty of history (about 9 pages on the web site, for instance), but most are much younger businesses. Sour Puss Pickles, for instance, had a born-yesterday hopefulness about it; a his-and-her company, it was founded in 2009.

Another his-and-her company provided the most intriguing story of the day, however, though one not fully told, only hinted at. I talked with Johnny Mclaughlin about his wares and his generously offered recipes, and then asked how the Hudson Valley company he developed with Nicole Ramsperger came to be called Heartbreaking Dawns. “It’s from the poem,” he said. “By Rimbaud.”

Uh, “Season from Hell” sprang to mind; was it by that Rimbaud, the dissipated symboliste poet of perpetual adolescence? My questioning got a shrug and a smile. (Once home, I looked it up; it’s from “The Drunken Boat,” a longish poem and much admired, that Rimbaud wrote when he was 16. The passage translates as, “But, truly, I have wept too much! The Dawns are heartbreaking. Every moon is atrocious and every sun bitter.” Hmm.)

All in all, the “hot” chocolate spiciness was the real discovery of the day for me. I came away from the Chile Pepper Fiesta with a tingling tongue, a messenger bag clicking and clanking with jars and bottles, a sheaf of recipes and brochures, and a bunch of new ideas about peppers.

Filed Under: Community, Food/Drink, Guilds/Fairs, Outer Brooklyn Tagged With: Brooklyn Botanic, chile peppers, spicy chocolate, spicy sauces

Quick Little Biz Tip # 1: Taking Credit Card $ Via Your Phone

September 29, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith 1 Comment

Find a brief rundown of choices on Mediabistro’s AppNewser blog. This framework gives you a starting point to collect info. It matters what kind of phone you have, for one thing. Though it’s said the piper must be paid, LevelUp promises a way around those pesky credit card charges. Hmm. What is your experience? (Use the Contact Us page to answer.)

Filed Under: Guilds/Fairs, Innovation, The Business Side Tagged With: credit cards, micro business tip, mobile payments, small business

Alchemy Creamery at Smorgasburg

September 28, 2012 by Joy Makon

DESSERT CAME FIRST. And why wouldn’t it? Last Saturday’s beautiful weather was a perfect excuse to hop on the NY Waterway East River Ferry and explore Smorgasburg in North Williamsburg. I’d made plans to spend some time talking with Giuseppe Maione of Alchemy Creamery, and of course had to sample some of his potions. It was easy to (temporarily) ignore all of the meaty, savory aromas that is Smorgasburg and dig in to the cup of creamy sweetness that Giuseppe offered me.

Alchemy Creamery's Apple Cinnamon with Caramel

Caramel Sauce topping Apple Cinnamon,
from Alchemy Creamery

Alchemy Creamery, started in April 2012, is a small-batch, non-dairy ice cream, sold through Smorgasburg and select retail locations in New York City. All-natural coconut cream, unrefined sugars, and natural plant extracts go into the product, along with locally sourced flavorings. On Saturday, I sampled Apple Cinnamon topped with caramel sauce, along with Fixation—a dark chocolate chai. These flavors are developed, tested and produced at Organic Food Incubator in Long Island City in a leased, professional kitchen space used exclusively by Alchemy Creamery. The selections change based on season and ingredient availability. Currently 15 to 18 gallons are produced weekly by Maione and his two Alcreamist partners JD Gross and Jesse Goldman. Maione’s got the fantasy wish that he could clone himself, but until then, he considers his partners crucial to bounce ideas off of. He borrows his father’s pick-up truck to transport and deliver to Smorgasburg and retail locations.

Giuseppe at Smorgasburg.
Photograph by Vlad Weinstein

Giuseppe, 28, has found that getting to know and work with other Smorgasburg producers has helped showcase and grow his product. He prefers to source flavorings from his fellow vendors. The chocolate in Saturday’s Fixation came from Raaka Chocolate. Currently there are no plans for a brick and mortar storefront, as Giuseppe wants to market and sell through other sources, like Champs Family Bakery. He likes the idea of small-batch deliveries to other like-minded food stores, as well as picking up the occasional catering gig. He’d love to have a chance to create one-of-a-kind flavors for someone’s wedding. “Twitter and Instagram have been amazing marketing tools. The foodie culture is migrating to sharing what you enjoy,” says Maione.

Alchemy Creamery is no casual endeavor on Giuseppe’s part. It’s an outcome of a lifetime of learning about food and restaurants from his father and the family’s restaurants. Using dependable suppliers and resources, developing aesthetics, pricing the product, working with staff and customers—Maione encountered all of this working in the family’s restaurants, where he was the head waiter for 11 years. “Food is complex and multi-layered,” says Maione. “On one hand, it’s about nutrition, but it’s also about comfort and pleasure.” And with that, Alchemy Creamery is being developed to keep health in mind (non-dairy) but also fun. One ice cream flavor, or two, is not enough. Maione experiments to create unique flavor mixes, so that one tastes one flavor at first, and then another, and perhaps yet another. Additions like caramel, or chocolate balsamic sauce, or salted walnuts—displayed in chemistry beakers—work to add texture and flavor.

Toppings, made from ingredients from fellow vendors, add flavor and texture to the weekly “potions.”

Giuseppe and I are colleagues at a retail store; like so many of us lately, he works part time to earn some money to fund the other interests in his life. He’s an incredibly warm, friendly person and takes pleasure when a customer smiles after tasting the flavor mixtures—potions—he crafts. At work, he’s known for bringing in tastings to the employee lounge, and we’ve gotten to taste Stone of Jupiter (a roasted red pepper chocolate chili powder ice cream) and Heart of Mars (Rooibos Red Tea). I’m waiting to taste Saturday Morning Cartoon (Fruity Pebble Tea). It won’t last long.

Filed Under: Community, Encore, Food/Drink, Guilds/Fairs, Handmade Tagged With: alchemy creamery, non-dairy ice cream, Smorgasburg, vegan ice cream

Tax Tip #1: Mark Your Calendar for March 2013

September 28, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith

Better Little Business Practices

WE CAN’T PROMISE you’ll come out singing “All My Taxes Now Are Exes,” but why not get some credentialed free advice? In two hours on March 12, 2013, the NYS Small Business Development Center and SUNY will present “Recordkeeping for Small Businesses.” Official description: “Recordkeeping and bookkeeping methods for getting the best deductions and tax exceptions allowed for businesses. The seminar will be given by an IRS Approved Agent.” You must register ahead of time. Do it soon for space is limited. Registration page has map.

Filed Under: The Business Side Tagged With: better business practices, business development, profits, tax advice, the business side

Weekend To Do List: Sept. 28, 29, 30

September 27, 2012 by Joy Makon

Saturday only: Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Chili Pepper Fiesta featuring local producers The Saucey Sauce Co and Raaka Chocolate among others.

Last weekend for the Dekalb Market. Sunday’s a goodbye party.

Dumbo Arts Festival, a three-day celebration of art, music & performance.

Sunday only: Atlantic Antic, one of the original street festivals in New York City and Brooklyn. Food, craft, music. (Guaranteed to be more than just tube socks.)

Brooklyn Navy Yard, BLDG 92. Exhibitions and free tours.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: arts, Brooklyn, festivals, museums, street fair, this weekend

Just Try Holding That iPhone to Your Ear While You Type

September 27, 2012 by Phil Scott

FROM BROOKLYN’S COMMUNITY OF ARTISANS I’ve learned how important it is that skills with traditional tools should not become lost arts. At first it was hard to apply this insight to my own work, for I am a journalist. But reading John J. Kochevar’s recent piece on artisanal writing with pencils inspired me.

This vintage rotary in working order sells in the neighborhood of $50 at Etsy.com.

Here is the missing manual for another traditional reporter’s tool. Master this, and you step into a stream of greatness: Edward R. Murrow, Woodward and Bernstein, Lois and Clark.

How to Dial a Rotary Telephone

Before keypads, telephones used to come equipped with dials. Thus the expression, “dial the telephone.”

1. The dial is the round object in the center of the phone at right, with a series of evenly spaced holes running along the perimeter of the disc.

2. Insert your index finger into the hole that corresponds to the number or letter you wish to “dial.”

3. Move the finger in a clockwise fashion until it rests against a thin stop, usually located on the right side of the dial. Remove your finger, and the dial automatically returns to its original position.

4. Perform the same operation for the subsequent numbers that you wish to dial until you‘ve completed dialing the entire number. Once connected to your party, remember to keep your fingers a safe distance away from the dial to avoid service interruptions.

Note: A rotary dial telephone can not be used for texting.

Filed Under: Brain Candy, Craft/Design, Encore, Laugh

Business Is Cooking at Smorgasburg

September 25, 2012 by Basia Hellwig

THE LAST DAYS OF THIS YEAR’S SMORGASBURG food fair are going to be here before we can possibly get our fill (November 17 at the original Williamsburg site, November 18 in DUMBO) so we thought we’d head over while the weather was still beautiful. What better excuse than a houseful of guests last weekend (from France! from Canada!) hungry to sample the wares of Brooklyn food artisans they’d heard so much about. (The New York Times has famously called it the “Woodstock of Eating.”)

To avoid going underground on such a sunny fall day, we took the East River Ferry from Manhattan and looped our way to the Brooklyn side of the river, past the Long Island City and Greenpoint stops, down to Williamsburg, getting a few peeks at old industrial Brooklyn along the way.

Once we landed at Smorgasburg, we were hit by irresistible smells and sizzles, but before diving in, we paused a moment to take in the stunning Manhattan backdrop to this outdoor market. Location, location, location indeed.

The 75+ vendors at Smorgasburg are wildly diverse—and not just from a culinary point of view. For some, the food fair, started by Brooklyn Flea last year, is a launch pad for bringing a new product to market. In the beginning, it may be a business’s sole distribution point. For a brick-and mortar establishment like Porchetta, the East Village shop where Chef Sara Jenkins sells her “drop-dead delicious” Italian street-food sandwich, it’s an additional sales outlet and marketing vehicle. For others, it’s one of several distribution points: You’ll find Kelso of Brooklyn beers at Smorgasbar (a roped- off drinks area introduced in the middle of the food fair this year) as well as at bars around NYC (especially Brooklyn). Grady’s Cold Brew coffee, available at Smorgasburg, is also sold online and at Whole Foods in NYC and beyond.

How does this distribution puzzle fit together? Finding the right channels—and getting access to them—is always a challenge for small food producers. We look forward to talking more to Brooklyn artisans about what works, what doesn’t and hearing about lessons learned they’d like to share.

Oh, and the funny thing: After circling the market and winding back and forth, all five of us landed up on line at Landhaus.

Maple bacon on a stick—how could my Canadian heart resist?—and a juicy lamb burger, perfectly cooked. It was BLTs for the boys (maple bacon slab included). Plus Kelso’s Belgian Pale Ale and Sixpoint’s Crisp Lager, capped off by BiteMe mini cheesecakes and Alchemy’s Dark Chocolate vegan frozen dessert.

Even after the November closing dates, Brooklyn Flea assures us that 10 hot/prepared food vendors and about 7 to 8 packaged food vendors will be at Skylight One Hanson, Brooklyn Flea’s winter home. They’ll all be on the lower level of the market toward the back.

Smorgasburg: 8 Weekends Left!
11 am to 6 pm

Saturdays on the Williamsburg waterfront between North 6th and North 7th St., at the East River

Sundays (except September 30) on the DUMBO waterfront at the historic Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Basia Hellwig curates the Food/Drink category for Brooklyn Artisan.

Filed Under: Community, Food/Drink, Guilds/Fairs, The Business Side Tagged With: artisanal food, beer, brooklyn artisan, Brooklyn brewery, Landhaus, Porchetta, Smorgasburg, Williamsburg

In Appreciation

September 25, 2012 by Joy Makon

Taking advantage of this beautiful day to put some of the Brooklyn Backyard garden to sleep for the winter. Spent two hours gently digging up and separating and cleaning small oxalis bulbs. A very labor-intensive, though (for me) satisfying task that I do every fall. Repetitive, solitary, quiet with birds and rustling leaves.

And later on I intend to sit quietly and knit for an hour or two before Yom Kippur arrives this evening.

I think of those who use their hands and lovingly create amazing things for all to admire, use, taste, share.

Filed Under: Brain Candy, farms/gardens, Food/Drink, Handmade, Look, Method/Materials, Think, Uncategorized Tagged With: backyard garden, oxalis bulbs, plants

Not Just Brain Food at the Brooklyn Book Festival

September 25, 2012 by Anne Mollegen Smith

Brooklyn Book Festival “Bookends” on September 23, 2012, capping a week’s worth of more than 50 events all over the borough, was teeming with people in the beautiful weather on the plaza at Borough Hall. Borough President Marty Markowitz, a founder of the event in 2006, likes to say Brooklyn is “Book-lin,” and the BBF made a good case for it . Dozens of blue publishing vendor tents (above) lined the walkways while 104 panels on 12 stages accommodated 280 authors.

The literary events were free, not so the food. Branded food trucks and UHauls surrounded the plaza. Although the jawing outside probably didn’t match the panelists inside, bibliophiles made their choices from waffles and grill cheese, souvlaki and Carribbean corn, ‘screme cones and many more.

Our local literati have not always been civil. Think of the late Norman Mailer, of Gore Vidal and Truman Capote. Browsing the food signs, one could conjure ghost voices: “Who’re you calling corn?!?” “Who’re you calling chicken!?!” (See dialogue prompt at the right.)