to move up and down
Flavors: Monday, January 16th
Ok, remember how I was a total jerk on Friday saying I had news that I couldn’t tell you? Well I can finally start telling you a bit of it……….
Image courtesy of Free Food Boston
…..BROWNIES! You know- the ones that we kept selling out of like crazy at DeKalb and Madison Square Eats and Union Square…..as of this very second, we’re finally wholesaling them! (We hired more people to keep up with demand) WOOT WOOT!
If you haven’t had the opportunity to try them yet, you need to get to this. Brownies were one of the top sellers at our original store before we closed it to go wholesale over 2 years ago, and were the #1 most requested item from all our original fans. As you might have noticed, Matt and I are perfectionists when it comes to what we do, and we have no desire to release a product unless we can consider it as one of the absolute best that we have ever tasted (and trust me, we’ve tasted a LOT of brownies. For, um, research. Yeah….that’s it….research). So until we had enough hands on deck to make sure we could produce these in large enough quantities where the quality would be flawless and none of our other products would suffer- they were left on the back burner. And now, their day has come! Huzzah to that!
What differentiates our brownies from the rest of the pack? Ultra chocolatey Valrhona cocoa, plenty of eggs and butter, and copious amounts of melted chocolate. It’s not cakey, and not exactly fudgy- it’s just wrong, in a very, very right way.
You can find them at current Robicelli’s retail partners Crespella (Park Slope) and Queen City Cupcakes (Patchogue Long Island), and our NEW LOCATION:
Oaxaca Tacos! With three locations in Brooklyn, and one on Extra Place in Manhattan (you know, that alley behind CB’s. And YES, it will always be CB’s, and I will acknowledge it as the John Varvartous whatever store over my cold dead body). You can get our “Fany” brownie on their dessert menu: rich chocolate swirled with cinnamon and cajeta from Fat Toad Farms in Vermont. And if you’re curious about the name, it’s names for one of my best friends and the grand dame of Mexican pastry- Fany Gerson. And if someone I admire as much as Fany loves them, I know they’re good!
We’re going to start pounding the pavement and trying to bring these brownies to more shops around NYC soon- if there’s a place near you that you’d like us to hit, let us know! And I am swearing in front of you all at this very moment- these brownies WILL SHIP IN 2012. Super-duper-ultra-infinity promise.
Even though we’re letting brownies finally have their moment in the sun after playing third fiddle to our other products, there are still cupcakes that are going to stores and need to be eaten to fulfill their cupcakey destiny. Back from the vault today- The McFadden! Lemony delicious with just a splash of Pimm’s- this one’s a huge cult classic, and worth searching out.
Clockwise from front: S’Mores, McFadden, Hazelnut Kiss, Pecan French Toast
S’Mores: Chocolate cake, speculoos pudding, toasted marshmallow buttercream, ganache, graham cracker crumbs
McFadden: Victorian lemonade cake and buttercream with lemon, ginger and a splash of Pimm’s, candied lemon peel
Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts
Pecan French Toast: Maple custard soaked cinnamon cake, maple-cinnamon buttercream, maple glazed pecans
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Cupcakes Available at:
Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th off 3rd, Bay Ridge
Aloha Grinds: 77th and 3rd, Bay Ridge
Bagel Schmagel: 76th and 3rd, Bay Ridge
Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope
Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights
Cake Shop: Ludlow btwn Stanton & Rivington, LES
Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island
Whoopie Pies Available At:
Red Hook Lobster Pound: 284 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook
Tazza Cafes: Clark off Henry AND Henry off Atlantic, Brooklyn Heights
Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island
Brownies Available At:
Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th Street, Park Slope
Queen City Cupcakes: West Main Street, Patchogue, Long Island
Oaxaca Tacos: 250 4th Avenue- Park Slope Brooklyn; 251 Smith Street Cobble Hill Brooklyn; 16 Extra Place, LES Manhattan
It’s time for THE GRUB STREET FOOD FESTIVAL MENU! WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!
CUPCAKES:
Chicken n’Waffles: Vanilla “Waffle” cake, vanilla buttercream, buttermilk soaked fried chicken dunked in pure Vermont maple syrup (yes, it’s really chicken)
The Ebinger: Chocolate cake, chocolate custard buttercream, chocolate fudge, chocolate cake crumbs
Iona: Pear Olive Oil cake, blue cheese buttercream, candied walnuts, port wine reduction
Butternut Spice: Butternut squash cake, vanilla buttercream, spiced candied pumpkin seeds, butternut squash seed oil
BROWNIES:
Classic with French Sea Salt
The Maltz with Bourbon and Bacon
The Fany with Cinnamon and Cajeta
WHOOPIE PIES
Classic Vanilla Marshmallow
NEW!!!! Pumpkin Spice: Valrhona chocolate cookies filled with pumpkin & toasted marshmallow buttercream and brown sugar streusel
ARE YOU GUYS AS EXCITED AS WE ARE?!?!?!?!
Along with Meatopia and the Lobster Roll Rumble, this is one of THE best food events of the year. And yes, it will probably get crowded, but so does every good food event worth checking out. As someone who’s worked on the other side of the table at tons of these things, I thought I could help you all out with this:
THE ROBICELLI’S GUIDE TO FOOD FESTIVALS!!!
1.ARRIVE EARLY. Grub Street runs from 10am til 6pm. Several thousand people are going to attend, and they are all going to show up between 1 and 4. If you are one of those people who are shows up during that window, don’t be surprised if there’s gigantic lines. This doesn’t necessarily mean the event was poorly planned, disorganized etc and you need to complain en masse over Twitter- it just means that in a city of 8+ million people, a few thousand other folks thought a food festival with free admission would be a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Your best bet is to get there before noon, when we’ll all be fully stocked and most of the city is still hungover in bed. You can also try hitting us up after 5pm- though some vendors will be sold out at this point, many won’t, and there will be virtually no lines. However, I will more than likely have not had a cup of coffee for several hours at that point, so I may be either speaking in tongues or passed out on our table. Just FYI.
2. HELP US KEEP THE LINE MOVING. If you’re looking to chat with vendors you’re friendly with, pitch a service to, etc, again show up before noon or after 5. We really, really, really want to talk to you, but when we’re slammed we have to put customers first. Events like this are honestly some of the only time we get to socialize, so if we miss you because the lines backing up, we’re genuinely dissapointed. Please feel free to come back when the craziness dies down to talk to us- we really do love hanging out with you all!
3. BRING SINGLES. We bring as much change as we can, but there have been times where I’ve gotten ten people in a row paying with a $20 bill on a $3-4 item. If you’re the 11th guy with a $20, you’re going to have to stay on the line while I call people with singles up to the front. I’ve had instances where people have gotten to skip 15 places in line just because they had singles, so not only does this help us out, it helps you out, too.
4. DESSERT LINES MOVE THE QUICKEST if there’s a line at all. Since all our stuff if prepared off-site, all we need to do is grab your cash and give you your food. Personally we don’t want our line to get too long, so we’re going to try to move you guys out as fast as we can. Tell us your order, I’ll get you your food while you pay Matt, and you can be on your way!
5. TRAVEL IN PACKS. Even if you show up early there’s going to be lines, especially for hot food. Get one person to stand on the longest one, then split up and go grab stuff that you can all pick on together while you wait.
6. PLAN YOUR ATTACK IN ADVANCE. Here’s a map!
7. BRING BAGS AND CONTAINERS. You are not going to be able to eat everything, and you may want to take some of what you order home. It also helps you navigate better- fill up your bags, then grab a place to sit and you don’t have to get up except to grab more beer or pee. Some vendors will have to-go containers for their stuff, but some won’t. And please don’t go to vendors and ask them for containers to use for other food- it’s disrespectful if you don’t offer to pay for it.
8. READ THE MENU BEFORE YOU ORDER. We want to be respectful to all of our customers by keeping the waiting to a minimum. If you were at our store we’d be able to spend the time with you to describe our products in detail, but you will need to forgive us at a crowded festival if we just rattle off the names of what we have quickly, or ask you to step to the side to read the menu as we help other customers (we’ll take your order as soon as you’ve made your decision). We honestly are not trying to be disrespectful- we just need to keep the line moving not only to be fair to everyone, but to keep walking paths clear for safety reasons.
Of course, if you’re asking a question regarding a food allergy or sensitivity- feel free to ask it. We’re more than happy to help!
9. BE POLITE AND GOOD THINGS HAPPEN! Most of you have no problems with this, but I’m going to let you in on a little secret- we may not always remember names, but we remember faces. And we ALWAYS remember the people who are extra nice and make us smile every time we see them. Those are the people who occasionally get discounts, or get a little something extra thrown in their bag if we can manage it, or have us go above and beyond to handle special requests or last minute orders. I’m not saying we’re going to be handing out free cupcakes to everyone who give us a wink, but you DO go in our memory banks, and there will come a time where that pays off.
Plus when you’re nice to us, we end up in super good moods and are extra nice to all the rest of our customers! Then they’re nicer to everyone, and we all have an awesome time! WINNING!
I’m sure some of you have tips of your own, so visit us on Facebook and let me know what they are! And come visit us tomorrow- we can’t wait to stuff your faces with baked goods!
GRUB STREET FOOD FESTIVAL AT THE HESTER STREET FAIR
CORNER OF ESSEX STREET AND HESTER STREET
LOWER EAST SIDE, NY
F train to East Broadway, JMZ to Delancey, D to Grand and then walk a little bit
Flavors- Monday December 20th Plus Big Social Flavors!
Woooo! I really don’t think there are words for how tired I am right now. I have been in the kitchen either alone or with our incredible intern Alexandra for 5 straight 9+ hour days, in a 19th century warehouse that has no heat on the weekends (thank you union guys!). Tonight I’m having dinner at 2 am, consisting of some leftover Italian bread the kids had with the babysitter and a cup of tea I got from a gas station. This is the glamorous life of us Brooklyn indie food scenesters!!!
Speaking of exhaustion, totally forgot to take pictures of the cupcakes before I left tonight. My bad.
The Big Social at 201 Mulberry is running through this Thursday every day from 12-8, and you MUST come down and check us out (and maybe grab some Luke’s Lobster or Pies n’Thighs for lunch?). Our brownies are getting scooped up almost faster than we can make them- we’re thrilled you guys like them so much! And our brownie gift boxes are flying off the shelves- they start at $10, so they’re the perfect little gift for a co-worker or that person you want to get just a little something for. Remember- food gifts never need to be dusted and don’t take up space, so they’re perfect for the person or family who has everything (plus the brownies can be frozen for months, so no worries about them going bad!).
Also, if you want our cupcakes for Christmas, email us NOW or preorder through your nearest store. Christmas flavors are:
-Hot Buttered Rum
-Cranberry Gingerbread
-Eggnog
-Chocolate Candy Cane
We’ll also have special Christmas flavors on Thursday at Big Social that aren’t in stores. Remember, ALL of these are going in the vault after this weekend and you won’t see them until next year, so stock up!
Ok, enough of me blathering- onto flavors!!!
Hazelnut Kiss: Chocolate hazelnut cake, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts
Chocolate Candy Cane: Mint chocolate-chocolate chip cake, peppermint buttercream, crushed candy canes
Sticky Toffee: Sticky toffee date cake, hard sauce, vanilla buttercream, brown sugar sandies
Eggnog: Eggnog cake & buttecream, fresh nutmeg
Available at:
Cafe at Sam’s Bakery: 94th St off 3rd Ave, Bay Ridge
Crespella: 7th Ave off 9th St, Park Slope
Market: 1211 Cortelyou Road, Ditmas Park
Tazza Cafes: Henry St off Atlantic and Clark St off Henry, Brooklyn Heights
Radish: Bedford Ave off N8th St, Williamsburg
Cakeshop: Ludlow St btwn Stanton & Rivington, Lower East Side
Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Cafe at Bryant Park: 40th St btwn 5th & 6th Avenues, Midtown
AT THE BIG SOCIAL (201 Mulberry St btwn Kenmare and Spring)
CUPCAKES
Eggnog
Kumquat: Winter citrus cake, vanilla buttercream, candied kumquats
Sticky Toffee
Chocolate Chestnut
Cranberry Gingerbread: Gingerbread cake, vanilla buttecream, fresh cranberry compote
Car Bomb: Chocolate Guinness cake, Jameson whiskey ganache, Bailey’s Irish Cream buttercream
BROWNIES
Classic Sea Salt
“The Maltz”: Bourbon & Bacon
Chocolate Almond
“The Aztec”: Ancho Chili & Pumpkin Seed
Chocolate Peppermint
