Steve Sells Swingles by the Seashore
Everyone in New York City and its five boroughs are a stone’s throw from the water. But I am a lucky man. I have a truly unique piece of the sea just down the road from me in a slightly forgotten slice of Brooklyn called Red Hook. The name evokes imagery ranging from fishing trips to pirates ships, and neither of these connotations would be too far from the truth. Like many artistic greats, this neighborhood was caught dabbling in drugs “back in the day” but has cleaned itself up, sworn off the worst of its vices, and is left with only a few faded tattoos hinting at its checkered past. It is a nautical neighborhood viewed through an urban lens, twisting preconceived notions of what New York City is and what a waterfront town has to offer. It has a slightly off kilter, water-warped feel to it, yet still emanates a siren’s song to those who love its rugged past and its free spirited artistic present.
Our family “voyage” begins when we hit Van Brunt Street, the one mile main drag that serves as the heart of Red Hook. My wife, Jocelyn, our son, Bruno, and I pass by The Good Fork, a date night spot for Jocelyn and me, which gets my stomach rumbling with the thought of their Korean Style Steak and Eggs with kimchee and a fried egg. Across the road holds an equal but very different temptation with the new Mercado: an open air market with Latin food stalls putting out Pupusa’s while a DJ spins some beats. With the clock still not reaching 9 AM we forgo these nighttime pleasures and start the day in a caffeinated way with a double-parked sprint in to Baked, purveyor of coffees, teas, and all of the good things that go with them (including a pretty sick salted caramel chocolate cake that defies explanation). Quick and happy service, easy exit, and back on our way.
Saturday mornings take us off of the main drag and through the cobblestone alleys to the Red Hook Farm. This reclaimed slab of concrete has been transformed from a haven for decay to a working farm providing the community with everything from fresh grown tomatillos to tarragon. Today’s bag has some of the standard New York summertime treats: heirloom tomatoes, corn, and berries, along with a hint at the farms more adventurous and esoteric side; anise hyssop, tatsoi, and chilies. I grab a Hoosic River pork butt and we have all we need for a few nights of home cooking.
Servant to my copilot’s needs (aka: my two- year old son, Bruno), I venture through the maze of ship yards and warehouses and hang a left at the plywood “lime” sign, past the ’58 Ford delivery truck and into the parking lot for Steve’s Key Lime Pie. I get my money in their hands in exchange for what I think is a Steve original, the Swingle; a key lime tartlet that’s been skewered with a popsicle stick, frozen, and dipped in chocolate. Six ingredients: freshly squeezed Key lime juice, condensed milk, egg yolks, butter, Graham cracker crumbs, and chocolate become a definition of our trip to the waterfront for my son, waiting not-so-patiently by my side. This is a delicious disaster in the making and I know that Bruno will be wearing just as much as he will be eating, but with a harbor full of water for washing his little hands and face I feel justified in turning a parental blind eye.
The Swingle accompanies us to Valentino Park, a swath of green amongst the surroundings of industrial brick and mortar. The scene there is serene with water lapping against the embankment and a pier jutting out into the calm with only the sight of the Statue of Liberty reminding us that we are still in New York City. Bruno drags us down the pier to take his assessment of the fishermen in hopes of poking or prodding whatever they have pulled up from the water. Striped bass are a fairly common occurrence but the real eye openers are the wriggling eels that make their home in the rocks below. I would love to add an eel to my weekend menu but with these fishermen the catch is never for sale.
We jump in the car for our drive down Van Brunt, the portal that leads from sea back to city, always amazed at how within one mile the landscape and feel of the neighborhood can change. We get home without wet bathing suits, without salt streaked hair, and without a touch of sunburn but with all of the memories of a trip to the sea (and a Swingle smeared son of course!).
(I really enjoy Key Lime Pie but I always like to add my own interesting international twist to classic flavors. Yuzu is a small citrus fruit that I fell in love years ago while traveling in Asia and I have used it in my cooking ever since. This is my personal version of Key Lime Pie.)
Brad Farmerie
Brad Farmerie grew up in Pittsburgh in a food-loving family, where his mother exposed him to a variety of cuisines from a young age, always insisting on home baked bread and vegetables straight from the family garden. After a brief college hiatus spent exploring the cuisines and wines of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Antipodes, Farmerie followed his love for food to the UK and earned his "Grande Diplome" at Le Cordon Bleu in 1996. He further rounded out his education and technique at acclaimed restaurants Coast, Chez Nico and Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons. Most influential to his own style was his experience working with Peter Gordon at the Sugar Club, and he went on to assist Gordon and Anna Hansen in opening the critically-acclaimed The Providores and Tapa Room in 1996. In 2003 Farmerie moved back to the States to help conceive PUBLIC, AvroKO’s first self-propelled restaurant. In the fall of 2008, Farmerie extended his culinary reach as executive chef of AvroKO Restaurant Group’s Double Crown and Madam Geneva, which takes as its inspiration the unique cuisine that emerged when the British colonized the countries of South Asia and the Far East.