You know the old saying, you can’t judge a pizza by it’s cover? No? Well it’s true. Look at that beautiful pie above, the margherita from Sottocasa. And yet it was strangely flat tasting; the sauce a little to sweet, the crust under-seasoned. Sottocasa had been on my list for a while, and so a few weeks ago I met up with Donny & Steph for dinner there. Step summed it up nicely: it’s good pizza for the neighborhood, but not destination pizza. The pizza certainly wasn’t bad, but I don’t think I’ll be stopping in again.

I’ve been to Brooklyn Central before. And in fact it was opened by some former pizzaiolos from Sottocasa. The last time I was there I got a specialty pizza (and enjoyed it), so this time I went for the margherita, just to get a base-line reading. They actually have two margheritas on the menu: one made with Italian buffalo mozzarella and one with locally made Brooklyn mozzarella — I got the Brooklyn version. It was fantastic — a nice char on the crust, creamy mozz, good sauce, and most importantly, a great balance of all of the ingredients.

Sottocasa — 298 Atlantic Ave
Brooklyn Central — 289 5th Ave

This past Friday I had the good fortune to attend the Food Book Fair in Williamsburg (I was given press access so I could attend for free). I got to see Evan Strusinski (above right, forager for several restaurants) and Fredrik Berselius (above left, chef at Aska debate the definition of foraging. Strusinski said he cringes at the word and is unhappy with the growing trend (and one that I happen to enjoy), but still feels a primal excitement when he finds a wild edible. Burselius talked about the hazards of basing a menu on local seasonal ingredients — a bit of unseasonably cold weather can wipe out an ingredient you were counting on. We also got to sample some wild edibles, including cattail shoots — layered like scallions but with the flavor of cucumber — and whiskey flavored with sweet birch.

I also saw a panel with the editors of American Food Roots (from left to right above: Bonny Wolf, Michele Kayal, and Domenica Marchetti), a website that chronicles the stories of food here in America. They had some interesting stories to share from around the country, and opened the discussion up to the audience to share their own food stories. It was an informative and interesting discussion about how personal our food memories really are.

This past weekend the weather was pretty much perfect. It was a great day to visit the opening day for the Red Hook Ball Field Food Vendors, where you can find some of the best and most authentic food from Central and South America, as well as Mexico. If you’ve never heard of them, the vendors started out selling food to people at the Red Hook Ball Fields who were there to watch futbol; after a few years word got out and the operation got noticed by the Health Department. They ended up forcing the vendors to get trucks and permits, a very expensive proposition for most people. At this point they need as much business as they can get, to make it financially worthwhile. Sure, you can get great tacos and fresh fruit juices, but there are also specialized things you can’t get very many places in NYC. Above you see pacaya, something I look forward to getting every year. It’s a bamboo-like part of a palm tree, and on its own it is so bitter to be almost unpalatable. But when you deep fry it in an egg-based batter and cover it in pico de gallo and salsa picante, then wrap it in a couple of tortillas, it becomes something truly special — lots of interesting flavors and textures melding in your mouth. Whatever you get, just go. Make a visit once and you’ll want to go back the following weekend.

Red Hook Ball Field Vendors — Corner of Clinton St & Bay St., Sat & Sun 9am-9pm

Brighton Bazaar — 1007 Brighton Beach Ave

So at the end of March my friend Molly had me and Donny over to make a whole bunch of pickles. We made the obligatory jokes about how “Brooklyn” it was to be making our own pickles, and of course that Portlandia skit came up, but it was still a lot of fun. Most of our pickles were for a party that Molly was having, but I did make a large jar of Korean style pickled radishes, which came out smashingly. A semi-recipe and more photos after the jump.

I started with four medium-sized tae baek radishes, though daikon would work too. Rinse them, peel them, and cut them into roughly half-inch chunks. Place the chunks into a strainer and heavily salt them with kosher salt. Then set the strainer over a bowl and let them sit for about half an hour. The salt is going to draw moisture out of the radishes as well as season them.

While the radishes drain, prepare the pickling solution. This is a cold pickle, no heating required. In a large jug combine a bottle of rice wine vinegar, a cup or so of distilled vinegar, a tablespoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, a sprinkle of sesame oil, and a few heaping tablespoons of Korean red chili flakes. I found the last at one of my local Korean-owned grocers, but I’m sure you can find a supplier online somewhere. Then add a little water and stir it all up until combined.

Once half an hour has passed rinse the radish chunks very well to get rid of all of the salt on the surface. Sprinkle them with some more of the chili flakes. Place the into a sanitized jar and then pour the vinegar mixture over them until covered. Let the liquid settle for a minute, and after it bubbles down to fill in all of the crevices you’ll have to add some more. Put on the lid, tighten it as much as possible, and shake it to make sure it’s all evenly distributed. Put it in the refrigerator for at least a week.

So yes, it’s a totally Brooklyn hipster move to make your own pickles, but who cares? The radishes come out crisp, salty, sour, sweet, and sharp; slightly smoky from the sesame oil and slightly spicy from the chili flakes. Plus a pickle party gives you an excuse to hang out with your friends and come up with interesting combinations of items to pickle and seasonings with which to pickle them. Pickle parties may not be replacing birthday parties or key parties any time soon, but they’re pretty fun in their own right.

This past Saturday was the first day of this year’s Smorgasburg, and the crowds came out in full force. Smorgasburg reminds me of Taipei’s night markets — though of course everything at Smorgasburg is way more expensive, and everyone is speaking English instead of Mandarin. If you can brave the lines there are some interesting foods to be had, and my favorite bite of the day was from a Smorasburg newcomer.

That would be yogurt from The White Moustache. They had both sweet and savory yogurt bowls, and two types of yogurt. Persian style yogurt that was thinner and not as sweet, and Greek yogurt, strained and so thick is was almost chewy. The creamy, tangy yogurt was excellent, and matched well with the sour cherries and toasted almonds.

What I don’t understand at all are the people who wait in line to eat at vendors who have restaurants. For some reason, even though you can go to the restaurant and eat the food at your convenience, these tend to be the longest lines at Smorgasburg. Skip them and sample some of the smaller vendors.

Smorgasburg — Kent Avenue and North 7 St

Held at the Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick, the event brings together vendors who sell all vegan products. Although the event started off with only a handful of vendors, now that it’s a monthly affair there are dozens of vendors participating This increased participation has led to some fruitful partnerships; Giuseppe from Alchemy Creamery (a vegan ice cream company) told me that they’re partnering up with the vegan cake bakers at Lael Bakery to make an all vegan ice cream cake pop. The vendors met at the Shop-Up; both have been regualrs only since December of last year. The bar itself has an extensive vegan menu, as well as a page-long menu devoted to variations on Bloody Marys.

There are vegan butchers, vegan truffles, and vegan cheeses. One dessert vendor told me that she doesn’t use the word “vegan” on her labels; instead she says “no animal products.” This is because some people have an instinctive reaction against vegan desserts, and won’t even give them a chance. She also stresses the gluten-free aspect of her foods, as that is the largest growing specialty market right now.

Bunna Cafe, the pop up Ethiopian kitchen, is one of the may vendors selling prepared food. One of the highlights of their offerings is something I’ve never eaten before — strips of injera (the spongy flatbread used to scoop up Ethiopian food) soaked in sunflower milk, served cold. Harmony Cafe makes sandwiches with seitan, including a “steak” sandwich with a dynamite horseradish sauce.

It’s not just food that you can find there, though. Some of the vendors are selling animal-free and cruelty-free clothing and beauty products.

Describing the market, Ms. Peltier seems slightly surprised by how quickly it’s taken off. She was inspired by the New Amsterdam Market three years ago, and immediately decided to try and create a vegan version of that. At first the Vegan Shop-Up only had five vendors, friends she had made through her various food-related jobs, and was held every other month. Now a monthly event with 26 vendors signed up for April’s market, she says, “I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to.” After saying this out loud she looked around at everything happening, as if coming to this realization for the first time. Then she hastened to add that she had no intention of stopping the market. That’s good news for all of us; as I walked around I discovered that most of the attendees were not themselves vegan, and that’s part of the atmosphere that Ms. Peltier worked hard to cultivate. Everyone is welcome.

Vegan Shop-Up — Pine Box Rock Shop, 12 Grattan St.
The next Vegan Shop-Up will be held on Saturday, April 13th, 2013.

I became a vegetarian long before I’d heard of the unlikely combination of chicken and waffles. Thankfully, Donny had his birthday party at Sweet Chick in Williamsburg, and thankfully they have a vegetarian version of their signature dish. I wasn’t quite prepared for what came out — two giant hunks of fake fried chicken alongside some big, tasty-looking waffles. The “chicken” was wrapped in a crispy deep-fried chicken batter, which gave way to a spongy, soft, almost smoky fake chicken meat inside. When combined with the waffles, then topped with butter, maple syrup, and hot sauce, it became something magical. I’m a huge fan of contrasting (but complimentary) textures and flavors, and this had everything. Soft and crispy, sweet from the syrup and salty from the fake chicken, and just slightly spicy. I couldn’t shovel it into my face fast enough.

I was disappointed with my side dish of Brussels sprouts and hominy. I like both ingredients, but this dish was so heavily doused in vinegar that I couldn’t taste much else. I was ready to write off Sweet Chick as a one hit wonder, until I took a bite of dessert: warm biscuit bread pudding.

I took a mouthful of dense, slightly sweet, buttery biscuit and immediately exclaimed “Oh my god.” My friends laughed a bit, but it was an instinctive reaction. I actually teared up a little bit. This was one of the greatest desserts I’ve eaten in a long time, and it’s a good thing that there were other people there to share it because otherwise I would have eaten the whole thing and then I probably would have died. The double chocolate pudding was also great, as was the apple pie, but the warm biscuit bread pudding nearly knocked me off my seat. It was one of the dessert specials, so I don’t know if it will be around all the time, but if you see it available you must order it. Don’t question it.

Sweet Chick has only been open for a couple of months. It’s true that a few things I tasted weren’t great, but between the vegetarian chicken and waffles and the biscuit bread pudding they serve two AMAZING dishes. That makes it a winner in my book, and I’m happy to return any time.

Sweet Chick — 164 Bedford Avenue

I was intrigued by the “farm to sandwich” ethos at Landhaus, which is up a short flight of stairs in a narrow window-lined space just off of 7th Ave. Landhaus usually sells at markets like Smorgasburg, but recently set up a permanent shop here in Park Slope. The Herb Roasted Mushroom sandwich is an over-stuffed piece of work; the button mushrooms are wonderfully browned, and the toasted bun was pretty good, but the real stand-out was the sharp and creamy cheddar sauce. Though it made the sandwich way too messy to actually pick up and eat (I had to resort to a plastic fork), it also made the sandwich waaaaay tastier than it would have been otherwise. With its limited menu (four sandwiches, only one of them vegetarian) it doesn’t necessarily rate a return visit, but it was definitely worth the one.

Landhaus — 808b Union Street

Leske’s Bakery is something of a Bay Ridge institution, originally opened in 1961. Although the ownership has changed since then, and it has closed at least once, the bakery is still regarded as on of Bay Ridge’s food destinations. They recently opened a new storefront here in Park Slope, so I stopped by to check it out (I’ve never been to the Bay Ridge location). I got a cheese danish — how could I not, considering my quest for the best cheese danish in NYC. Leske’s is also known for its versions of classic Hostess desserts, so I got a “twinkie” as well. The danish was good, though the filling was a little on the grainy side. The twinkie was geat — good sponge cake-like exterior, light and fluffy cream in the middle. Actual Twinkies don’t taste so good (especially now that Hostess is gone). I also got a sample of their black & white cookie, which has mounds of frosting instead of caked-on icing. It’s an interesting twist on an old favorite, and it makes me wonder if that’s how black & white cookies used to be.

Leske’s Park Slope — 588 5th Ave