New new new new new (here's what's new)
Pastry boxes baked at home, unconventional Thai, and a donut shop with a speakeasy attached...
Hello lovely people!
This time around, I thought I’d highlight three cool new businesses I got to write about for BK Reader in the past few weeks. I’ve been having such a great time doing this “research” (eating) so I wanted to share it (gloat about it) with you.
Guest Check BK by Grayson Samuels
Grayson Samuels, theater-maker and pastry baker, got his start working at Gage & Tollner, and now works at Winner Bakery. On top of that, this past August he decided to start making his own pastry boxes from his home in Boerum Hill once a month. It’s a heroic endeavor — he makes 120 pastries in one night, operating out of a kitchen with zero counter space and a half-size oven that is regularly 25 degrees off.
The pastries in Grayson’s third box will likely be announced within the next couple of days, so keep your eyes peeled. I have it on good authority that a pumpkin loaf will make an appearance within the next couple of months, and that in December, the box will consist fully of Christmas cookies. (I am a bit hesitant to even advertise that this business exists because there are only thirty boxes available each month, and I definitely want one.)
Side note: While I was chatting with Grayson, I got incredibly distracted because I saw someone through my window whom I assumed to be Seth Rogen. He got stopped by one of my neighbors (which is something that would happen to a celebrity, right?) and they were standing just chatting outside of my window for about ten minutes. I tried to show Grayson but my Zoom was doing an automatic blur thing that I couldn't get rid of. I’m not the greatest with faces so I sent a picture to my roommates just to double-check that it was indeed Rogen and they said it absolutely was not.
Anyway. Here’s my full article on Guest Check if you want to read more; here’s the Instagram if you don’t need any further convincing.
UnTable (529 Henry St)
UnTable is a Thai restaurant that opened in Carroll Gardens a month ago and immediately made headlines because of its “What the Hell? Fried Rice,” which is marked on the menu with 12 (TWELVE!!!) chili signs.
When I arrived for our interview, the team informed me that the dish was so popular that they had totally sold out of the crispy chili used to make it, which had to be shipped specially from Chiang Rai, the only place in the world where it’s produced. Meen Srisopa, one of the UnTable co-owners, told me that her parents had to go Chiang Rai personally to ask small-scale producers to send a large quantity of the chili to Brooklyn.
Luckily for me, the shipment arrived during our interview (Meen was very happy about it, as you can tell). She served me a small bowl of the crispy chili, which was one of the more insane spice experiences I’ve had in my life: It just tasted like fried garlic at first, but then there was this heat that trickled its way down my throat and remained lodged there for the next half hour. I only tried a tiny sprinkle, so I can’t imagine how hot it would be if you had more.
Read the interview and learn about some of UnTable’s other offerings here.
Dromedary Donuts & Ra Ra Rhino (1329 Willoughby Ave)
For the final feature of the newsletter, I bring you the most deranged concept: Dromedary Donuts, a tropically-flavored donut shop-slash-speakeasy.
To get to the speakeasy (called Ra Ra Rhino), you need to go through a photo booth in the corner of the donut shop. I went to the opening night last Friday and had the 34 Rum Zombie ($20), which is literally made with 34 rums, and you can’t taste the alcohol in it but by the end of the drink my world was spinning. Owner Michael Lombardozzi wants Ra Ra Rhino to be a pregame spot, since it’s so close to so many fun dance spots (one block from House of Yes!), which seems feasible as long as people know it’s there.
I would like to take a second to appreciate the insanity of the decor. (Sometimes Michael’s business partner Christopher Wescott makes the rhino breathe smoke out of its nostrils, which is particularly charming.)
Read more about Dromedary Donuts and Ra Ra Rhino here.
Finally, in non-news-related news… I’m now the fiction editor at the Inquisitive Eater, a lit mag run by the MFA program at the New School. We publish work ranging from fiction to poetry to interviews, as long as it’s related to food. Right now, we’re open for general submissions, and specifically looking for pieces that engage with the food and beverage industry. Here are our submission guidelines. If you’ve written about food, send me your work — I’m so excited to have a chance to help friends get published!
That’s all for now.
Love,
Hannah