Foodstand Food Book & Film Club: The Brooklyn Grange

This post is a bit different from our usual events. It’s not only near and dear to our hearts and ‘hood BUT it’s an event, inside a game, inside a TV show, LIVE. Mouthful right? Mouth of seafood, if you back Ben’s Hunt for Dr. Klaw. TV project. Those of you who don’t remember the Underground Lobster Pound or Ben’s Hook, Line and Dinner – Read up. He does a fantastic job explaining the project and how to get involved over on Kickstarter. Check it out and join in the salt water adventure. See you on the Periscope show.

Is it just me, or is watching foodie films and TV shows part pleasure, part torture? All those drool-worthy dishes trapped behind a screen with nonstop chatter about their prep, taste, and texture is enough food foreplay to make a person go crazy with desire. It’s all talk, no action, and I’ll be honest, in my case, it’s led to more than one unnecessary takeout order that I’ve been less than proud of the morning after. But, this month, the NYC Food Film Fest’s going to let us taste what we see with a four-day roster of indie food films paired with their starring cast of culinary characters. Tickets include movie showings, after-party access, and, of course, scrumptious sustenance served up by some of the world’s best chefs. So go forth and fill up on film-inspired food to your belly’s content. Try not and get used to this perfect pairing. Uber Eats has yet to partner with Bourdain’s Parts Unknown to deliver Vietnamese noodles to your door. October 20 – 23 in NYC.

The most impactful journey of my recent travels was meandering through Cuba in 2016 just as the country started opening up it’s doors to mass US travel. The Havana Film Festival New York’s closing film, Cuban Food Stories, touches a nerve and floods back many of those memories. The director, Asori Soto, calls it “a road-trip adventure all around the island to discover the most authentic flavors and stories behind the Cuban cuisine.” With access to remote parts of this culturally rich island nation, Asori goes beyond the cliches, Ropa Viejo and cigars to show us the kind of Cuba Cubans know. Beyond this film, there’s a whole incredible week of programming. In collaboration with Havana’s International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, Havana Film Festival New York showcases Cuba, Latin American,Caribbean and Latino creators and their films in a light that makes for a multi-cultural experience for the Latino culture and more importantly, beyond. In other words, if you like film, this is for you. If you like food and film, closing night is on order. April 6th-17th in NYC. Cuban Food Stories is April 17th at 6:30PM in NYC

Michael Solomonov (one of our Philly Favs) and Brooklyn icon Saul Bolton share some of their favorite flavors from their favorite part of the world before the screening of In Search of Israeli Cuisine. The taste line up is eleven small-plate dishes. Some of the hits include grilled marinated eggplant with fenugreek tomato chutney, chicken pastilla with cinnamon and almonds, and quinoa, pea, and mint tabbouleh. No need to worry about being parched, Israeli wine, beer, and limonata will be on hand to keep things smooth. May 12th @ 6:15 PM in Brooklyn.