For a long time I’ve searched for a good whole grain chocolate chip cookie recipe, struggling to find something that didn’t produce dry, cakey or puffy cookies. Finally, I found one that I love, that results in thin cookies that are crispy on the edges and chewy in the center. I love to bake them […]
Founded in 2013, Pete Merzbacher’s Philly Bread started out mainly catering to wholesale clients and a bread “CSA”, relying on word-of-mouth marketing from satisfied grain-lovers to take his loaves to new places. That all changed, however, when he won Philly’s Lightning in a Bottle competition in 2014, along with the grand prize of a year […]
Though preaching the benefits of buying local on a site dedicated to small food artisans seems a touch heavy handed, for coffee it is worth repeating that local beans are almost always the freshest beans. And fresh beans are the only way to ensure a great cup. When I shop at a store that has […]
Smoke can be a polarizing flavor in beer. Similar to fruit, it can be outstanding when done well, but even the smallest misstep cannot be saved. The first smoked beer I ever tasted went this way: Sip one: interesting! Sip two: ok, that’s enough. I don’t recall which beer it was, but it was enough […]
I adore curry, and love sampling different types, though admittedly I am no expert when it comes to the nuances between regional varieties. That said, it’s an ingredient I cook with at home often and when I get the chance to try new versions I rarely hesitate. One of my favorite NYC food stores is […]
I’m not a spicy food aficionado by any means – I fancy a touch of heat on occasion, but I don’t go crazy for chili peppers or wild over wasabi. I snagged a bottle of Sriracha before it was cool, but I’m not sure I even finished it, and I’ve yet to buy anything Sriracha-flavored […]
Whiskey-barrel aging has been all the rage in the craft beer world for a few years now, so it’s no surprise that this technique has begun to seep into other corners of the artisan food space as well. In particular, I’m starting to see quite a few barrel-aged maple syrups on the market, to the […]
I’m not really a cake person. I’d much rather eat a cookie or a brownie, or some ice cream. I’ll admit, however, to getting caught up in the cupcake movement when it hit the area, falling for Cupcakes Gourmet when it first opened. But that love affair was short-lived. I quickly remembered cookies and brownies, […]
Though she surely wasn’t the first to do it, and though her journey has clearly been glorified by Hollywood, in many ways Under the Tuscan Sun author Francis Mayes is the poster child for giving it all up and moving to the European countryside. Who among the legion of cubicle-dwellers among us has not, at […]
It’s amazing how many small food businesses exist in this area that even the most avid food lover might not know about. Take Sugartown Smoked Specialties, for example, who has been smoking up specialty meats & fish in this area for almost 20 years. 20 years! Though much of their business is selling to restaurants […]