Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Local Eating So Far...

In order to eat locally I need to figure out where to find local things to purchase. I'm looking for a place to get local meats and to build up my pantry. I'm hoping to stop by at the farmers market this afternoon but I have a pretty full house after my trip to fairway.

Here's what I've figured out so far...

Bierkraft
http://www.bierkraft.com/
Sweet Jesus this is nirvana (for anyone who can eat beer and cheese). Bierkraft has thousands of beers and a good selection from New York State. They also carry some local cheeses and I haven't asked about other local products. Given that I don't eat cheese or drink most beers (stomach goes gurggle) its sort of a false paradise for me but they do carry chocolate.

Fairway Market in Red Hook
http://www.fairwaymarket.com/index.cfm?Area=locations

Its another bit of paradise but you'll need a car to get there. I found different local products including the most important one, bacon. I need to do a little bit of a better census next time I'm down there. They also have the email addresses posted of their foragers so I may send them a queary about local products.

Russo's
http://www.yelp.com/biz/russo-mozzarella-and-pasta-brooklyn

Russo's is a small Italian Market on our block. They make their own cheese, pasta, sauce, etc. This place makes me question whether I should consider this local food. Its made locally but the ingredients weren't grown locally. To each their own but I'm going to include this place because while the ingredients may not be local, I'm supporting a family run, artisan place and that sticks within my value system for all of this.

Gowanus Nursery
http://www.gowanusnursery.com/

Lovely little nursery right by the BBT. Its pretty hard to find but its on the way to Fairway and they have a nice edibles section.

My family is out in NJ and there are a few places that I've frequented in the past that I want to include:

Abma's Farm
http://www.abmasfarm.com/
Produce, meat, eggs, plants plus a petting zoo

Demarest Farms
http://www.demarestfarms.com/

I grew up picking apples and taking hay rides here. They are a farm market but I suspect from the picture on their website (the one with the asparagus and giant tomatoes) that they probably don't pull everything from their own land. Maybe they have hothouses, I don't know...

Goffle Brook Farms
http://www.insiderpages.com/b/3718200655

I think this is where we get our turkeys and other assorted poultry.

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