FOOD: A Gourmet Pantry Curated for the Soul

Photo Credit: Chante Ramsey/VySyn Photography

Tonight, I stopped by Joseph Riley Land's Gourmet Pantry pop-up shop that recently opened late last week and is conveniently located in a cozy spot at the renowned Astor Row Cafe.

The pantry is made up of carefully selected items that you would find in chef extraordinare Joe's kitchen. He stands by everything that his shop sells 100%. The Gourmet Pantry represents so many regions as far as Argentina and as close as New Jersey. This shop is all Joe - an eclectic blend of tastes that suits all of your kitchen needs from balsamic vinaigrette, wide array of artisanal sweets, red peppers, butters, grits and so much more. And this is only the beginning!

You can hear it straight from the man himself via his blog.

He is my go-to person for anything foodie related - he got me hooked on Moravian cookies (all of them!) just last year and I'm now trying to figure out the many ways to eat La Salamandra's dulce de leche instead of simply dipping a spoon in the rich tasting sinful treat.

I'm in awe by Joe's tenacity to see his vision become a reality and am looking forward to seeing his brand at local markets across the city as well as the shop's special events coming in the near future. In the meantime, join me and hop on the MTA then stroll your way to Joe Riley's Gourmet Pantry. 

Congratulations, Joe!!

-Chante

RED HOOK's Brooklyn Crab Shack with a View

After making its debut this Spring, the Brooklyn Crab is the place to chill at in Brooklyn for seafood, for great sights to see and an escape from the busy Manhattan scenery.


I checked this place out yesterday during a much needed getaway to the shores of Brooklyn. They open its doors daily at 4pm and to my surprise the line was packed before then. As you can tell, the wait was a bit onerous for some but bearable for me on this gorgeous Spring/Summer day.  I was flying solo and I was initially hedging on leaving to settle on something to nosh on from Fairway considering that we were told the wait would be an hour, at least. But I'm so glad I stuck it out. One of the servers felt my inner angst and gave me a table with a lovely couple. While I waited for my shrimp, crabs and beet salad, I sipped on a yummy yet lethal strawberry daiquiri.


Between the cool breeze, dope view of the pier, bellowing laughter and pleasantries with my table mates, I realized that I will come back for more deliciousness even after experiences some minor flaws of this place (delayed set up of both bar areas and staggering hour plus waits for a thirsty hungry crowd is not a good look).  


The potential for Brooklyn Crab to be great is there. They have this "great escape" location (they offer shuttle bus service from the 61 bus stop and the Carroll St train station on the F/G lines for those not familiar with Red Hook), and they are the best seafood game in town (well in the area - tied with Redhook Lobster Pound on Van Brunt, of course).


I find this place a bit gutsy to use the moniker "Brooklyn" in its business name. But hey that's how Brooklyn does it. 


Definitely stop by Brooklyn Crab this summer - hope to see you there!


-Chante

Photo Credit: Brooklyn Crab

Making Cupcakes @ Butterlane

Before noshing on burgers, bbq chicken, hot dogs, potato salad, etc., SRs Chante spent the July 4th afternoon at Butterlane to learn a thing or two about to make delicious cupcakes like the pros (or close to it).

The kitchen was very "Food Network" ish with everyone donning aprons, using high powered mixers, stacks and stacks of ingredients (salt, powder, sugar, butter milk, etc.), and a witty intructor to take the shyness away from anyone.

We kicked off the class with sweet treats from the folks at Butterlane to show us how these cupcakes that we are about to make should taste like. Next up, a brief lesson on the basic do's and dont's of baking which explains why Chante's cupcakes always ended up chewy and hard (inside and out) lacking the fluffy, light consistency that she was trying so hard to achieve.

The session was invigorating with everyone busy at work mixing, folding, stirring, measuring and blending. There were 108 cupcakes to make so we did break a sweat!!!  While the cupcakes were cooling, we learned how to make the frosting and the Jedi-way of properly applying it - Chante scored a coupon for free cupcakes b/c of her awesome skills in this area! (lol) She cannot wait to cash in the coupon and a chance to come back to the East Village -which will be real soon!

If you would like to try your hand at making cupcakes, check out the class schedule for details.