NYC — REVIEWS — FÖDA kost

HIGH STREET ON HUDSON

It's easy to have high standards for bread these days. Gone is the era of pre-ordered, bleached- and enriched-flour loaves delivered to restaurants in twist-tied plastic; thrumming back is the revived ritual of daily baking. Natural yeasts and housemade sourdough starters have become the bedrock of nearly every discerning brunch hub (before they hit our own kitchens). Charred, hardy crusts with sticky, soft centers have become the prized side to artfully-plated entrees at highbrow dining tables. Bread, it seems, is here to stay.

ATLA

A chef who often stops by her local Farmer's Markets, Soto-Innes seems to understand the value of small, permaculture- and biodiverse- focused produce, so this is often what's on your plate at ATLA. The added price for Farmer's Market veggies in place of monoculture grown crops, packs in added minerals, nutrients, and, of course, flavor. It's why you can't really criticize fourteen dollar radishes. In each dish, the flavors mingle decadently. You can attain luscious taste without relying on the conventional salt and fat found in dairy; the herb-rich sauces Soto-Innes weaves into each dish add to a satisfying crunch that is sure to incite new cravings in the days to come.

SOHO-NOLITA, NYCTracy GieszOctober 22, 2018NEW-YORK, PATIO, CASUAL, LUNCH, FARM-TO-TABLE, COMFORT-FOOD, VEGETARIAN, WIFI

BLENHEIM RESTAURANT: PASTURE TO PLATE

Blenheim Restaurant owners Morten Sohlberg and Min Ye, an accomplished husband and wife duo, merely intended to create a neighborhood staple, but wound up with a highly sought-after Michelin Recommendation, ushering their team into a rare class of pre-trend innovation. The intimate nook in Manhattan's West Village sits at the intersection of two tree-lined, cobblestone streets: a romantic throwback to the days when the Chase Banks and Walgreens of the world had less of an imposing presence.

WEST VILLAGE, NYCTracy GieszNovember 30, 2017FARM-TO-TABLE, FINE-DINING, NEW-YORK, LUNCH, OPEN-LATE, WEST-VILLAGEComment

BUTLER

Given the moniker for the surname of its Michelin starred pastry chef Ryan Butler, this bright, propitious corner café at the base of the Williamsburg Bridge will remind you of your long-lost love for brioche, crumb cake, scones, and toast. Interlacing the nostalgia of freshly homemade baked-goods with the exultation of detail-oriented gourmet cuisine, Butler brings its guests back to what food is supposed to bestow upon us: emotion, nourishment, and reverie.

WILLIAMSBURG, NYCTracy GieszJuly 17, 2017PATIO, CASUAL, COFFEE, LUNCH, WIFI, NEW-YORKComment

DEVOCIÓN

Unlike nearly every other coffee shop in North America, patrons are stationed at tables or couches drinking their coffees in the yellow 'for-here' mugs: there are abnormally few paper cups in sight. This attitude is exemplary of the foundational beliefs Devoción is built on. Described as the world's only exclusively "Farm to Cup" bean roster, this through-and-through Colombiano enterprise is committed to maintaining the ecology of the land their beans come from and fortifying workers from their country who have endured decades of perilous (and notorious) conflict. The growing coffee enterprise has established social and environmental programs throughout the vast regions of Colombia, and the founders publish sustainability reports they encourage coffee consumers to read.

WILLIAMSBURG, NYCTracy GieszJuly 2, 2017CASUAL, COMFORT-FOOD, COFFEE, LUNCH, WIFI, NEW-YORK, FARM-TO-TABLEComment

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