keef

Made by Hand: Our first film, and more to come

Thursday evening, we debuted our first film — on the Breuckelen Distilling Company — at Studiomates, the collaborative workspace in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Since so much of the inspiration behind Made by Hand has come from the creative community in Brooklyn, this was a special opportunity for us. We’re exceedingly grateful to the people of Studiomates — and the makers in Brooklyn and elsewhere who inspire us every day.

We’re pleased now to release our first film into the world; go and watch it now. Brad Estabrooke’s tale is one of knowing you could fail, and moving ahead anyway — perhaps the most important ethos of the handmade spirit. We’re thankful to Brad for also joining us last night and sharing his gin and company.

Our next film — on local knife maker Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn — is in production now. Joel talks about finding himself at the intersection of the handmade and food movements (“I hit the jackpot,” he says) and more.

And as we head into the Fall, we’re talking to more makers in Brooklyn and nearby as we seek out subjects for subsequent films. Our hope is that you find these portraits as inspiring as we do.

Best,
Keef

Here’s a little poster I slapped together. Its inspired by yesterday’s film shoot with a beekeeper.

I’m quite pleased to announce the launch of Made by Hand, a new short film series celebrating the people who make things by hand - sustainably, locally, and with a love for their craft. Our first film, on the Breuckelen Distilling Company, is coming soon. See the film teaser. Follow us on twitter.

What sandwich type are you hungry for?

BBQ Lovers of NYC : Save The Date

Somehow, I manage to miss the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party every year.

When In The Windy City... Eat, Sleep, Whisky

The old-world concept of a tavern providing food, drink and lodging has been revived by the folks behind Chicago’s Longman & Eagle. Recently, six design-conscious rooms were made available for overnight stays ranging from $75 - $200. The food portion of the establishment had already been well known for their cocktails and locally sourced ingredients. Another unique twist is that the bar offers a selection of 38 different whiskies all for the same price of just $3 a shot, fulfilling their motto “eat, sleep. whisky.”

Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland, Oregon made their presence felt in NYC a few years back. They now have a cafe in Manhattan and another in the industrial neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn. They’ve just released a bottled cold brew beverage with packaging designed by Jesse Whipple Vickery. I just hope it tastes as good as the bottle looks.

(via PSFK)

Save for the wet weather, San Francisco has kindly ingratiated herself upon me during my two week stay. While I didn’t have a chance to walk the Golden Gate Bridge or stroll the corridors of Alcatraz, I did manage to eat, eat, eat (and drink too). I’ve come to two conclusions about the cities food. First, one would have to possess an extremely awful stroke of misfortune to happen upon a bad cup of coffee here. Second, it would be a crime if I didn’t share the names of the more memorable establishments that I had the pleasure of visiting.

Coffee
Four Barrel Coffee // I’m not sure where to begin; I guess its with the roasting. The rear half of this large, refurbished factory space boasts a separate roasting operation. The roasting machine looks like something out of City of Lost Children. Regular coffee is produced in small batches with a french press. Specialty coffees are made by one of two baristas who operate their stations with a sort of second-nature precise skill. More expensive bean varieties and other brewing methods are to be had at another counter. The space is fantastic - think taxidermy, industrial seating, lots of wood and metal, big open space. Every employee is not only uniquely charming but worthy of a second or third look. In fact, coffee mugs are sold at the register adorned with illustrations of each worker’s likeness.

Ritual Coffee Roasters // While I’m writing this very posting from their location in The Mission, a group of people standing around a table behind me are being instructed on the finer points of coffee tasting. The spacious cafe boasts lots of tables with Eames-style bent plywood chairs and makes for an inviting place to hunker down with your laptop all day.

Drinking
Magnolia Pub & Brewery // The food at this pub located in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is pretty tasty. They go through a full pig a week making different kinds of sausages but the real reason to visit is the beer. Their brews which are made in the basement are all that you will find on tap. The selection of over a dozen beers which are constantly in flux include cask-style recipes and are only available at the pub.

The Residence // Delicious Manhattan’s are to be had at this Duboce Triangle watering hole. The atmosphere has a sort of deco vibe about it.

Bourbon & Branch // This establishment located in the heart of the Tenderloin is created in the spirit of an old speakeasy. You’ll need a password and reservations to get into the main bar. Seatings are limited to two hours. A separate library room is hidden behind a bar wall panel and is available on a first come basis, as space is available. This place is all about mixology, creating some of the finer drinks I’ve had the pleasure to sip.

Mission Bar // a perfect dive bar in the heart of The Mission. A happy hour round of 4 pints cost me a wopping $10.

Eating
Tartine Bakery & Cafe // You’ll go for breakfast and never want to eat a pastry from anywhere else again. Tartine is well known for their bread selections and chocolate croissants. The quiche is rather fantastic as well. I suspect everything they make is fantastic.

Farm:Table // Right off the bat - why is nobody doing this in NYC? The cafe is small and simple. They serve breakfast and lunch. Inside, there is just one table that seats up to 8 people. Two more small tables are located out front. Each day the menu changes with a new version of just three or four choices - an egg sandwich, a toast, a homemade cereal. I had sliced hardboiled eggs on pieces of baguette with crumbled bacon, feta, and scallion oil. They brew beans from Verve Coffee Roasters of the Bay Area. To find out the daily menu changes, visit their twitter feed which is also posted on their website.

R & G Lounge // Despite the unconvincing name, this is the place in San Francisco’s Chinatown that you will find yourself waiting for a dinner table. The prices are a bit higher than you would generally expect to spend on Chinese food but worth it. Where else are you going to find deep fried, salt & pepper dungeness crab?

Foreign Cinema // It would be easy to walk by this restaurant and have no idea from the outside that it even exists. Chefs with several years of experience cooking in the kitchens of Chez Panisse and Zuni Cafe created this wonderful eatery. Yes, it will cost you a few bucks and yes, its worth it if you have a few bucks to spare. Everything is impressive - the service, ambience, food and drink alike. While I dined next to a cozy warm fireplace, the courtyard looked like a rather unique experience; a rotating schedule of classic cinema is projected on a large wall.

Home // this is the place to go for really good comfort food in San Francisco’s Duboce Triangle neighborhood.

Swell // I was staying just two blocks from this quaint little spot. The rain was coming down hard and I wasn’t about to run around town for a meal. I noticed people setting up in the restaurant window just a few days earlier. We decided to give it a try. We got lucky and were seated at the four stool bar, as everyone else who stepped in appeared to have made reservations. The restaurant’s seafood menu takes it’s influence from Japanese and French cuisine. This is a very nice place for sharing small plates and wine.

While it may prove a bit “ballsy” to market a spirit branded after porn legend Ron Jeremy, I can’t say I’m interested in tasting the man’s potent liquids. I can just imagine the tag line, “for relaxing times, make it Ron Jeremy time.” The Hedgehog is certainly not the first celebrity to offer a line of booze; other’s include: Marilyn Manson, Dan Aykroyd, Dr. Dre, and Sammy Hagar who has been at it longer than any of the newcomers. For a more accurate and less glamorized perspective, check out this documentary on the most famous adult star ever to be filmed.

Steven Grasse has long been a unique voice in the world of advertising and branding. Maybe its because he operates out of my hometown of Philly, but its much more likely for his punk rock ethos that I’ve admired his approach. He’s the guy that would rather give a finger to Madison Ave suits than accept their awards. And while other companies have talked big circles about the importance of intellectual property, Grasse has actually been out there doing it for years - creating culture. And now he’s applied his rock and roll attitude to something else, projects dedicated to sustainable and local ways of doing business. More specifically, farming, making alcohol and advocating for the arts. Hear him talk about his trajectory here. I need to work with this man.

One of my favorite parts of Fight Club is the notion that the fat extracted during liposuction could be processed into soap and sold back to the very same rich people that it originally came from. This is exactly what I thought of when I heard of single malt whisky made from the urine of geriatric people. Then I thought about my friend who once dated a macrobiotic guy that drank his own pee and kept it cold in the fridge. I just hope he brushed his teeth before smooching.

I’ve been on something of a DIY kick lately that is inspired by Mark Frauenfelder’s quick read, Made By Hand: Searching For Meaning in a Throwaway World. I have a new project to accomplish before the summer is over. I really want to try to roasting a whole pig in an earth oven.

A few days ago, I posted about an artist that I met who uses his own blood to paint. It looks like he’s not the only one with this idea. A designer named Metastazis recently used blood in place of ink on his screen-print poster for black metal act Watain.

I sometimes forget that Coney Island is just a short subway ride away. I went for a visit yesterday. We had some fried clams and beer at Ruby’s and took in all of the craziness. Kids were diving off the pier. Impromptu boardwalk dance parties made for surreal cultural mashings of Latinos, African Americans, hipsters, and transvestites. The rhythms were provided by older Latin men. Then we made our way down to the Russian neighborhood of Brighton Beach and sampled the vareniki, pelmeni and pickled watermelon at Cafe Glechik.

There has been a good amount of buzz about Prime Meats which opened earlier this year in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The praise is quite worthy. The restaurant’s interior is designed with lots of wooden details and oil-style lamps that create an environment that harkens back to earlier times in America. Prim waiters uniformed in button-downs, brace suspenders, and raw denim add to the upscale meets old world working class vibe. This all really works. And truth told; one can dine at Prime Meats modesty or go for the pricier selections. The choice is yours. The house made drinks are refreshing and delicious. Good luck making them as good at home. Nothing that I ate was less than fantastic: celery salad, raw oysters, steak frites,  a soft shell crab dish, and a mean chocolate cake. It’s also worth mentioning that Prime Meats locally sources their ingredients and also does all of their own butchering in-house.

The most expensive coffee in the world is really shitty.

The Story of Bottled Water is a short film that clearly explains the problems with the packaged water industry and why drinking tap water is a much better option.

A few nights ago, I braved the bitter cold winds and went out for a beer. I discovered Draft Barn, a Hungarian style beer hall which boasts a menu with over two hundred bottled beers and fourteen rotating taps. If in Brooklyn, I’d definitely suggest checking out this still unknown watering hole.

I have big problems with the corporate agriculture industry; however, lab grown meat sounds less like an alternative and more like an equally awful idea. How about good old sustainable farming?

This is McSweeney’s guide to adages used to promote the consumption of pork.

A few days ago, I asked a friend who is a poet what she might want to pursue as a career had she not been a creative person. I’ve been thinking that if I weren’t a filmmaker, than I might like to be a butcher. Here is a really cool video of Shanna Pacifico, chef/butcher from Back Forty breaking down a side of beef. She discusses how the restaurant has adopted a local and sustainable way of offering meat.

I thought it appropriate on Halloween to share the gruesome delicacies from a Bangkok based bakery that make confections that look more like special FX props from horror movie sets than food. Warning this is not for the squeamish.

Today, two master-butchers will be carving up a pig at the New Amsterdam Market at the site of the old Fulton Fish Market. For more on the growing popularity of learning the butchering trade as a hobby, check out this piece from this weekend’s NY TImes.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the work of Joel Bukiewicz lately. He makes handmade one of a kind kitchen knives out of his boutique Cut Brooklyn. Check out his story here and learn a thing or two about knives.

I adore both Brooklyn and spicy foods. So why not celebrate both? The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Chili Pepper Fiesta takes place October 3 from noon to 6pm. 

I try my best to not buy bottled water these days. As it turns out, the one brand that I did purchase from time to time has some pretty bad politics at play. NYC tap water happens to be some of the best available water in the whole country and I’ve been using one of the popular Swiss brand Sigg bottles for well over a year now. I consciously chose their bottles to avoid the leaching issues associated with reusing plastic and to support an eco-friendly endeavour. So I was rather annoyed to learn that Sigg has some pretty bad health related problems as well. Who knew getting safe clean water in the developed world was so hard?

During the last few years, I’ve found myself engaged in more and more conversations about buying locally sourced foods. I’ve participated in Community Supported Agricultural (CSAs) for three years now. This has profoundly changed the way I eat, the diverse vegetation that I have access to and how healthy my body feels. The reasons for buying local go on and on. And one of the best ways to tap into fresh locally sourced foods is through the green market. In this video, you’ll meet Rick Bishop of Mountain Sweet Berry Farm. Rick sells his crops at the well known Union Square Green Market and also supplies many of the cities very top restaurants including Blue Hill and Gramercy Tavern. Why wouldn’t you want to buy your food from the same place these chefs go?

I have to know what an amber ale made with 45 million year old yeast tastes like.

Food, Inc. is a new documentary that examines the industry and politics surrounding the food we eat. A while back, I worked with designers to conceptualize several of the film’s graphic segments including the opening title sequence. The film is currently in theaters nationwide.

The BKLYN Yard on the Gowanus Canal is kicking off their season opening with an event today called Parked. Several of the cities best food truck vendors will be present. Earlier in the week. I eyed up the gourmet ice-cream truck and it looked rather fantastic. And I know for sure that the huarache vendor is drool worthy.

The NY Times have done a piece on Sriracha Sauce, one of the few items I’d need if lost on a deserted island.

While on the topic of spices, I thought I’d share a discovery that I made yesterday. While walking around in Alphabet City, I stumbled into an amazing importing spice shop. SOS Chefs carry a wide selection of not easily found kitchen specialties, ranging from loose saffron and cardamom to an array of different kinds of fresh mushrooms. Now I have to find a use or two for honey cultivated from bees who have been fed only rosemary.

Lack of fresh water in poor nations is to blame for a number of illnesses that result in millions of deaths each year. Charity:Water is a non-profit whose mission is to drill sustainable wells in underdeveloped communities to eliminate these completely preventable deaths. There is truly no acceptable reason that over a billion people are deprived of fresh drinking water each day. The organization put together this moving film for World Water Day.

I’ve posted before about the problems with maintaining a manicured front lawn as so many people do in the US. Last week, Michelle Obama took a big symbolic step forward for the sustainable food movement by planting the first vegetable garden at The White House in decades. Author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan writes why the Obama’s should rip out the front lawn of their new home next.

Paying what you think a meal and drink are worth, what a novel idea.

Grand Luncheonette is a short documentary about an old-world hot dog shop that use be located in the heart of Times Square. I remember when I first moved to NYC and walked by this place. It was one of those special spots that makes you think, “they don’t make them like that anymore.” The film was directed by Peter Sillen and edited by Brett Nicoletti.

Bacon should be considered it’s own food group. If I were religious, I might call it food from the gods. Speaking of bacon, I stumbled across Bacon Today which is my favorite new website. While bacon infused vodka sounds curiously disgusting, I’d probably be interested in sampling a bacon shell taco.

Gobble Gobble all! Should you be in NYC for Thanksgiving this year and don’t have any special dinner plans, here’s an idea:

A reminder to everyone still making last minute holiday plans. This year Palo Santo will be open on Thanksgiving from 4pm to 9pm. Join us for a four course prix fixe menu priced at $45 per person. You are welcome to bring your family - you can be sure that I’ll be bringing mine! We will be serving our take on some seasonal favorites including Heritage Turkeys done as Pavo en Mole Poblano with Cranberry Salsa and Sweet Potato Gratin. We will also have options for pescatarians and vegetarians.

Jacques Gautier
chef / owner

In 1960, one fifth of the nation’s beer was produced in Brooklyn, New York. By the mid 70’s there were no breweries left in Brooklyn. And now there has been a major resurgence of local breweries opening again. Here is a NY Times article on what happened.

This weekend, The Brazen Head located in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn will host a cask festival offering beer from several of the breweries mentioned in the article.

It’s Saturday afternoon and I should be thinking about getting my bum to kickboxing. Instead, my mind is drifting in the direction of beer. I’m thinking of two breweries whose potions I would like to sample at the moment. The first is from Yards Brewing Company of Philadelphia and is their “Saison” variety. The second is from Brooklyn based Sixpoint Craft Ales and is their “Sweet Action.” You have to love a brewery that makes a beer called “Hop Obama.”

The politics of food is very important to me. How we cultivate our food, obtain it and ultimately eat it directly affects our quality of life. I was pleased to learn that the super creative ad firm, Mother had launched a unique venture that speaks to this very topic. Dogmatic is a new kind of sausage vending experience that offers grass fed and free range foods. Additionally, some of the ingredients are locally sourced and this is absolutely an imperative trend to set for a sustainable agricultural system and economy. Former Burger King CEO, Brad Blum has bought a majority stake in the company and has hopes to take the sausage shop across the country. My big suggestion is for them to obtain a beer and wine license as well. What is a sausage without a beer?

Here is more on Dogmatic Sausage Systems.  In celebration of the “sausage” I share my favorite episode of The Kids in the Hall (has something to do with the love of meat stuff intestinal lining).

I had been meaning for some time to drop by Flatbush Farm. Most of the ingredients at the restaurant are locally grown from small farms, and of course this includes grass fed organic meats. This weekend, I finally had a chance to check it out and stopped in for brunch. I don’t know what I liked more, the food or the ambiance; they have an amazing dining yard in which it is easy to forget where you are. I’m looking forward to checking out their dinner menu one night.

If you live in Brooklyn and happen to be a beer guzzling foodie like myself, you should know about Grab. The small specialty food shop opened just a few months back in Park Slope. They have a wonderful selection of cheeses, meats, chocolates and beer. And now they offer beer growlers featuring different brews each week. Today I stopped in for bread and olive oil and John Hodgman let me cut in line in front of him.

At the other end of the Slope is Bierkraft. Much like Grab, they offer an amazing assortment of specialty food items, however they’ve been around for many years now. While both shops are worth knowing about, Bierkraft does boast a larger selection of beers and chocolate, as well as a more pleasant staff.

If you dig on swine, check out the First Annual Brooklyn Pig Roast at the Yard on Cctober 10.

Last night we went to one of my favorite local Park Slope eateries. They very well may make the best cocktails in Brooklyn at Sidecar. They also grill a pretty flavorful steak frites from happy pasture raised cows.

Apparently Cookie Monster has an apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan and is looking for a tenant.

I’ve lived in the south end of Park Slope, Brooklyn for 8 years. The neighborhood is fantastic and the location is ideal. Just a few hundred paces away the neighborhood changes names and becomes known as Gowanus. As a musician who has rehearsed in Gowanus for many years, I was pretty excited when a watering hole called Bar Tano opened up just across the street from my studio. Little by little this industrial area built along a polluted canal is beginning to transform.

The latest news is that two music venues will be opening up in the neighborhood this fall. I’m told that The Bell House will be something very special. Knowing that the venue’s proprietors did a bang-up job with another local bar-venue called Union Hall, I have no doubt that the space will be a success. A hop skip and jump away, a 6200 square foot warehouse has been converted into Littlefield. I guess this is all very exciting. I’m just wondering how long before the Williamsberg hipster population discovers the neighborhood. Between the too-cool-for-schoolers and the hideous over-priced condo buildings going up, I may have to start searching for a new place to call home. European suggestions anyone?

A short documentary on the the disappearing honeybees that illustrates the species’ grave importance to our ecology and food supply.

Brooklynites no longer have to run to midtown Manhattan for Korean food. Moim serves traditional Korean dishes with a contemporary twist. Now that I’ve had them, there is very little that I wouldn’t do for a plate of their spare ribs.

Most of the stores in the neighborhood that I call home are independent and locally owned. When I saw construction taking place for a 7-eleven convenience store, I was horrified. Considering that there are bodegas on almost every corner, the attempt to open up shop in the neighborhood seemed like an unneeded threat. What I found most disturbing was how the store was introduced to the neighborhood. 7-eleven’s visually offensive and brighter then Vegas store sat empty for months waiting for a franchise buyer to come scoop it up. The company had built out the space with no immediate plans. This was simply a territorial move by a corporation to be the first of their kind in the area. Other chain stores in recent years have tried to do the same thing and failed. What makes 7-eleven different? The difference is the Slurpee.

With all of my voiced criticism, when the weather got hot I was the first to go buy a Coca Cola flavored Slurpee. My friends, neighbors and loved ones pointed and laughed. They ridiculed my hypocrisy. Today, I have the last laugh. In honor of today’s date, the store will be giving away free Slurpees. 

Not everyone can be a good barista, but hell anyone can try. With this coffee diagram designed by Made in England by Gentlemen there are simply no more excuses.

(via ffffound)

There is a new greener way to package milk and large corporate retailers like Wal Mart and Cost Co recognize the incentives. Now its time for consumers to relearn how to pour milk.

This week I was taken out for a lovely meal at The Farm on Adderley. The restaurant in Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park neighborhood is a must visit. It boasts a beautiful interior and backyard, but the real reason to check out The Farm on Adderley is the quality of ingredients. The pork chop was exquisite (yes the word used only to describe paintings and food). Thanks again for the meal Nicky & Rich.

Its margarita weather, so get to know your tequila.

We’ve heard of the notorious rock star tour rider. It is the contract that demands warm fresh towels in every room. It delineates what type of alcohol must be present on the bus and in what quantity. And of course, there is the proclamation that all M&Ms must be sorted into separate bowls by color. Exactly how much bacon does it take to keep the Foo Fighters happy?

Marilyn Manson has finally decided like so many other celebs to endorse his own product. The rocker was instrumental in developing his label of absinthe. And yes, its true that certain brands of true absinthe are now legal in the US. It is also absolutely false that absinthe will make you go looney more than any other type of spirit. That was all actually a giant smear campaign created by a threatened wine industry in France during the early 1900s.

Philadelphia. Barack verse Hillary. Nope. The real question is Geno’s or Pat’s?

If you don’t know of Michael Pollan, perhaps you have heard of his critically heralded book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. And perhaps this interview will persuade you to pick up the book. Pollan has a fantastic way of articulating the importance of understanding where our food comes from, and how our food affects our society socially, culturally, politically, and economically.