Brooklyn Eats

As I've said before, Brooklyn is the place to be for foodies -- or anyone who appreciates a good deal (and a tasty meal), scintillating conversation or all of the above.

Today is my hubby's birthday, so I plan to cook him something special and stay home to celebrate. But if you're in the mood to go out on the town and do something fun and food-related, you're in luck. There's plenty of events to choose from tonight (April 6):

1. Melt's "Taste of Life Tasting Menu"

Melt Brooklyn 5-course Tasting Menu $30

TEMPURA FRIED OYSTER
Soy and Dashi Dipping Sauce

ATLANTIC SALMON CEVICHE
Avocado, Wasabi, Salmon Roe

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP
Garlic Croutons

KIWI BURGER
Grass Fed Lamb Burger, Sunny Side Egg, Beet Relish on Brioche.

GRANNY SMITH APPLE TART
Butter Pecan Ice Cream

created by Mark Simmons, Executive Chef

Pair each course with a taste of 5 carefully selected wines $20

Call 718.230.5925 to secure a table as seating is limited.

2. Edible Brooklyn & Edible Manhattan Magazines Present
GOOD SPIRITS, a cocktail celebration, at The Bell House, 6-9 pm

Brooklyn-based mixology-minded chefs will strive for liquid symbiosis, cooking up perfect pairings for cocktails made with storied spirits. They'll be pouring Empire State favorites like Tuthilltown Spirits and Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery, as well as small batch selections from Vertical Vodka, Chartreuse and Ilegal Mezcal.

The Vanderbilt, No. 7, James, Walter Foods, The Farm on Adderley and Palo Santo will be on hand to prepare food.

A special guest bartender will provide bite-by-sip commentary.

Tickets are just $40 for an evening of food, drink and merriment.

Information at www.ediblebrooklyn.com and www.ediblemanhattan.com or contact Samantha Seier, sam.edible@gmail.com.

3. The powerHouse Arena is hosting a book release party:

Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice About the Meat We Eat)
Edited by Moby with Miyun Park

Tuesday, April 6, 7–9PM

For more information, please call 718.666.3049
RSVP: gristle@powerHouseArena.com

Multi-platinum musician Moby has compiled writings from 15 of the country's leading food-minded folks who lay out a hard-hitting and eye-opening guide to the meat you eat.

Moby and co-editor Miyun Park, Executive Director of Global Animal Partnership, as well as a selection of Gristle's contributors, will be present to discuss and sign the book. Refreshments will be served.

Just because I'm staying home doesn't mean you have to! Now I've got to figure out what to cook for Avo's birthday dinner tonight.

Brooklyn Foodies Rule

Slowly, but surely, I'm becoming a bonafide foodie. I can't pinpoint the precise moment of transformation, but I now care about where food comes from and my eyes no longer glaze over when someone tells me about what they cooked for dinner last night.

I might not have the proper credentials to be a foodie, but I've got the interest. In other words, I still can't properly identify radicchio (see photo) and I have no idea what to do with one, but I'm curious and I'm learning.

Brooklyn is clearly the right place at the right time for a newbie foodie like me. In addition to the exciting "New Brooklyn Cuisine" served at restaurants such as Applewood and al di la, there is also a loosely formed community of home cooks in Brooklyn.

I always thought of foodies as snobbish, but the food folks I'm getting to know have been generous about sharing their knowledge.

I'm inspired by Brooklynites like writer Cathy Erway, who chronicles her attempt to not eat out in New York in her aptly named blog Not Eating Out in New York (as well as the soon-to-be-released book The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove).

Erway occasionally teaches classes at The Brooklyn Kitchen, the Williamsburg-based kitchen supply store. Now that the G stops at 7th Avenue, I've got no excuse not to make the trip to The Meat Hook, where you can buy fresh made sausages daily.

Gowanus music venue The Bell House has also become an official meeting (and competing) place for the new Brooklyn food community. It makes sense then that Erway will be holding her book publication party there on February 18th. In addition to reading from her new book, Erway is also engineering a "Bruschetta Takedown." Can't wait to experience that firsthand.

Meat eaters won't want to miss The BROOKLYN BEEFSTEAK on March 21st at The Bell House. What's exactly is The Brooklyn Beefsteak, you ask? Picture endless pitchers of McSorley's Light and Dark Ale on every table, mountains of choice steak cuts, and absolutely no utensils. Now that sounds like a good time!